On a 4-1 vote, the City Council committee rejected a proposed Business D zoning code that would have allowed Northland Investment Corp. to build a 350-unit mixed-use development at 1 Moody St.
"I have never in 18 years on the council, seen more opposition to a proposal," Councilor Robert G. Logan said. Indeed, before the meeting began, protesters lined the front of City Hall bearing signs that read "Save Our Common, Say NO to Northland."
Logan, who described hearing complaints from constituents at church, in the middle of Boy Scout meetings, and just walking down the street, said there is no reason to create the special zoning for that parcel.
A memo from Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy said she too had received several concerns. If Northland's proposal were passed, she wrote, "the beautiful sunset and steeple of the Trinity Church will never be seen again from City Hall."
The property, which stretches an entire block at Moody, Main and Charles streets, is now covered by Business C zoning that allows a maximum of 270 units on a 4.5-acre property, and limits building height to 65 feet and 5 stories. Northland's proposal called for buildings reaching a maximum of 90 feet and ranging from 6 to 7 stories.
In addition to height and density increases, the proposed zoning change would have allowed fast food restaurants by special permit of the council, a concept most committee members opposed.
"The uniqueness of that Moody Street restaurant row is in part due to the fact that we have kept those kinds of chains and fast food restaurants out of downtown," Logan said.
Late last night, Northland spokesman Doug Rubin said the firm is "disappointed" with the vote. He said the company had been prepared to talk about reducing the building heights and reworking the language about fast food restaurants to make the project more palatable.
Just two weeks ago the Board of Survey and Planning voted against Northland's zone change, saying Northland's development plans would "overwhelm the area."
Trinity Church on Main Street is next door. Although churchgoers spoke up in the past saying they worried shadows from the buildings might block sunlight from stained-glass windows, the church's pastor has come out in support Northland.
Writing to the council, the Rev. J. Howard Cepelak said the principally residential project might spur growth in his congregation as well as bring economic development to downtown.
Ward 5 Councilor Gary J. Marchese, who represents that portion of downtown, urged his colleagues to consider modifying the zone change proposal instead of voting it down entirely.
Marchese said while Northland's specific proposal may be too much, 90 percent of the people he talks to want to see some kind of change. Currently the site, where the Sovereign Bank building looms now, has no residential units and shuts down after standard business hours.
"What we have on that block now is not working," he said. "I would like to see something positive go there, and I would like to see some part of what has been proposed."
Marchese suggested lowering the building height increase to 75 feet and 6 stories. He cautioned the committee to not entirely dismiss a developer coming to Waltham with plans to revitalize the downtown.
In the end, Chairman Edmund P. Tarallo said the committee was not there to discuss the merits of one particular development but rather to vote on a business zone change that might affect future downtown development proposals if passed.
"This City Council - when the Business C zone was created - spent an extremely long time working to create a zoning district that would allow development downtown that was positive. I think we succeeded in that and I think this would be a step backward," Tarallo said, adding that individual amendments to the existing zoning might be considered for the right project. "Developers need to work within the current laws."
In an e-mail sent to the News Tribune after the meeting, Rubin said the company is willing to work with city officials to provide a "signature downtown development that would be a catalyst for revitalizing Main Street."
On the vote, Tarallo, Logan, Sarafina "Sally" Collura and George Darcy III voted against the rezoning. Marchese voted for.
Nicole Haley can be reached at 781-398-8004 or nhaley@cnc.com.
