":Save Sandwich Road now" w/Stephanie

boy do I have a crew assembled for you here today good morning everyone uh so before before I jump into all of the things that you're doing funnily I it whether it means something or not I've got to thank our sponsors which is Habitat for Humanity putting people in homes for the last 35 years so I think it's a perfect conversation that we're going to be having here in front of you today I really want you to jump in with questions concerns if you've got something negative I mean bring it up but you can be kind about the way that you bring it up and if you've got real questions we really want to know because this is just a community Forum uh and while I am located in Mash P I am a rock throw away from Falmouth my husband's a lifelong Falmouth resident and we are very concerned about this particular project and what we're about to discuss today so in front of me I have got and uh joined on Zoom here we've got Joe Martino I've got Tom zign here and Tom and I were talking and uh he throwing emails back and forth and I was just questioning you've seen save sandwich now I'm sure you've seen all of their things all over our town pages and maybe you've not really had the time or really paid attention to it because it seemed like noise I think it's important to listen to the noise of your community if people are talking about something you should be paying attention to it so I really just wanted to focus on what our community had to say about this project I'm not well-versed in it I've read a little bit about it so Tom I'm going to give you the floor to really open it up and really discuss what is happening in fouth hi Stephanie thank you again I'm Tommy zign and thank you for this opportunity I'll start with the introduction and give you a little background information Saxon Partners is a billion dollar company located in hangam Mass like most big developers they're using the loophole provided by the state's 40b affordable housing law to build massive buildings with little or no controls bylaws were created to protect their citizens but the state's loophole is allowing Saxon Partners to get approval by Mass housing in override felman's decision the town of Falmouth rejected this project for good reason it does not fit falmouth's housing plan Falmouth is doing just fine building affordable housing the right way for home ownership helping families we boast that we are at 8.1% affordable housing one of the highest on the cape given the choice We Believe most people prefer home ownership over renting our group safe sandwich road now supports affordable housing we don't support the five four-story apartment buildings that are proposed to be built in the middle of multiple rural neighborhoods miles from amenities and transportation where this helps nobody this comes down to greet sax and partners admitted they are a far profit company and we'll sell this project off to an investment company when it's completed this has been their history they don't stick around because they won't make as much money fouth has a plan for these 30 Acres we want to maintain the wildlife carrier in the middle while building affordable homes for families on the perimeter we've always believed in helping people and we want to continue with home ownership our group safe sandwich road now has been in the local newspaper local TV station and now on your show Stephanie our group is organized we have board members and over 300 followers and we're still growing we're the little guy fighting a billion dollar company this project by sax and partners will destroy the environment wildlife habitats water quality create safety issues nitrogen issues ruin the K Kunes River restoration project and Destroy families Forever This is a downtown venue being dropped in the middle of the woods aordable housing was never meant for this scenario and Mass Housing and Saxon Partners know this we recently expressed all these concerns to our local Senator and she responded back immediately Senator Su maran's office advised our group they are drafting a letter to Saxon Partners stating they are suspending their support for the project until the concerns are adequately addressed we applaud senator suar for making the right decision as a community we are grateful thanks Tom I'm well said as far as I'm concerned Tanya I I you've got more to add to this than that yes U again thank you for this opportunity um Tanya lowski I'm a wildlife biologist I've worked um Graduate Studies and degrees working with wetlands and um local areas as well as um working municipalities and also um with the federal government so I'm well well versed in in some of my concerns um uh but the things that I wanted to really kind of of bring up um were the same concerns that I had um back in 2016 when original process you know original building was looked at and those concerns um for 25 units are still there um for 300 well you know math is not that's czy yeah right I appreciate that yes good morning Lenor and also Helen thank you for joining us we've got save sandwich now project in front of you uh this organization and and Tanya is speaking um to the environmental concerns that you have yes and I guess um that uh piece of property really does offer a unique Wildlife Corridor um a good carbon sink area it works in conjunction with the keset restoration work that's been done um very concerned we we have all experienced um Watershed issues water restrictions I don't know how that is going to be lessened with an