(This story is by Rob Wolfe, of the Valley News, in which it first appeared July 13, 2016.)
[B]radford — Developers of a proposed 48-bed assisted living facility are moving forward after a victory over opposing neighbors last month in Vermont Environmental Court.
Abutters to the Margaret Pratt Assisted Living Facility, as it will be known, are concerned that the project is out of character with their neighborhood, citing its size, aesthetic qualities and potential effect on traffic. But a June 21 court decision rejected their arguments, leaving the developers, Enhanced Living Inc. of Bradford, free to proceed.
Eileen Bolander, president of Enhanced Living, said Tuesday that she hadn’t heard from the court or from neighbors about another possible appeal.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’re continuing to make our plans and move forward,” she said.
The residents listed as parties to the case could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Bolander plans to break ground on the 35,000-square-foot facility in the fall, but to do so, her company will need to raise “a considerable amount,” she said.
“The building is a multimillion-dollar building, so we are looking to raise multimillions of dollars,” she said.
So far, Bolander is feeling optimistic about meeting the deadline. “We’ve had a great number of people expressing interest,” she said. “There are just not a lot of options in this area.”
When spouses or other family live far away from elderly people in assisted living facilities, she said, they visit less often, or possibly not at all in the winter.
“So for our community here and our local area, this is just a wonderful situation for them,” she said.
But abutters to the proposed facility, who occupy 26 nearby homes, disagree. They say the development, which stands near the access road to their subdivision, will clog traffic, generate light and noise, and, as they say in court documents, have a “shocking and offensive” effect on the character of the neighborhood.
The neighbors more than a year ago filed suit and appealed several permits issued under Act 250, the Vermont law governing development projects. Last month, these legal efforts were addressed and denied together in the Environmental Court decision.
“While the building is large, we do not consider it to be ‘shocking or offensive’ because of its size alone, and other design elements make the project aesthetically appealing,” Judge Thomas Durkin wrote in the June decision.
Opponents can appeal the decision, which took place at the Superior Court level, to the Vermont Supreme Court, but it is unclear whether they will do so.
Regardless, Bolander, who made concessions regarding light, noise and placement of the building as a result of the dispute, promised that her facility would not disturb those living next door.
“This is not going to be overbearing or a hardship to the neighborhood,” she said. “We are going to be very good and very considerate neighbors.”