Image courtesy of New England Center for Children
An attempt to develop an apartment building in Framingham for a Southborough educational center’s employees under the protection of the Dover amendment is headed to state Land Court.
The Framingham ZBA and two neighbors who fought the project are named as defendants in the lawsuit filed by the potential developer of the Salem End Road property, located in a single-family neighborhood off Route 9.
“The board openly adopted the public’s hostility to the project, exemplifying the very evils – local bias and municipal discrimination against educational uses of land – that the Dover Amendment was enacted to prevent,” the complaint states.
In March, the ZBA overturned the building commissioner’s ruling that the project is exempt from zoning regulations such as multifamily projects under the state’s Dover amendment, which protects nonprofit educational uses.
In a lawsuit submitted April 8 to state Land Court, Health Education Charitable Foundation asks for a judgment supporting the Dover amendment protection, citing past court rulings in favor of projects in Brookline, Haverhill, Monterey and Worcester.
The complaint, filed by attorney Sander Rikleen of Boston-based Sherin and Lodgen LLP, names two Framingham residents as defendants because they appealed the building commissioner’s ruling to the ZBA.
The lawsuit was first reported by the Framingham Observer.
Southborough-based New England Center for Children operates day and residential programs for more than 200 youths with autism, and currently leases single-family homes and apartments in the surrounding area for its 450-member staff. The Framingham project was designed to provide affordable housing options for staff facing rising rents, Chief Financial Officer Michael Downey said in a recent interview.
The center has “several dozen” vacant staff positions and hires employees from around the country and overseas, according to the Land Court complaint.
“Recruitment is challenging for NECC, particularly given the high cost of living and high housing costs in the MetroWest region,” Rikleen wrote.
Citing comments by Framingham ZBA members at public meetings, the lawsuit alleges the board based its decision upon eight impermissible conditions, including discussions of NECC’s finances and the risk that the project could encourage additional Dover-amendment-protected developments.
The 334 and 344 Salem End Road project would replace a single-family home on a 4.2-acre property with 47 housing units.
At public hearings, attorney Neil Glick of Wellesley-based Coren Lichtenstein LLP questioned the legality of the project because the property was acquired in December by a for-profit developer, Health Education Charitable Foundation, and leased to NECC.
Health Education Charitable Foundation has since registered as a nonprofit with the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General.
A message was left with Glick seeking comment.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to reflect that Health Education Charitable Foundation is a registered nonprofit.