additional thousand to up to 3,000 um different new residents in that small area we're looking at a population density um greater than most cities for that space so that's a concern um the Massachusetts DP did recognize that space um right where the um building is occurring in April this year as um a Nitro an area of of extreme concern and will actually undergo which might be some of the push for the Hasty uh reaction um this is a identified as a natural resource area um and a nitri an area of concern um mapping wise all of these these Waters and loads will end up in great and green pond and all of the Southern Waters that are adjacent to that area so those are you know that's going to create more of a ufic problems with alal blooms affecting our shellfish Industries um natural resources dead zones off of our southern coast um effect tourism it just it's an ongoing problem we've been working very hard as a town um and a community to to lessen um our nitrification issues and this just is adding to that um you know and and I I believe climate change is real yeah as a scientist I must um but um you know losing these tracks are really going to be impacting um The Watershed it's going to be impacting Well it can't not the sheer size of this I cannot impress upon how it it's almost likening to a city it's the size of servicing something in brain tree it's it's huge and I don't understand how they think it's not going to have an environmental impact on the area regardless of how you say you're going to fix the the area around it and I'm really just I'm having questions here and if you've got the other side of this I do understand that everybody's got their opinion but I just don't see how something that size does not have a footprint right right and then and you know not to mention too we we our Open Spaces are dwindling um and then with the more structured we need more infrastructure so it's just kind of you know that that um hamsters running around that wheel and we're never going to catch up uh we have to kind of look at what we've already done fix it and then um and support what we have there are animals of concern that are there U do you want to stop a you know a building project because of the nitrification it could be also you know habitat for box turtles lady slippers there's vegetation there's be populations I'm a beekeeper there too so I've seen which we've already got a problem us exactly you know and it just it just confounds you know um the problem there are there are definitely there's interest with people working with open space and putting affordable housing in there there's not a problem in putting um something like that but using that as the wedge in order to attain a for-profit type of business um I mean why would you you know you're not I understand nobody works for free get noan I don't either so absolutely very fair um but then put 25 affordable housing units in there and don't put the other 275 I'm being a little factious of right for sure because people do have to you have to have some some sort of income um stream in order to to be able to build these things but that's that's the type of impact that I'm very concerned about is yeah our watersheds the wildlife and um and we had a concern and the town put these concerns up for 25 units I just don't understand how you know the rest of this can be done just even just the traffic I mean look at Public Safety I worked in public safety for years as well um and I don't see this is going to be very very heavy um heavy draw there you can't do a traffic study in December in Sandwich Ro you know exactly you and you all of these other impacts need to be seasonal you know need to do things change that's the way the you know um impacts are seasonality is a big part of that that area specifically for animal you're going to look at migratory birds that that live there you're not going to find them in December correct of course not yeah it's kind of Common Sense Joe maybe you can take the floor a little bit and uh talk to us about what's what you see your your walk well to uh thank you very much for having us on this show it's it's very important for us to get the word out and to have people understand what's going on I'm Joe Martino um I've been in F with basically all my life I've lived in this area probably since um I have my background was in affordable housing um I was the FM withth Housing Trust president for many years and so I've been involved in affordable housing uh for many many years I know how it works I know what goes on um I've also many many years ago was on the zba uh as one of its members so my knowledge of this goes far further than just trying to save this land but we have to save it but with sense affordable housing is needed muchly muchly needed and by having a project that fits into the communities including affordable housing in it is a must there's a lot of ways around this that people haven't even talked about but these Avenues take a little bit of time and they take investment from the state level to fund part of the project that's how it becomes affordable to the contractor that's doing the work it's subsidized between local and state levels to keep keep the cost down as the president fouth Housing Trust I was involved in in a total of two or three projects that we did um and when the fouth Housing Trust builds a project each home stays affordable in perpetuity it does not go away it keeps the costs within the means of our local people that's key now talking about this project and its massive size the putting a project of this size in an area in a residential area that we have so close to the keset river which if Falmouth hasn't learned anything when we put our sewage treatment plant on the top highest point of phou saying that as the water seeped into the ground it was going to go away from West fouth Harbor was a fallacy years many years later they found that the water going into the ground does move to the West f with Haba area being the closest body of water caused major change in what they did and how they had to handle it so putting a project this size with using a basic uh sewage treatment s uh systems that we presently have with denitrification is not going to solve the problem by it not going to the keset river I mean they just spent what $5 million in the restoration project of the bogs for the coressa river and what are we going to do in five years find out that we're destroying that whole project and then who's going to pay for that there's no check and balances to this project that after it it is completed if it even gets to that point who is going to maintain the problems that going to come after is that going to go on the backs of the Town taxpayers yeah yes that's where it's going to go another factor is a project of this size being put on a residential Road like sandwich road with no sidewalks and within three to 400 yards away you have an intersection that's not designed to create to handle this magnet ude of vehicles that's going to be added to it yeah that intersection is already a problem as it is even with lowf flow traffic on the offseason it's a problem if you go out onto to the onto sandwich Road and you're doing the rush hour traffic morning or afternoon it's backed up basically a quarter mile and that's going from brickhill road to sandwich Road Sandwich road to um the intersection it it's it it's a major blog now talking to the town uh DPW and Wastewater and things of that nature basically they say what's going to happen is if this project was to go through as planned we are going to have a major major expense in upgrading this area to hand something like this all I can think of is like Falmouth Road Race all the time like really it's really what it would be like in that area think about that per perfect example exactly the um infrastructure factor for this project is being kind of wishy-washy it's oh yeah no problem we're going to handle it we're going to do this and we're going to do that that's not an answer yeah what's it going to cost how are you going to handle itone my major problem most people are they're not being very upfront with the plan it's like oh we'll just get this and then we'll find a plan or oh of course we're going to do it the right way but you're not you're not hearing how that is exactly it like we're we're prepared to do it the right way well are are you that's scary it is it is and you know to put a project like this in an residential area is just ludicrous affordable housing is needed affordable housing could go in there I have talked to people from the 300 committee I have talked to the people from f with Housing Trust they're willing to jump on the bandwagon to create a nice development that fits the area and at least a development that's going to stay affordable forever the fact one factor here that I have not been able to get an answer about and I am still trying to is 40b works like this it gives them afford you have to have one quarter of the units have to be affordable in this case out of 300 would be 75 units those 75 units that are affordable now go into a situation that I'm not sure where they stay affordable for over 30 years I think it has to be something that will be asked of the zba to make sure if a project like this goes through the affordable stay affordable because in year in in the old days it used to be after 30 years the affordability went away okay so now you have a rental pro project that's supposed to be affordable and then at the end of 30 years it's no longer affordable they just fell through a loophole and somebody's going to make a lot more money and we're going to be holding the uh the bag for all the infrastructure problems that's going to come from this yeah and no one's saying that we uh don't need affordable housing it is a massive problem um but I don't feel like the number they can call it all affordable is what they're what they're saying because of this loophole or something yes but it's not yeah I can I can jump in yeah please do Linda so as far as the affordability goes so 75% that microphone closer to your face so I can hear you better so 75 is that better yes okay so 75% of this um affordable housing is non 40b right and so for a one-bedroom apartment it's going to be $2,400 a month for a three-bedroom I mean for a two-bedroom it's $3,300 and for a three-bedroom it's $4,200 a month that's that's what they're considering affordable oh okay that sounds very affordable those are those those are the numbers and then just to piggyback a little bit on Joe was saying about the whole infrastructure in falmouth's local comprehensive plan it states and I took this right off of their plan okay so this is quoted development locations be determined by walkability available infrastructure schools and services so it doesn't there's no walkability no and Saxon U Partners they they don't even plan on putting a bike lane or sidewalks they're just going imagine children walking on that road I no no yeah so and then um and then just to piggyback a little bit more on on the whole clinet project um the director of acquisition for Saxon Partners Dave Calhoun he has made a statement that there's no there's no Wildlife um in that area oh and so I'm I go down to the ceset river area three days a week um to you know go for a walk and this is what I've I've seen there I've seen deer bald eagle coyotes red fox Blue Heron Ducks Canadian geese Turtles a variety of birds um there are fish in the river Herring American eel brook trout and white perch and these are things we've seen with our own eyeballs so this is not just somebody doing a study in the winter saying no animals here week I'm there and I've seen except for maybe all the fish I have seen everything else with my yeah my little blue eyes if I may just quickly just GNA yeah at that I've lived next 50 feet from the project for 25 years uh I have agricultural land I have a barn and so forth so I'm out there always looking at the wildlife I've seen a myriad of raptors that live in that space because it is a forested like Coopers Hawks and red shoulders um I've seen snowy owls back there uh of course we have the coyotes and and deer population different rabbits two different species box turtles um just just flourish in that space uh so we're looking and there's also plants that people don't think about we've got lady slippers we've got a lot of plants of of concern that are listed by the state of Massachusetts and no one's acknowledging them you know either as also needing a space right I need to interrupt you there but I no no no no that's no it's all good yeah the more the merrier and if you've got something say and you're watching right now I know a lot of people are not exactly friendly on social with the not in my backyards this is what I hear constantly not in my backyard so maybe someone wants to speak to to that argument if it is one or if it's just a statement by people who think that we just don't want to look at it because it is going to be an iore regardless but besides that but the people that are saying that don't even live in the area right they they are not they're not remotely close yeah so it's easy to say that and point your finger at somebody who is dealing with this right you know in you right in their backyard yeah exactly and so if I'm a nimi I'm a nimi but I mean but it just doesn't fit if it was like just because I didn't want to look at it it'd be one thing but not all of it is going to be a problem all of it is going to have to be addressed and the people holding the bag for that are going to be the taxpayers and that's really what the problem is and that's that's that's like in the foreseeable future which is to put your hands on right now right you have to consider it and once you go that direction I mean you've got you there is no going back and you're going to have other pollutions people aren't even talking about what about noise pollution all the HVAC systems that need to be on those buildings what about the light pollution for all of the all the road structures and and you know again you're looking at Public Safety but that's going to affect everybody's home we we live through the situation we'll call it with the windmills here in town you know and and we don't want to go through that again you know really do a study that makes sense and look at all the impacts and um you know try to try to do something that's sustainable I mean that's that's our biggest concern right and plus the whole nitrogen issue is a it's already a problem and according to uh Dave Calhoun the director of acquisition for sex and partners he said that's gonna it's take 10 years for for you know it to be affected so that's that's okay you know you know 10 years yeah things we'll deal with that in 10 years when we're not a part of this project anymore and this is yeah and this is somebody who lives out of town who you know doesn't you know appreciate this area so what does this person or that company care about you know our town of Falmouth well that's exactly it it's billion dollar companies that are not from here that are you know make profiting off of this saying that they're doing good and they're not and I I dislike that a lot for our community all the recreational fishermen and and and Commercial fishermen too the shellfish industry all we've been working very hard because we've had issues with green pond and great ponds as well and I've worked in the W Bay Area even on some projects for many many years and and try to find some yel grass you know good luck in some of those areas I mean I'm just being you know there is a big change with these these um nitrogen loads and we're just adding more and more and saying 10 years from now okay then then the heck with your children and and well that's the scary part yeah good morning T thanks for joining us we're talking to save sandwich road now and it is a major concern they're trying to um build a affordable housing 40b but it's not affordable if you just heard Linda speak uh what the affordability Factor is400 3,400 $4,400 that's affordable for families I I beg to differ if that's the affordable thing at this point in time what's the not affordable housing in there going to cost yeah right if that's the affordable portion who is going to be moving in there but wouldn't it doesn't even fit the the whole environment there but why don't we have like H Like Houses I mean when you have a partment these giant apartment complexes that brings in a different um a different neighborhood a different feeling home ownership is is different than staying you know for for a lowincome uh What uh apartment I mean I'd rather have people buy into these homes and and have these homes and have them as my neighbors and and work as part of our community I don't understand why um why that can't be done to support nah Wallace is asking could the town purchase this property so they could protect the area as they see fits I think Joe should answer Joe can you speak to that a little bit uh well the the there was a um the 300 committee is probably the only group in felet that actually has uh hands where they could purchase property and the 300 Committee in accordance with uh uh with joint with found with Housing Trust we trying to purchase this property and unfortunately um Saxon Partners uh gave the owners owners a a better deal that's how Saxon got it over the 300 committee and the f with Housing Trust that's how it has to be purchased town of Falmouth would purchase land because it needs it for a purpose it has to be for municipal purposes when found when the town purchases land but the 300 committee can purchase it for open space okay so 300 committee was joining forces with the F with housing trust and trying to buy the property and their deal could could be rectified it could be come back to fruition if we can get sax and partners to back out okay that deal is not gone so all right so this is what we're here talking about there's going to be a big meeting coming up November 30th it's at 6: PM it's with the zba and people need to come out and have a conversation um the more the merrier yes absolutely and we're asking people to to write letters um how how you're going to be affected questions that you have concerns that you have um and and I know that you had said that you know instead of writing one 10-page letter maybe just break it up in little bits of concern here and there just so that every one of them can be addressed properly I know we tend to all drone on about when we get passionate about about things and it's maybe if we bite-size pieces of each issue it can be focused on piece by piece I think is the best way to go about doing that right exactly what is the what anything else that we've not really talked about here this morning because I think it's just I really want to impress upon people that you need to just say oh my neighbor will take care of that or this one will go I think we all physically need the problem and that's the problem people don't they're they're not as active in the community like like you to be if you will you know yeah um just getting you know well we're busy everybody works works yes it's the concern but then then they're gonna still if if you don't I mean we're we're so fortunate to be in uh a community in a country that we have a voice um and I think we should use it and we should say our concerns and and make logical decisions um that that fit for everybody um but just having a small percentile of people um doesn't really represent every body concerns and especially you know a for-profit company I you know I was going to make a billion dollars I would probably you know have a different perspective as to to sitting you know my garden yeah but I mean making a billion dollars at the cost of an entire town worth of people is just not and it's not just the entire town it's the town of Falmouth which is like think about all of the times that you've spent in people that are watching this right now that are not maybe you've got seasonal homes here maybe you've got you know a special place in your heart maybe you've run the Falmouth Road Race and you're like wow it's just so beautiful it can't continue to be beautiful right if we're polluting it right and filling it up with just yes people do need to live but do we have four stories of anything in Falmouth the hospital the hospital that's it that's ital the hospital think about that that's wild to me only yeah four story building in Falmouth a four-story building in FM is just ludicrous it take totally out of character for our town you know two stories now people have to realize drive down Main Street and there's a a brand new project going on it's that's three stories and that look crazy add another story to that I'm like you can't even see around the corner with that thing if that's for what Assisted Living that's GNA be within a 100 feet or less Senior Living yeah 100 feet or less senior Senior Living yes that's a senior liver project yeah that all of a sudden popped up and I'm like what the I can't yeah that's crazy so can I go back I just want to talk real quick about uh just the infrastructure and then density issues yeah because that's what we're talking about the bigness of it so just on school mornings there'll be an additional 300 to 600 cars creating safety concerns there are 265 homes in the area of these four-story apartment buildings that will double or even triple traffic on sandwich road that doesn't even include summer traffic and um density issues I think this is really important here are some important statistics that will um if there are 2.5 people per unit the density of people at Saxon Partners proposed housing site would be 50 people per acre that's 50 people per acre now compare that to a density of 1.15 people per acre in fouth 21 people per acre in Boston and 42 people per acre in New York City this is crazy yeah yeah and that is that is just those numbers should I mean you don't need to be a statistician or or you know a PhD in hydrology or any of this just to see that this just