NEWBURYPORT — A majority of city councilors who responded to a question asking whether there were enough votes on the council to approve a senior affordable housing project with over 40 units at the former Brown School said they didn’t think so.
The question was posed on the heels of Brown School Advisory Group member and former Ward 2 City Councilor Jared Eigerman voting against the YWCA Greater Newburyport’s proposal because, in part, because it called for 43 units.
Instead, he supported the one ultimately chosen by Mayor Sean Reardon last week, Boston-based Zeta Insite, which proposed turning the three-story building into a 29-unit housing development. Eight of those units would be considered affordable to households at 80% of area median income of $127,306, while the remaining 21 would be market rate.
All units would be geared towards senior citizens with local residents receiving preference. The project would also get rid of the school’s gymnasium, converting that footprint into green space as well as more parking.
Zeta InSite beat out proposals from the YWCA as well as CSI Support and Development. CSI intended to build 56 affordable housing units.
Reardon said he was concerned about overcrowding in the already-dense neighborhood.
Just what the City Council will do with Reardon’s recommendation is another question entirely.
Although there is no projected funding request in the works, the mayor will need the council to declare the property surplus, then vote on a disposition plan to see just who the building goes to.
Reardon’s chief of staff, Andrew Levine, said the surplus vote would only require a simple majority vote of six councilors. The disposition order, however, would need approval from a supermajority vote of eight.
If the surplus and disposition order are both approved, then the zoning in the Brown School Overlay District would need to be altered to allow more than 20 units to be built on the property.
If the project is being built for by-right, multifamily housing, Levine said it would only need a simple six votes to pass the council. If not, a super majority would be required.
In a written statement to The Daily News last week, Eigerman said he didn’t believe there were eight current city councilors who would approve a project over 40-units.
In an email, Ward 3 Councilor Heath Granas said he agreed with Eigerman.
“I believe there would not have been sufficient votes due to concerns regarding density in the neighborhood, particularly related to parking limitations,” he said.
At-Large Councilor Connie Preston also believed Eigerman was on the right track. She said in an email a proposal featuring under 35 units would be the best bet for the neighborhood.
“I believe everyone on the council is committed to increasing affordable housing but it must be in balance with the impact on the neighborhood,” she said. “The Brown School has to be a part of the affordable housing solution, but we cannot ask the neighborhood to bear an unfair amount of the burden. Luckily, the mayor is working on affordable housing in other parts of the city that will also contribute to helping our elderly residents and create more diversity.”
Preston added she is “deeply hopeful” Zeta InSite will be able to increase its number of affordable units to maximize the city’s stock, while also minimizing the impact on the neighborhood.
Ward 1 Councilor Sharif Zeid said he couldn’t support over 40 units.
“(That would be) cramming the property and unfair to the neighborhood,” he said in an email. “The Brown School Overlay District, which I wrote and sponsored, allowed for a maximum of 20 units – so 40-plus would be double that or more.”
Council President Ed Cameron was more diplomatic in his response.
In a text message, he said he appreciates Reardon had a difficult decision to make and will carefully consider his recommendation.
“We’ll need to look at whether there are enough affordable units, are those units going to be for seniors on fixed income and for how long? Finally, are there mechanisms in place to prevent the developer from flipping the building for a windfall profit in the future,” he said.
Eigerman made his assertion amid some concern over a potential conflict of interest, when he admitted he had known Zeta InSite principal Zeina Talje for many years before becoming a member of the Brown School Advisory Group over the summer.
In a written statement, Eigerman said he and Talje met in the early 2000s, when he obtained permits for her then-firm Beacon Capital Partners for a building in San Francisco. The former councilor also said he last worked with Talje around 2016 when he gave her advice about a site in Cambridge.
While Eigerman has never represented Zeta Insight, he did say Talje sent him an email on June 20, letting him know she had seen the Brown School RFP, and asked if he could advise her.
Eigerman said he declined during a July 3 phone conversation. That’s when he said he also let her know about the 10 years of the project’s public history, most of which, he added is posted on the city’s website.
The former city council added he recommended other land use lawyers to Talje, after accepting Reardon’s offer to join his Brown School Advisory Committee only five days later.
When asked about Eigerman’s prediction the council wouldn’t approve anything over 40 units, Ward 2 Councilor Jennie Donahue said in an email she believes her predecessor made a presumptuous assertion that was a “very poor excuse” for his actions.
On Tuesday, the City Council is expected to consider Reardon’s memo recommending Zeta InSite. But no action would be required at that time.