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No Affordable Housing At Rice Pond Village
The developer for the proposed Rice Pond Village project at 17 Rice Road in Millbury, Massachusetts, Steven F. Venincasa, doing business as Whitney Street Home Builders, LLC, has repeatedly said that he wants affordable housing credit benefits for the proposed project, but has made it abundantly clear that his organization does not want affordable housing units on the proposed Rice Pond Village property. The optics appear to be somewhat like a NIMBY scenario? Perhaps there is another reason for this that has not been articulated by the developer.
Proposed Project At 17 Rice Road Will Destroy Neighborhood
It is April 2021, I walk out to my mailbox and find a letter with no return address listed. In large bold font the letter states, "52 Condominiums Proposed." Reading through the fine print, I can see this proposed development is at 17 Rice Road. As a direct abutter to the proposed project, I found myself in a state of shock. How can this be happening? Who would propose such a monstrosity in this small neighborhood?
Rice Road Closed Due To EverSource
This continued and prolonged closure presents an inconvenience to all residents of Rice Road, Thomas Hill Road, Aldrich Avenue, and Captain Peter Simpson Road at a minimum, and could cause delays in providing emergency services to the 43 households should such services be required during the extended closure of Rice Road. In the event of a storm bringing down limbs, trees, or wires the residents could be cutoff from getting to or leaving their homes for an extended period of time until the issue is resolved.
Revised Site Plan v4
For the November 22, 2021 Millbury Planning Board Meeting, the project engineer for the proposed Rice Pond Village project located at 17 Rice Road in Millbury, Massachusetts, James Tetreault of Azimuth Land Design, LLC, has submitted revised proposed Rice Pond Village Site Plan of Land (v4).
Engineer Reschedules Again
After the agendas for the Millbury Conservation Commission and Millbury Planning Board meetings were published, the developer, Steven F. Venincasa, doing business as Whitney Street Home Builders, LLC, and his project engineer, James Tetreault of Azimuth Land Design, LLC, decided to request to reschedule the public hearings to a later date (see below). This is not the first time that Steven F. Venincasa and James Tetreault have acted in an unprofessional manner.
Project Reviewed By Independent Engineer
Stantec Consulting Services Inc., an independent engineer retained by the Town of Millbury's Planning Board reviewed the latest iteration of site plans for the proposed Rice Pond Village project and submitted their findings in a 10-page review, dated October 16, 2021.