doesn't it doesn't make sense no it doesn't make sense at all um I just like to say also that um last night I was reading through a lot of um uh conversation that was going on on fabulous Falmouth yeah and uh and and just to answer some of the qu statements that were made uh one particular statement was about rental you need rentals and not and people will start at a rental level and then go into hope hopefully home ownership that's the hope that's the goal right yeah yeah absolutely and the problem we've seen and this is not just Falmouth this is everywhere ever since when they came out with the vrbos or or your homeways and your um all these rentals it took a lot of homes off the market as rentals and it does stink but I mean people need to make money off of their Investments which is you know their biggest investment their home so you get it but at the same time it's a problem right and that's why we do need rentals it does have to happen but again you got to be use common sense about it build them in areas or to the degree that fits a neighborhood you can't be building a four-story home a building like this that's just absolutely massive and it's totally out of character it doesn't fit but now if it was a a nice twostory apartment house like uh they did off of um uh what am I thinking over by wer Court um those are two stories those are rentals that works and they were looking at cluster cluster building um that's an actual approach for umre maximizing open space okay so and I I could see that working in that space and that had been proposed back in 2016 as one of the options or opportunities for that space that um put the density of the of the people was easier to you know you didn't have 25 homes with one acre or two acres each so you didn't have the septic issue because you could have a more of a controlled stream yeah maybe a a primary type of treatment um when you have clustered housings you don't have the the large um pavement ISS so now you're going to get still natural Waters to be able to percolate so you have it's just a lot easier for Public Safety to control too when you have that I I don't even know if if I like I like that type of look you know those and and then that does offer offer opportunities for rentals and and for home ownership too and not to be in a box you know Caroline says is the only value for this land in housing when will enough be enough and it'll never be enough I but that's the thing you're another thousand 3,000 people in there you're going to need the infrastructure so you're going to need more people to work and that can't afford you're going to need more teachers more firefighters police officers you're going to need all of those all those infrastructures schools all of these things have to happen so and now it's never going to be enough it's going to continue it's a it's sickling yeah just you can't not going to you have to you meaning we as as as residents have to decide when enough is enough do we want to turn it into downtown hyas you know yeah um or do you want to turn it into you know some of the areas that didn't work you know I I don't want to see that happen either um but you need it to be sustainable and and you know affordable too for obvious reasons agreed I want to talk about just quickly about light and sound uh pollution there'll be construction noise and other noise after it's built for years to come constant daily noise complaints will overwhelm the police department you're complaining about the regular things that are happening now for maintenance imagine this I know I agree yeah um light pollution during daylight hours four stories will cast huge Shadows at night the entire area will be lit up in our backyards from their parking lot lights the window lights and the car lights it will feel like and I've said it will feel like where uh we have Benway Park in the middle of our back yards uh and this will cause psychological effects for some people and there is no mitigation absolutely none that will solve this problem like Mass Housing and sax and partners suggest and looking at the wildlife too you're you're going to affect B populations which we need in order to eat some of the insects to stop some West miles all these type of things everything is is a circle you know you're gonna you're going to really impact a lot of the nocturnal um animals which we have many of you go out at night and you're going to see a lot more activity than the middle of the day yeah you know so those are the type of things that's going to be impacted I mean I don't I wouldn't feel comfortable still even owning the an you know my horse for instance I don't want to I don't want to have that type of traffic next it's it's it's dangerous yeah you know I bought agricultural land 25 years ago because I wanted agricultural land right not because I wanted to live in a parking lot right well that's exactly what Caroline's saying so the cape will become undesirable no one will come and then it'll be just that housing and that that's what it'll be she's right and so we'll I'll have to move to the Midwest where where like seriously that's too far for the salt for me right I need the ocean it just we'll just be here polluting it it's just awful I we really need to do something I think the conversation now is we need to come together as Citizens and have this conversation because they are a corporation they are about dollars they are going to have answers for every single one of your concerns whether they're real answers or not they