Housing Authority Forced to Abandon Two Sites for Low-Income Family Housing-August 7, 1970

Scattered-Site Initiative Hits Major Roadblocks Over Rezoning Hurdles, High Development Costs, and Neighborhood Opposition

Plans to construct 20 units of low-income housing for large families have hit a major roadblock with the Norwood Housing Authority’s forced abandonment of two prospective locations. Executive Director Lawrence J. O’Brien announced yesterday that both alternative sites approved by the state Department of Community Affairs have fallen through: the 16-acre Pellana Road tract proved “too difficult to rezone” from manufacturing to multi-family use, while a 65-acre parcel in the Sumner-Union Street area was rejected as “too costly to develop” due to swampy terrain.

This marks the second major setback for the authority’s “scattered site” housing initiative—capped at 20 units per location—following the initial abandonment of a town-owned site on Prospect Street across from the Oldham School, which was stymied by high land acquisition costs and selectmen’s prior efforts to sell the parcel. Director O’Brien expressed frustration over the scarcity of suitable land, remarking, “I guess we’ll have to dig some scrub land somewhere… I think now we’ll have to go out in the woods someplace.” The Pellana Road proposal had drawn fierce local pushback, with more than 200 neighborhood residents packing a June 18 authority meeting to protest potential hazards for children near the highway and property value concerns. State officials also noted that rezoning the industrial land would shrink the town’s tax base. Meanwhile, O’Brien emphasized that a “definite need” remains for four- and five-bedroom units, with architectural plans being drafted by William Nelson Jacobs Associates of Boston.

In other local municipal and business developments covered in town records:

• Norwood Plaza Open Burning Ban: Following complaints regarding unsanitary housekeeping practices and neighborhood testimony, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously voted to amend the 1963 special permit for Alevizos Realty Trust operating the Norwood Plaza on Walpole Street, strictly prohibiting open burning of rubbish and requiring lessees to provide sealed metal waste containers. Appeals Chairman James J. Drummey noted that board members inspected the site and agreed residents had a legitimate complaint.
• July Building Permits Plummet: Construction data for July indicated a significant drop, with total permits valued at $403,805—roughly $2 million below the July 1969 figure of $3,178,831. Only one residential permit was issued for a $22,000 home (compared to nine totaling $158,000 the previous year), while new commercial construction totaled $300,000, anchored by a permit for Norwood Automobile Co. on Route 1. Four swimming pool permits were also issued.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger