I’m behind on updating readers about several projects that developers have been seeking permits for. One that I’ve been meaning to dig into is the mixed-use building downtown at 2 East Main Street. The good news for me is that I’ve been given more time, since the hearing scheduled to resume on Monday should be continued to a future date.
While I’m sharing that new, I’ll also cover the similar status of a small housing development proposed at 26 Meadow Lane and 250 Turnpike Road (contractor’s yard).
As of yesterday, the board and applicants were still waiting on reports from the Town’s Peer Review engineering consultant for 2 East Main Street. Without those materials to discuss, Southborough’s Peter Bemis (owner of 2 East Main Street and Engineer for 26 Meadow Lane) confirmed to the Town Planner Karina Quinn that he would like to continue that hearing to a future date. He also asked to push the 26 Meadow Lane hearing. (I’m not clear on the status of the materials for the Meadow Lane and Turnpike Road hearings.)
Quinn also informed me that Ferris Development has asked to continue the hearing for site plan approval of the Contractor’s Yard building at 250 Turnpike Road. (That abuts the parcel for, but is unrelated to, the residential 40B project proposed at that address.)
The Planning Board is highly likely to agree to push those to their next meeting, scheduled for January 27th. (It’s possible that there will be a brief update on each by the Town Planner prior to the votes.)
I don’t have time to cover the downtown project in detail. But for those unfamiliar, I will give a quick description of two of the projects and the public’s interest in them.
2 East Main Street
The vacant lot at the downtown corner of East Main Street and Newton Street has been vacant for decades (ever since the former gas station was torn down in the early 2000s). Many members of the public have complained about the unsightliness of the unkempt site and expressed eagerness to see an attractive retail business be developed there. Bemis generated a lot of public interest when he finally brought a mixed-use project to the Planning Board in 2019. But there were also some neighborhood concerns over the building size, site lines, and water issues in the area.
The special permit for that project didn’t get the supermajority approval needed from the Planning Board. Now, a modified version is back, under the revised mixed-use zoning laws for the Downtown Business Village. The project details seem remarkably similar and there are still water drainage problems in that section of town. So, it’s no surprise that it has triggered similar publicly raised concerns. Yet for residents who hoped the zoning law changes would attract desirable businesses to downtown, it is also raising similar hopes.
Bemis is proposing a 2½ story building with retail businesses on the ground floor and residential units upstairs.
Stay tuned for more details on this project in a future post.
26 Meadow Lane – Meadow Reservoir
Property owners on/near downtown aren’t the only ones with serious concerns about the water impacts from new developments. Drainage and water table issues have plagued the area of Meadow Lane and Kallander Drive. (Flooding of Kallander Field due to runoff from Carriage Hill was a big topic of discussion at Town Meetings when Recreation sought funding to fix the issues and repair the field.)
So, it’s not surprising that the neighborhood homeowner association is on alert about the proposal for a new housing project on property that contains easements and systems for water drainage and leeching fields for 11 homes on those streets. (That’s in addition to the abutting parcel with a leeching field for Carriage Hill.)
The project would be built on the parcel formerly owned by late pilot Peter Kallander. In 2002, Kallander built a home with a landing strip for a small private planes and a small airplane hangar. After his death in 2007, the house was sold in 2013. In recent years the property was split into multiple parcels for additional homes to be built. The last large piece, including the strip and hangar, were purchased by Southborough’s William Poutre in 2022. Now, Poutre is looking to build three single family homes and one duplex on part of the lot under the Town’s Flexible Development bylaws.
Abutters and members of the homeowners association spoke out at the Planning Board’s December 2nd hearing for the special permits and site plan approval.* They shared their concerns about the impact the project could have on existing water issues caused by the high clay content in the neighborhood soil and the runoff from Carriage Hill. Some also worried about traffic, the proximity of two driveways to the intersection, and whether allowing a duplex close to the street fit with the neighborhood.
Poutre and Bemis have assured the Planning Board that the project won’t add any additional water to the area. They will be installing a system to “collect, process, and treat” any stormwater. Plus, any new impervious surfaces they are creating would be offset by the removal of current impervious surfaces, including the paved landing strip. They also defended that the duplex is designed to look like a single family home. (It has two front doors, but only one two car garage.)
The developers are currently also in hearings with the Conservation Commission hearings for a permit for Stormwater Management and “Notice of Intent” related to wetlands on and near the parcel. A neighbor, David Williams, also shared his concerns with Conservation at their October 24th meeting. At subsequent meeting in November, December, and last night, the hearing was continued to a future date. For the first two, the Commission was waiting for materials from the Peer Review consultant. Last night, Danza told the Commission the delay was due to not yet having new plans to discuss. The Commission voted to continue the hearing to January 23rd.
*[Editor’s Note: Full Disclosure — One of those commenting neighbors was my brother-in-law Tony Melo.]
