By Adam Swift
During last week’s town council meeting, Council President Jim Letterie and Town Manager Tony Marino provided more information on a recent meeting with state officials concerning the MBTA 3A Communities Act.
Earlier this month, Letterie, Marino, state Representative Jeff Turco, and state Senator Lydia Edwards met with met with Housing Secretary Ed Augustus and his team, along with Margot Hurley from the Attorney General’s Office, to discuss Winthrop’s 3A status and next steps now that the state has filed a lawsuit over Winthrop’s noncompliance with 3A.
Both Letterie and Marino said there will be a follow-up meeting with the state where there will hopefully be more feedback on the questions raised by the Winthrop officials.
Marino said the main questions asked by the Winthrop contingent included 3A’s impact on existing condominium documents, as the proposed 3A district from the Planning Board includes Condo developments at Seal Harbor and Governors Park; the language the EOHLC includes in its district approval letters and how it could be interpreted to mean the EOHLC can make changes whenever it chooses; what a ballot question could look like if Winthrop decided to put a 3A compliant district forward to the voters; and about the lawsuit and whether, if the town were to lose in its defense and was forced to implement 3A, it could still use the district it originally brought forward to create a 3A overlay district at Seal Harbor and Fort Heath, and Governors Park.
“I think it was a very healthy meeting,” Letterie said at last week’s council meeting. “We did not go into it with a preconceived notion that we were going to get everything we wanted right away … but they were very receptive to everything we said.”
One of the big questions Letterie said the Winthrop officials asked was about condominium documents and whether they would supercede 3A, since the 3A compliance plan recommended by the Planning Board previously called for an overlay district at Seal Harbor and Governors Park.
“They are very strict about not giving out legal advice,” said Letterie. “We are asking if they could clarify better in a different form; what they did do is on their frequently asked questions on their website … I think number 13 on the frequently asked questions states that condo docs supersede 3A. So that was kind of their way of saying we are really telling you the truth, but we are still trying to get more definitive language in that.”
Letterie said the town knew there would be consequences when it took the actions it did with voting not to be in compliance with 3A.
“We felt fairly strongly about it, and still do, however when we start hearing about 21st Century grants (for the schools) and public safety grants and public health grants … and I said I’m not here to tell the governor how to run in an election year, but I don’t think taking money away from kids and public safety and public health is doing her any favors,” said Letterie.
Letterie noted that the school grant was not out of the state housing office and that the housing secretary was not aware of the town not being eligible for it.
“I think they took those comments to heart, because especially the 21st Century grant is a grant that is given out every three years,” said Letterie. “It is one thing to lose a grant and say we can apply next year … but the 21st Century grant, if they do not get that because of 3A, that grant could be upwards of $400,000 and that’s substantial and that’s affecting kids in afterschool programs and their ability to attend afterschool programs and having staffing to do that. That is not something that should be affected by zoning compliance.”
Letterie said there will be another meeting with the state to follow up with many of those issues that were raised.
“We think it was a productive meeting, we acknowledged our understanding of the lawsuit and they understand that we are making efforts to talk with them,” said Letterie.