[Ed note: My Southborough accepts signed letters to the editor submitted by Southborough residents. Letters may be emailed to mysouthborough@gmail.com.
The following letter is from Michael Weishan.]
To the Editor:
For more than five years, the Southborough Historical Society has worked to complete a project that nearly everyone in town supports: a new History and Arts Center at 40–42 Central Street in Fayville. This is not a speculative development or a private commercial venture. It is a community resource—designed to preserve our shared history, host cultural programming, and provide a gathering place for residents of all ages.
Yet despite that broad support, the project has faced repeated obstruction from the Southborough Planning Board, led by its outgoing Chair, Meme Luttrell, with support from member Lisa Braccio, Luttrell’s neighbor and ally, who has a long and well-documented history of conflict with the Society during her prior tenure on the Select Board.
In 2023, the Planning Board approved a Master Site Plan for the property but imposed a series of conditions that went well beyond what the law allows. Under the Dover Amendment, nonprofit educational and cultural institutions like the Historical Society are protected from precisely this kind of overreach. Regulations must be limited to reasonable dimensional controls. Instead, the Board imposed restrictions on lighting, landscaping, and hours of operation, among others—conditions that were identified at the time as inconsistent with governing law.
In July 2025, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office issued guidance clarifying the limits of local authority: non-dimensional restrictions, and those that impose financial harm without clear municipal justification, are unreasonable and unenforceable. The Society promptly shared this guidance with the Planning Board, expecting a good-faith effort to resolve what had become an untenable situation.
That effort never came. Instead, Chair Luttrell maintained that the 2023 decision—left unappealed due to the prohibitive cost of litigation—must still be enforced. The result has been continued delay in receiving a final occupancy permit, increased costs, and unnecessary strain on our nonprofit organization working for the public benefit.
At the same time, Chair Luttrell has taken an unusually active role in monitoring the property—privately photographing the site from her car and reporting alleged violations despite not serving in a professional inspection or enforcement capacity, or having any construction, architectural or design credentials. This level of personal involvement, and the lack of objection from certain other board members, raises serious concerns about impartiality and judgment.
The situation escalated further in December 2025, when the Society sought a temporary occupancy permit from the Building Commissioner. In an extraordinary step, Chair Luttrell intervened in a process outside the Planning Board’s authority, attempting to block the permit by invoking a bonding provision that does not apply to Dover-protected uses. These actions were not only unfounded; they also contributed to two Open Meeting Law complaints now under review by the Attorney General’s Office.
Even after the bonding issue was dropped—and three months of additional hearings at which SHS Board member Jon Delli Priscoli attempted every possible accommodation with Lutrell—the Planning Board has continued to impose conditions and renewal requirements on the Society’s temporary occupancy that patently exceed its authority. Other projects in Southborough have not been subjected to comparable treatment. The disparity is striking, and it has had real financial consequences for the Society.
This pattern of conduct is not just frustrating—it is inconsistent with both the Dover Amendment and Southborough’s own bylaws, which prohibit boards from imposing requirements outside established regulations without proper public process. No such process occurred here.
On Monday, May 11, the Historical Society will file a modification to the 2023 site plan. This filing does not expand the project or introduce new elements. It simply seeks to remove unlawful conditions and bring the plan into compliance with Massachusetts law. The only physical change is a modest adjustment to the parking lot to improve ADA accessibility.
Southborough deserves a permitting process grounded in fairness, consistency, and respect for the law. It deserves public officials who facilitate community and community-supported projects—not ones that hinder them.
The Society remains committed to compliance and cooperation. But it cannot accept continued interference with its lawful right to operate. If necessary, those rights will be defended—at a cost not only to the Society, but to taxpayers, whose resources fund these unlawful proceedings, and at the expense of cultural programming for the community.
This outcome is avoidable.
Fortunately, Chair Luttrell’s tenure on the Planning Board ends this Tuesday with the town election. We, along with many concerned residents, call on the Board—and its new leadership after the 12th—to correct past mistakes, follow Massachusetts law, and allow this long-delayed community asset to fully reopen its doors after a 50-year absence.
If you agree, please contact the Select Board and Planning Board and make your voice heard.
Planning Board: kquinn@southboroughma.com
Select Board: selectboard@southboroughma.com
Michael Weishan
President and CEO
Southborough History and Arts Center
