UPDATE (3 p.m., Tuesday)

Medford's Zoning Board of Appeals filed a decision in support of the proposed development Tuesday morning, immediately after holding a public hearing on a resident's complaint that the board violated the state's Open Meeting Law during its May 31 meeting.

Read the ZBA's full decision here.

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Medford residents and elected officials have expressed vehement opposition to a proposed 490-unit, three-building apartment complex at the former Shaw’s supermarket site across from Meadow Glen Mall, arguing the development is too big and an attempt to squeeze every last dollar out of the area.

Over the past month, residents have spoken up against the proposal at meetings of the city’s Community Development Board (CDB), Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and City Council.

“They designed it so that they could maximize the lot to put the most units in to get the most money out of this,” resident Jeanne Martin said during the council’s June 7 meeting. “It’s clear.”

According to plans submitted to the city, property owner Equity One, Inc., plans to demolish the 60,000-square-foot building at 61 Locust St., formerly Shaw’s, as well as the 5,000-square-foot Eastern Bank building on the same lot.

After clearing the buildings, Equity One proposes to construct three new buildings totaling 562,508 square feet to house 490 apartment units, 10 percent of which would be designated as affordable. About 50 percent of units would be 2-bedroom, 35 percent 1-bedroom, 10 percent studio and 5 percent 3-bedroom, according to the developer’s plans.

The complex would also feature two corners of service-oriented retail space totaling 7,000 square feet, along with 12,000 square feet of amenity space for residents.

The project would include mostly underground parking for 781 vehicles, along with indoor storage for 300 bicycles.

According to a traffic assessment commissioned for the proposal, Equity One says the project would not have a significant impact on traffic in the area.

“We believe that the strength of the Boston economy, the strength of the Medford market and certainly the repositioning of Meadow Glen Mall is the perfect opportunity now to redevelop this site,” said Bill Brown, executive vice president for Equity One, during the ZBA’s May 31 public hearing on the project.

City councilors, meanwhile, disagree, with members united in opposition to the project.

“This is nothing more than just pure greed,” said Councilor Michael Marks during the council’s June 7 meeting. “The size of the project is purely based on how they can cram the most units in and get the biggest bang for their buck.”

Councilors also said they were disappointed that they hadn’t been briefed about the project.

“Other companies have had the courtesy to come before this board and show us their plans of what they’re going to do, and I wish this company had done the same,” Councilor Rick Caraviello said.

The project, however, does not require council approval, and Equity One has gained approval from all involved city departments.

Additionally, the CDB approved the project last month, and the ZBA is thought to have granted Equity One the required variances to build the apartment complex at the site, which is zoned for industrial use under Medford’s Zoning Ordinance.

As of Monday, however, the ZBA had not published its ruling on the developer’s request for variances.

The board was also scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday morning to address a resident’s complaint that it violated the state’s open meeting law during the May 31 hearing by closing the meeting room door on residents and continuing to deliberate with developers.

“We were there very late,” said resident Jean Nuzzo, who did not file the complaint but attended the hearing. “They had the floor for the majority of the meeting. And when the residents got up to speak — by about 10:30 [p.m.] — they kind of cut off folks because it was getting late.”

In addition to the CDB and various city departments, the project has received the endorsement of Mayor Stephanie M. Burke, who said she envisioned the neighborhood developing into something similar to Station Landing.

“I think it is a fabulous opportunity to create a neighborhood in that part of the city,” Burke told the Transcript last month, adding the proposal’s ground-floor retail space would benefit the area. “Those are all benefits of adding a streetscape to that neighborhood. I almost anticipate that it could like a little like Station Landing on that site.”

In addition to landscaping and traffic signal improvements, Equity One has agreed to facilitate a bus shuttle from the site to Wellington Station to encourage the use of public transit.

The company also plans to improve pedestrian and bike connections to Freedom Way and the Mystic River Reservation.

“It’s the start of something there,” Burke said last month. “We’re excited.”

But the majority of — if not all — residents who attended recent meetings on the proposal did not share Burke’s enthusiasm for the project, including Nuzzo, who attended the May 31 ZBA and June 7 council meetings.

“In both instances, residents expressed the desire to reject this application and that it wasn’t good for the city,” she said. “And in both instances, everybody was looking to come to a compromise asking them to make it smaller, to design it more to the intent of what Medford architecture looks like. And they were a bit belligerent. They were very sure they were going to get their variance, and they didn’t really care to listen to what Medford residents had to say.”

Speaking at the June 7 council meeting, resident Joyce Paul said: “We are not ready to go forward with this project.”

After hearing from residents, Council Vice President Breanna Lungo-Koehn asked the ZBA to delay a decision on variances requested by the developer.

“In the meantime, I’m asking that the Zoning Board of Appeals allow the council to catch up, let the residents be heard and hold off on that decision,” she said. “We need more attention to this issue. We need more publicity around this issue. And we need more time for the residents to be able to voice their concerns.”

The ZBA is expected to publish its ruling on Equity One’s request for variances this week.