Framingham officials rejected last night a controversial newhealth center for low-income patients, prompting advocates to allegethat the town has turned against its poor and immigrant residents.
'I would call it xenophobia,' said Zoila Feldman, president andchief executive of the Great Brook Valley Health Center, whichproposed the clinic.
While one Town Meeting member said he opposed it only because hewas tired of Framingham residents subsidizing social services,Feldman said the clinic was a casualty of the 'antiforeigner, anti-poor climate' that has arisen recently in Framingham, which is thehome of a large Brazilian immigrant population. Feldman said shewould appeal.
The Planning Board's rejection of the proposed $10 million, 24,000-square-foot clinic in downtown Framingham is unusual, said SelectmanJohn Stasik, a former Planning Board member.
Usually when a local planning board has concerns about a project,it will still be approved, but with conditions that reflect theboard's concerns.
'I've been doing this 25 years; this is unprecedented,' said PaulGalvani, attorney for the clinic, which is funded through federalgrants and private donors and charges patients on a sliding-scale feesystem based on their ability to pay. He said the decision will beappealed to either the state Land Court or Middlesex Superior Court.
Much of the planning board's discussion of the project focused onconcerns about traffic and parking. But clinic advocates largelyrejected such concerns as a red herring.
'They want a town that's lily white,' said the Rev. Joseph Pranzo,pastor of St. Tarcisius Catholic Church, who added that most clientswalk to the clinic.
He was one of about 75 people affiliated with a local church whoattended the meeting. Organized by Metropolitan InterfaithCongregations Acting for Hope, they held signs reading 'Yes forHealth Care Center,' in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
They far outnumbered the opponents of the clinic. Town Meetingmember Robert Bolles said he opposed it because it representedanother untaxed entity in town.
'I'm fed up,' he said. 'We don't need one more tax-free buildingin this town.'
His is a common refrain in Framingham, where a committee has beenformed to study the impact of social services. Some residents arearguing that Framingham provides much more than its fair share, whilesurrounding towns do little to serve the needy.
But the clinic and other social service providers argue that theservices are in Framingham because that's where the people who needthem live.
The clinic was proposed to replace the existing 2,300-square-footFramingham Community Health Center, which is also in downtown andcan't keep up with the demand, according to officials there.
The clinic has served about 3,800 people since it opened two yearsago, according to Pamela Helmold, executive director of the clinic.She estimates that 70 percent of the patients live in Framingham.
Marcos Contreras, a Framingham resident who uses the clinicbecause his carpentry job does not provide insurance, said the new,larger clinic is urgently needed by people who contribute to thecommunity.
'We are the people who work in Framingham,' he said. 'We are thehousekeepers, the landscapers. We have to have it.'
After the vote, he said: 'We'll be back. We are organized.'
Lisa Kocian can be reached at lkocian@globe.com.
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