Planning Board Considers Elderly Housing Zones, Trailer Ban, and Rizzo Duplex Development-September 10, 1974

Moving a special town meeting closer to reality, the Planning Board held public hearings on three proposed zoning articles and voted to draft a fourth during a busy session.

Housing for the Elderly and Zoning Amendments

On behalf of the Norwood Housing Authority, the board conducted hearings on two interconnected measures designed to pave the way for 104 additional units of subsidized housing for the elderly:

• Special Multi-Family Zone: Creating a restricted multi-family zone applicable solely to state-subsidized elderly housing, which would mandate one parking space per three dwelling units and lower area requirements (recognizing that only one in three elderly residents owns a car).
• Parcel Rezoning: Rezoning two small lots to multi-family use to annex them to existing authority land.

Housing Authority Executive Director Lawrence J. O’Brien and counsel John J. Mulvehill reported that the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) gave tentative approval for the $2 million project designed by architect William Nelson Jacobs Associates of Boston. Mulvehill noted that land scarcity near shopping, churches, and transportation necessitated taking small parcels by eminent domain, totaling around 15,000 square feet.

While East Cross Street resident Richard Flaherty and appeals board member Emilie Moses voiced concerns over granting “carte blanche” or creating high-density “elderly ghettoes,” board members took the proposals under advisement.

Building Inspector Grover Pushes Trailer Ban Bylaw

Building Inspector John E. Grover appeared before the board to press for adoption of a stringent zoning bylaw banning the use of trailers in town for storage or living quarters. Grover stressed that the bylaw is urgently needed for the “prevention of fire, preservation of life and morals,” noting that commercial firms store goods in tax-free trailers. Furthermore, Grover warned that the town will automatically adopt the state building code on January 1st, making it vital to codify local trailer restrictions beforehand.

Under the proposed bylaw, recreational trailers and business storage trailers would be prohibited, restricting trailer parking to enclosed garages on the rear half of residential lots. The board also took under advisement a plan by builder Robert L. Rizzo to construct 14 duplex houses on a proposed road off Dean Street in the Richland Road area, despite objections from 11 neighboring residents.

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