THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021 Page 5 Proposed 40B project planned for Hilltop Property T By Mark E. Vogler own officials had until next Wednesday (April 7) to file a formal response to the application and site plans for the Hilltop property on Route 1 at Sanders Drive. The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MassHousing) is currently reviewing an application for the Site Approval submitted by Saugus Developer, LLC for a proposed project consisting of 300 units of rental housing on 18.63 acres of land. “The site approval process is offered to protect sponsors who intend to apply for a Comprehensive Permit under Chapter 40B,” Michael Busby, relationship manager for MassHousing recently advised the Board of Selectmen. “MassHousing’s review involves an evaluation of the site, the design concept, the financial feasibility of the proposal and the appropriateness of the proposal in relation to local housing needs and strategies,” Busby wrote. As part of the review process, the agency sought comments from the community. “You also may wish to include in your response, issues or concerns raised by other Local Boards, officials or other interested parties,” Busby said. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree told selectmen last week that the town was at a disadvantage in dealing with the project because the town had not yet met its 10 percent threshold of affordable housing. In communities where less than 10 percent of the housing qualifies as “affordable” under Chapter 40B, developers could avoid local zoning bylaws and restrictions. Saugus’ low or moderate income housing units constitute about 6.9 percent of the town’s total housing stock. “I don’t feel we need another 300 units in town. It’s going to be another uphill battle,” Crabtree said. “There’s a presumption when you are below 10 percent that we don’t have enough of affordable housing,” he said. But Crabtree told the board that one positive aspect of the A reader's perspective The Saugus Sachem is a symbol of conflict By Janice K. Jarosz T he town of Saugus has a long and proud identification with Native American culture. It has adopted the term ‘Sachem,’ in meaning respected elder of the tribe and not only as its official town logo, but as the name for its high school athletic teams. Its yearbook is called the Tontoquonian. Everywhere you go even on street signs you see the familiar side-view Native American profile, complete with head dress. Officials see this entirely as a measure of respect and a reflection of the town’s root. Native American representatives do not share the same view. This dichotomy of viewpoints came into focus earlier this month. At a meeting of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s sportsmanship committee, Peter Roby of the Northeastern University Center for Sports and Society argued that member schools with Native American nicknames and logos should do away with them. He based his argument on an NCAA edict two years ago that banned offensive Native American nicknames and logos, yet NCAA schools still sport Native American logos. The MIAA doesn’t feel as if it has the jurisdiction to force schools into changing their names. And, in the case of Saugus, School Superintendent Keith Manville, who is on the committee, makes a distinction between schools with names that would stereotype But the Massachusetts CenJanice K. Jarosz Native American culture and ones that honor it. ter for Native American Awareness, (MCNAA) does not make that distinction. And the use of the term “Sachem” is a prime example of this difference of opinion. “I remember, says Town Meeting member Thomas Raiche, a senior on the 1974 football team, that when we were playing, people would ask us what a Sachem was, and we didn’t know. So, we had to do a little research to find out that it means ‘chief.’ Raiche considers that a good thing in that he and his teammates took the time to find out about the PERSPECTIVE | SEE PAGE 12 project is that its completion would probably put the town “well above 10 percent.” With the completion of Essex Landing, the town may be over 7 percent. And the completion of Saugus Ridge should put the town over 9 percent, according to the town manager. “With the Hilltop, it would be somewhere around 11.5 percent,” Crabtree said, noting that the town would have more control over future development. The state law known as Chapter 40B, which allows the developer to forgo certain local zoning bylaws and restrictions, providing at least 25 percent of its units of a housing project are designated as “affordable.”
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