WILMINGTON, MA — At last week’s Wilmington Town Hall-School Administration Building Committee Meeting, abutters of the project packed Room 9 of Town Hall to publicly express frustration with a myriad of issues.
After a brief project update from OPM Dan Pallotta, which consisted of mainly positive news (less ledge was encountered than expected) and an affirmative vote by the Committee to change the project’s flooring from porcelain to slate for $344,000, residents of Powder House Circle, School Street and Drury Lane took turns at the microphone to share concerns.
Of major concern is a piece of town-owned land which — for many decades — has been being used by homeowners of Powder House Circle, in the area behind the Fourth of July Building, as part of their backyards. The homeowners, which were basing their property lines off of a fence put up by the town in 1952, were not aware a portion of their backyard was actually town-owned land until the town conducted a land survey as part of this project.
“I’m one of the two homes that directly abuts the expansion of the parking lot,” began a Powder House Circle resident. “We learned about this expansion piece of the project by accident. We were never informed, even though we were told we were given a letter via certified mail. I received a copy later on and had never seen it. I showed it to some of the residents and they, also, had never seen the letter. We are now being told the parking lot is being expanded 8 feet towards the residents. The fence is going to extend 20 feet from the 8 feet. As you can imagine, that’s coming pretty close to our homes.”
“Over the years, our houses have seen trash, debris, vapes, needles, anything you can imagine, come over the fence,” she continued. “We’ve maintained this land. I’ve lived there for 12 years. The residents who live there previously maintained the property for 60 years. To now say it’s town land is a disservice to me and my neighbors and it’s disrespectful for you to say you’re going to come and take everything that gives us privacy. All of our trees. The fence. We’re pretty much besides ourselves. This is land my children play in, and – to them – it’s our backyard. We’re just asking you to figure out a different way.”
The homeowner noted the certified letter from the town made no mention of the parking lot expanding closer to the homes or any tree removals. She received a subsequent letter from the OPM’s company which — again — made no mention of any parking lot expansion or tree removal. In a diagram within in the letter, all the trees in question were visible.
Finance Committee Chair John Doherty, who serves on the Town Hall-School Administration Building Committee, then spoke up.
“I understand you’ve taken over approximately 12,000 square feet of town-owned land. You’ve not paid taxes on it,” he began.
“[The town] put the fence there in 1950. That’s not our problem,” another homeowner interrupted.
“I’m a representative of this committee from another committee, of which I’m the Chairman of, the Finance Committee,” continued Doherty. “We report of the town residents. The taxpayers. We don’t report this committee, the Town Administrator, or the Select Board. I would like to find out why you’ve taken over so much land, that’s town-owned, and I’d like to research what I can do civilly, criminally and financially against you.”
Several audience members gasped.
“We’ve been great neighbors,” responded one exacerbated abutter.
“Who’s libel for all the things my child has picked up on town property?,” asked another.
“Encroachment on town properties is not uncommon,” responded OPM Dan Pallotta. “I build throughout the commonwealth and it happens. The key to the encroachment is to come up with a solution. In this particular situation, the encroachments are about as bad as I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a 30-foot encroachment before. Usually it’s a few feet.”
“I know the fence went up in 1952. If the fence was in the middle of the lot, it would give them the right to go to the middle of the lot. But I get it. There are trees that have been taken down on town property in the past decade and half that have been taken down, not by the town. We’ve research this thing to try to find out how it happened. We’re not trying to be uncooperative,” continued Pallota. “We do need to find a solution to the problem. But the project has to be built. The parking lot has to be built. … We can’t take the Swain Green because we promised, at Town Meeting, we would not. … As the OPM, as the person building this, I want to be a good neighbor. I want to try to find a solution, but we need to build it. We surveyed the lot lines last week, we put stakes every 5-10 feet, and some of the stakes have already been pulled up.”
An abutter responded that they were told the stakes could be pulled out.
Pallotta, raising his voice, responded, “Nobody told you you could pull them out. It’s against the law.”
The abutter told Pallotta he would gave him the name of the employee who gave her the OK after the meeting.
“I do think we need to find a solution. If a barrier is needed, or a row of trees is needed, or combination of the two, something needs to happen,” Pallotta later added.
“Just to clarify, we’re not taking anyone’s personal property,” assured Chairman George Hooper.
“Let’s talk it out, rationally, at next week’s meeting,” said Pallotta.
Town Administration and abutters are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, July 16 at 9am, on site, to discuss further concerns. Abutters received the invitation reportedly just hours before the Town Hall meeting.
Another resident who lives near the project asked if detailed plans of the project could be published on the town’s website. Hooper said he’d look into it.
A resident asked if the abutters would have a claim of adverse possession, but OPM Pallotta believed that would not be applicable in this situation. He was asked to reconfirm and cite the state statute at the next meeting.
A Powder House Circle resident of more than 30 years then took her turn at the mic.
“I am horrified. Completely horrified at this process. So disrespectful. I found out from a land surveyor while I was gardening that the fence was going to be moved up nine and a quarter feet. The trees are already marked. You guys know what you’re cutting down. You’re cutting down the most gorgeous, biggest trees that give us the most shade,” she began. “We have been such good neighbors, keeping that space clean and weed-free. We get a big screw you, pretty much, for our green space, but you can preserve other green space. Why can’t you use the parking spaces at the old senior center, which is already a parking lot? Instead, for some reason, you’re hyper-focused on this one area in back of the July 4th building. Please cause the least amount of harm as possible to the neighborhood who has been so good to the community events throughout the years. This is how we’re thanked?!?”
The resident noted she served as an Election Worker at the Special Town Meeting where the Town Hall project was approved, and she helped count the votes.
“Never ever, in my wildest dreams, did I realize how I would be personally affected by this,” she added. “The sound, generated by the huge machinery, is shaking my house… I’m worried about the foundation of my house… It’s been a nightmare.”
“A happy medium can be found,” Pallotta later responded.
Pallotta noted that the parking spaces in question were always part of the plan, and the parking spaces at the old Senior Center are already being factored into the parking requirements.
Randi Holland, a former longtime member of the Planning Board, noted her surprise that the project didn’t come to the Planning Board for site plan review. She asked the Committee post the site plan that shows both the existing conditions and the new conditions. She also asked if creating a small amount of compact spaces (8 feet) in addition to full spaces (9-10 feet) could alleviate some of the issues.
An abutter on School Street then briefly touched upon health concerns, including headaches and migraines.
“Family and work life are being affected. There is ledge removal with no noise abatement or monitoring in place. High sound levels are affecting our health and welfare,” he noted, adding the construction company has an annual revenue of $2.65 billion.
Chair George Hooper interrupted him, noting construction takes place between 7am to 3:30pm during weekdays, and there is no requirement for sound mitigation. Town Meeting voters have repeatedly rejected attempts at creating a town wide sound ordinance.
The abutter said additional residents wished to speak after him, but Hooper asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting, as public comments had surpassed 30 minutes.
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