FRAMINGHAM – Developers who control roughly 31 acres near the corner of Edmands and Edgell Roads are trying again to have the property rezoned for more dense development. J & Company’s latest proposal for about 415 housing units is on the City Council’s Planning & Zoning Subcommittee agenda Wednesday, Feb. 18, starting at 6 pm.
The meeting is remote, viewing instructions are on the agenda.
J & Co are seeking to rezone the parcel from single-family residential to allow for townhomes and multifamily buildings. The plan says it will include some “ownership units”, age-restricted units, and “smaller units and/or units with restricted bedroom count,” as well as landscaping and “traffic improvement measures.”
However, neighbors are concerned about adding significantly more traffic to an already inadequate intersection; impacts to water and sewer; and costs necessary to support those new homes and residents compared with tax revenue generated. Many neighbors are also angry that existing zoning aimed at balancing the current rural character of the neighborhood with older apartments/townhouses and new zoning for apartments and retail across the street would be overturned for the benefit of a single corporate landowner.
Some residents were also angry at not very subtle threats by someone involved with the property who placed large signs up saying it would be a great parcel for “Dover Amendment” construction, meaning projects for educational or religious purposes that cities have much less control over.
J & Co says their plan includes “appropriate design features and mitigation measures” such as a “rural streetscape along Edmands and Edgell” as well as buffers between the project and nearby homeowners.
In 2024, the Planning Board had proposed rezoning that parcel to allow more than 1,100 housing units. That was part of a contentious process aimed at complying with the state’s MBTA Communities Law. However, that proposal blindsided the neighborhood, as it was added with little advance notice and considerably later than other areas of the city discussed for MBTA Communities zoning. That idea was turned down, as was Mayor Sisitsky’s plan for 620 units there.
The company then proposed a plan similar to this one last summer.
This proposal is not under MBTA Communities Zoning and would go through the usual city rezoning process.
“It basically looks like what they presented back in July,” District 3 City Councilor Mary Kate Feeney posted on Facebook.
The Planning & Zoning Subcommittee includes District 1 City Councilor Christine Long, At-Large Councilor Janet Leombruno, and District 6 Councilor Philip Ottaviani Jr.
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