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On Tuesday, April 1 the Sudbury Select Board voted its position on a Town Meeting article that would appropriate $450,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for a Sudbury Housing Authority (SHA) project that would replace four single-family homes with duplexes. The vote was divided. Members Lisa Kouchakdjian and Janie Dretler voted in favor of supporting the article. Chair Jennifer Roberts, Vice Chair Dan Carty and member Charlie Russo opposed the article.
While the Select Board takes positions on articles, residents at Town Meeting will ultimately vote the article up or down.
The Sudbury Housing Authority previously told the board that it would pursue other funding sources in order to proceed with the project if Town Meeting doesn’t pass the article. The project has already received State grant funding.
The positions for and against the article largely tracked with the discourse that has unfolded over the last year. In one new development, Chair Jennifer Roberts reiterated her support for diversifying the housing stock in Sudbury, but voiced a desire to have a broader conversation about where duplexes and triplexes are most appropriate in Sudbury.
The majority of the board voiced concerns about maintenance, dissatisfaction with the SHA’s consideration of alternative sites and projects, as well as strong opposition from neighbors in the Pine Lakes neighborhood, where three of the four SHA properties are located.
Member Janie Dretler expressed disappointment in the board, arguing that the Select Board has been an obstacle to groups like the Sudbury Housing Authority and Sudbury Housing Trust and their efforts to develop affordable housing in recent years.
