 |
Will SMOC turn this lovely historic property on a quiet residential street into a homeless drug rehab shelter? |
On May 27, 2005, STEPPS -- then in its infancy -- presented a list of questions to the Board of Selectmen regarding the implications of SMOC's purchase of 517 Winter Street. On July 9, we received the Selectmen's responses, which represented a great deal of effort and for which we are very grateful. Unfortunately, they were unable to answer many of the questions, since only SMOC had the information and they were unavailable to respond. Feel free to read the response from the town (Download 812 KB PDF) or browse these other, more detailed, topics. Also be sure to keep track of the progress of the Framingham PILOT Study Committee, which was created partly out of concern for the issues STEPPS raised last summer.
 |
Map of the area around 517 Winter Street Click image for full-size view or navigate at Google Maps |
The former Framingham Nursing Home at 517 Winter Street (see map, right) is located in a quiet residential neighborhood near Tercentennial Park. SMOC has bought it and is planning to turn it into a homeless drug rehab shelter.
There are a number of major problems with this proposal:
Changes to this property could have a devastating effect on hundreds of families.
 |
Map of area around proposed Wayside facility on Lockland Ave. Click image for full-size view or navigate at Google Maps |
Wayside wants to build a huge 70+ bed facility on Lockland Avenue, a small, residential neighborhood near Sucker pond that already has more traffic problems than it can handle. As usual, the Dover Amendment was used to force this facility through with little or no input from neighbors, the Planning Board, or the Zoning Board.
More information coming soon -- in the meantime, please visit the Sucker Pond Neighborhood Association web site.
Framingham, Massachusetts is becoming the center of non-profit services in Massachusetts. The South Middlesex Opportunity Council is the largest, with 81 properties, many of them tax exempt, with a total assessed value of $15,966,000 and a total of 451 units.
When a nonprofit agency purchases a property, it no longer pays taxes to the town, and we as taxpayers pick up the tab. As an example, if the sale of the Framingham Nursing Home at 517 Winter Street goes through, its property taxes of $23,265 (assessed value of $733,700.00 at a rate of 31.71 per thousand) will disappear from the town rolls -- and be replaced by higher taxes on other Framingham property owners!
(You can see this information at http://frambors.syslang.net/SMOC_properties.html or download it as an Excel spreadsheet at http://frambors.syslang.net/SMOC_properties.xls)
But this is only part of the issue. Facilities like these negatively affect property values. One study done by a real estate agent found that homes in a 5/8 mile radius of a facility like the SMOC shelter had lost 15% of their value, and the closer they were, the more value they had lost. If the 285 homes within 5/8 of a mile of 517 Winter Street average a 15% loss in property values, that would cost the town almost $2 million in lost revenue from property taxes!
For more information on this, see our page Effects of social service facilities on residential property values.
Framingham has far more than its share of nonprofit organizations offering services in the area. Consider, for example, the number of SMOC units in Framingham compared to other towns:
Town |
SMOC units |
Population |
Units per thousand |
Framingham |
451 |
66,910 |
6.73 |
Marlborough |
74 |
36,255 |
2.06 |
Natick |
24 |
32,170 |
0.75 |
Waltham |
11 |
59,226 |
0.19 |
Ashland |
18 |
14,674 |
1.29 |
Worcester |
16 |
172,648 |
0.09 |
Hudson |
28 |
18,113 |
1.56 |
As you can see, Framingham has far more units in relation to its population than comparable areas.
For more detailed information, see "Framingham Bears Undue Burden."
Social service agencies do more than simply meet a need: they attract people who need their services. The wet shelter in downtown Framingham has attracted a large number of new people needing its services, causing many problems. (See, for instance, "Hearing Stacked for SMOC")
What's more, concentrating many people with problems together does not help them re-integrate with society, it creates a feedback loop. Thus, problems are not solved, or even added to arithmatically, they grow exponentially. Unfortunately, Framingham seems to be caught in such a feedback loop -- problems are increasing while the tax base is shrinking.
The Dover Amendment is the common name for Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 40A, Section 3, which exempts religious and educational entities from many zoning restrictions. There are clear restrictions on use, e.g.
such land or structures may be subject to reasonable regulations concerning the bulk and height of structures and determining yard sizes, lot area, setbacks, open space, parking and building coverage requirements. Lands or structures used, or to be used by a public service corporation may be exempted in particular respects from the operation of a zoning ordinance or by-law if, upon petition of the corporation, the department of telecommunications and energy shall, after notice given pursuant to section eleven and public hearing in the town or city, determine the exemptions required and find that the present or proposed use of the land or structure is reasonably necessary for the convenience or welfare of the public;
Massachusetts courts consistently ruled in favor of nonprofits over municipalities, citing the overly vague wording in the Dover Amendment.
Read the Dover Amendment and our Dover Amendment FAQ.
Learn more about how to help change the Dover Amendment on our How to Help page.
CrimeFramingham has a growing problem with violent crime in the downtown area, and it is concentrated in a small area bounded by social service facilities such as the wet shelter and the methadone clinic.
For more, see our page Crime in Framingham.
Steve Orr posted a report from the Fire Department on resource consumption by SMOC: "You and I hardly ever have reason to call on the Fire or Police Department but it's really nice to know that they're there when we need them. And they're not cheap -- the average cost when you factor everything in for one call of the Fire Department is very likely in the $800+ region. An ambulance alone is about $500 these days. Maybe, just maybe, we need to see about getting reimbursed for excessive use of our Public Safety services.
"Here's a report on the number of calls made by our Fire Department for SMOC owned properties broken down by month starting with Jan '04. (Please note that this report only accounts for SMOC and does not take into account other Human Social Service providers usage.)"
Year Month Count
----------------------
2004 01 30
2004 02 32
2004 03 24
2004 04 25
2004 05 35
2004 06 19
2004 07 31
2004 08 30
2004 09 60
2004 10 26
2004 11 21
2004 12 24
2005 01 23
2005 02 42
2005 03 31
2005 04 26
2005 05 35
---------------------
514 Total Count
Despite Steve's caveats, it is clear that agencies like SMOC and Wayside use town resources at a far greater rate than most taxpaying entities (for instance, after , yet they pay less to the town than citizens who rarely use them.
Harold Wolfe of the Framingham Taxpayers' Association has posted an analysis showing cumulative cost of educating just 25 children SMOC will bring to Framiongham to live in the Sage House if it is moved to 517 Winter Street: over $6 million over twenty years. How many non-Framingham schoolchildren are living in tax-exempt properties being educating at others' expense?
Have a comment, correction, or suggestion? Write to the webmaster!