will have answers and they will be armed with them because that's their goal is to get what they want and their their dollars so I think it's super important that you everyone comes with their concerns yeah they'll try to intimidate they can bully people through they'll get they'll they'll do it but if we start to you know really have that United that group that just bringing our community together and voicing those concerns I I think that that might be a little Awakening um you know for for that company well and I hope so I hope all of fouth can come together on this and have that conversation take get a babysitter ask a neighbor to help you stand up and be there on November 30th I think it's just really important that bring all the kids make them nice and Loud bring everybody because you need bodies in that room to address that those concerns absolutely so I I hope I hope there's a good turnout and I hope those letters are are being written and your concerns are being heard I know that uh um every letter that we'll that we receive will be forwarded um along as well and be supported so you know please get out get that pen out hit that keyboard whatever it takes yeah Jo anything else you want to say before uh Tom closes it out for us uh only again that I just do want people to understand that if a project like this goes through it's going to cost the town taxpayers millions of dollars in upgrades and infrastructure costs to make it safe for the community this is not going to end once it's finished it's going to create major major concern to everything that we have and it's going to set fouth back on a lot of projects they have set forth for the town to move forward with its infrastructure and its plan for the town it's going to change everything and people don't realize a project like this going through it's going to cost everybody else lots of money and problems all right Tom take us home I will finish up I want to remind everyone to keep writing letters of opposition and send them to Safe sandwich road now at gmail.com the zba meeting with sax and partners will be November 30th 6m at Lawrence Jor High School don't forget to donate on our website safe sandwich roadnow.com I want to point out on our website we posted the two the April 2023 select board meeting I encourage you to watch it started at 57 minutes and 30 seconds and watch Dave Calhoun the director of Acquisitions for Saxon Partners present his project to our select board watch the Pres the presentation to the end after you watch it ask yourself is this the character of a billion dooll company you want to entrust to protect the habitat water quality environment and our citizens best interests I'll let you decide for yourself Stephanie I'd like to share one more thing I have a letter this letter was sent to me yesterday by a sweet elderly woman living close to the project she said in quotes we are spinning out of control we have lost local authority to make our own decisions about housing needs since when did this happened that the state has the final say in the approval of this monstrous housing project our local departments and the zoning boards should have the final say in these matters not the state and she's right Stephanie it's reasonable to expect your town to protect its citizens and their best interests this sweet elderly woman also said this we have to act locally and Empower our local zoning boards to make critical decisions for felth Stephanie I am in complete agreement with this as well but how do we do that the state's Mass housing department has taken every town bylaw used to protect us away from our town officials we are left powerless because of the 40b affordable housing law this leaves important decisions in the hands of Outsiders like Mass Housing and for-profit developers like sax and partners who have no V Ed interest in our community in closing again we are grateful for Senator suarin and her office for suspending their support for the project we also called and emailed Governor Healey's office Governor Healey's voters will be negatively impacted by the Saxon Partners project because Mass housing is checking the boxes at light speed for every box they check there are four Bo boxes that are reason that any reasonable person would never check our group safe uh safe sandwich road now would like to sit down with Governor hey have a conversation and let her way in on this Governor huy if you're listening you've had a great start and your best days are still in front of you and fouth wants to be part of that uh your positive future and our positive future we will reach out again to your office and we implore you to sit down and talk with us Governor we can affect change and we can do this together together thank you thanks Tom thanks Tanya thanks Linda thanks Joe we really appreciate you we hope to see you November 30th bring everyone in your family if I will babysit for you I will drive you there I will pick you up what is it that you need to get your rear ends there November 30th Laurent School 6: PM write your letters and email them to save sandwich Ro road now gmail.com uh and and be a part of your town be a part of your community and if you think you're in another town watching this thinking that's not my town 40b affects everyone and if it's not this town it's going to be another one it is going to happen unless you speak up so you have to save our our Cape all right from everyone thank you so much thank you Stephanie and we'll see you later all right take care thank you