WEYMOUTH — The rezoning of a factory building near the East Weymouth commuter rail station will now allow housing proposals to go forward at the site despite lukewarm public support.
The town council on Monday approved a Historic Mill Overlay District as a way to protect the neighborhood from undesirable industry by encouraging the preservation and repurposing of a former mill building as housing.
Mayor Robert Hedlund had suggested the council hold off on the zoning amendment to garner more public feedback, but the council’s ordinance committee supported the change and the council voted unanimously to approve it.
Francer Manufacturing and Supply Co. uses the former shoe factory at 44 Wharf St. to make heating and air conditioning products. The company approached the town last year to explore its development options for the property, which is larger than it needs. The lot is about 3.5 acres and the factory is just shy of 80,000 square feet, or about 1.8 acres. The company also owns 1.7 acres of undeveloped land.
The company’s operation has been described as a “sleepy industrial use,” with few trucks coming and going and limited activity, but the property sits in the town’s planned industrial park district, which would allow manufacturing centers, printing shops, office buildings and research laboratories. Nearly a dozen other uses are allowed with a special permit, including hazardous material storage or manufacturing, truck and bus terminals, construction storage and adult entertainment clubs.
That underlying zoning will stay the same, but the overlay district would open up the possibility of residential projects.
The overlay district includes three other properties: an auto repair facility at 548 East St.; a building at 572 East St. that is being used as a warehouse and offices for an oil company; and a house at 532 East St.
Planning Director Bob Luongo said officials first “broached the subject” of the overlay district more than a year ago, and hosted several informational meetings and public hearings.
“We got a fairly decent turnout, and there was not any real opposition to it,” Luongo said. “The mayor was neutral on the zoning change and deferred to the council, and he has confidence that the zoning board can evaluate the pros and cons of any proposal that comes forward.”
Without the overlay district, Luongo said the only allowed use would be another industrial operation that could prove detrimental to the neighborhood.
“That’s not a scare tactic,” he said.
Luongo said any residential proposal would require a special permit from the town zoning board and an administrative site plan review.
“If a proposal is not deemed beneficial, it could get rejected,” he said. “We put a lot of safeguards in the zoning, so we hope a developer comes forward and proposes something.”
Developers seeking to restore and reuse the Francer building would be allowed to demolish and replace no more than a quarter of the building. A developer seeking to knock it down could only replace it with a significantly smaller building.
