IPSWICH - The Superior Judicial Court has given the YMCA the green light to proceed with its Powderhouse Village project.

The court ruled the Zoning Board of Appeals did not exceed their authority in overriding local zoning requirements to allow for commercial development at the site located at 108 and 112 County Road. The development is planned to include 48 low-income units.

Special counsel to the ZBA, Lisa Meade, said the court addressed two issues, the standing of the abutter, Warren Jepson, who had filed a lawsuit against the development, and whether the ZBA had wrongly authorized commercial use. She said the 40B affordable housing law sections 20-23 allow for dimensional variations on development.

According to court documents, Jepson did have standing as an abutter and the ZBA had not presented evidence concluding his property would not be diminished in value as a result of the project. The court also concluded the ZBA did not exceed its authority in overriding local zoning requirements for the commercial component of the development, which was proposed as approximately 8,220 square feet on the first floor.
"I'm certainly glad that some issues have been resolved," Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Elizabeth Kilcoyne said. She said town officials continue to meet with the Y and search for alternatives and she looks forward to continuing that relationship.

"They've been good to work with," she said.
Executive Director of the Ipswich YMCA, Gerry Beauchamp, said he is pleased with the court's decision and that the project will move forward as aggressively as possible. The Y will apply for funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development in February. Beauchamp said they hope to hear back by April. Development will likely begin during the summer, he said.

"We think it's going to be fast-tracked," he said.
ZBA Chairman Robert Gambale said there are other communities with similar situations where affordable housing developments have a commercial component. The location for Powderhouse Village is in the commercial district, he said, and located across from Agawam Village where the Ipswich Housing Authority maintains affordable housing units.

The property was sold to the YMCA by Ted Raymond as a requirement for his development of Turner Hill. Though Raymond no longer has any connection to the parcels of land or the project, it would fulfill the obligation to create affordable housing, as was part of the development agreement. The Planning Board allowed for that obligation to be partially met off-site, Town Planner Glenn Gibbs said. In 2004, The ZBA approved the project, which was met with opposition from a petitioning citizen's group, Ipswich Residents for Responsible Growth.

The Y had proposed to utilize the commercial space with a YMCA childcare facility; a bank including a drive-up teller window and a coffee shop.

Meade said once the Y has completed a final site plan review, a peer engineering review and other administrative tasks, they may apply for a building permit. The ZBA placed 42 conditions on the project upon its approval. Those included a requirement that 100 percent of the dwelling units be rented to households earning no more than 60 percent of the median household income for the Boston primary metropolitan statistical area; all units remain affordable in perpetuity or as long as the property is used for residential purposes; requirements addressing and monitoring traffic; and a requirement that both structures and their units connect to town water and sewer.

Ipswich Housing Authority Director Julie Martineau, who operates the Southern Heights-Agawam Village housing project across the street from the Y property, and who also opposed the project in earlier stages, declined to comment at time of this posting as she was unaware of the ruling.
Jack Meaney, CEO of the Northshore YMCA, was unable to be reached at this time.

PDF Documents: Our web site contains several .pdf documents. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, please click here for a free download.