A Nonantum neighborhood group wants $1.2 million in community benefits written into the permit for a 234-unit apartment complex at 38 Crafts Street.

The Nonantum Neighborhood Association is asking the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to lock in the money before approving the project, not after. Terry Gentile Sauro submitted the request in a letter to the ZBA on Monday, Aug. 31, spelling out seven line items the neighborhood says should flow directly to Nonantum rather than through City Hall.

The largest asks: $250,000 for Horace Mann Elementary School, $250,000 for Nonantum Village economic development and $225,000 for a traffic and parking reserve covering Lincoln Road, Clinton Road, Ashmont Street, Court Street and Adams Street. The letter also requests $200,000 for community center programming, $150,000 for Pellegrini Park upgrades, $75,000 for Veterans Park improvements and $50,000 for Sterns Park work.

The school money would pay for $100,000 in classroom technology for students with disabilities, $50,000 in library books and $100,000 in classroom furniture. The letter said those priorities came from input from the superintendent and the Ward 1 School Committee member, though it did not name either official.

At Pellegrini Park, the association asked for a memorial bench honoring Loretta Pellegrini, described as a longtime city employee and park caretaker who died following an accident at the park.

The association's core argument is timing.

Sauro wrote that it "would be a mistake to approve the project and leave the ultimate allocation of these funds to a later process controlled by City Hall after the project has already received its approval." The funds, the letter argued, should be directed toward the neighborhood bearing the development's direct impacts.

The letter noted that the developer, WP East Acquisitions, and the neighborhood "have been working together in good faith" and that the developer initiated meetings on how community impact funds could be used. It also noted that a neighboring project at 78 Crafts Street, already permitted and under construction, is handling much of the immediate traffic mitigation in the area.

The ZBA is scheduled to continue its public hearing on the 38 Crafts Street comprehensive permit on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Residents can also dial in at 1-305-224-1968 with meeting ID 896-8099-8515. According to the ZBA agenda, ZBA Chair Michael Rossi, Vice Chair Brooke Lipsitt and members Jennifer Pucci, Stuart Snyder, Elizabeth Sweet and alternate Charles Eisenberg are listed to sit for the hearing.

The hearing has been ongoing since Jan. 28, with prior sessions in February, April, May and July. No response from the developer or the city to the association's letter was available as of Sept. 2.

The 38 Crafts Street project spans 2.7 acres across eight parcels. It includes 59 affordable units out of 234 total.