Monday night, an attorney for Capital Group Properties, which owns the Park Central parcel north of Route 9, argued that a proposed amendment to Industrial Park zoning is illegal “spot zoning”.
Planning Board members disagreed, siding with the developer (Atlantic Management) who is proposing the zoning change. Read the full article → from Fall Town Meeting Update: Planning & Advisory supportive of IP Zoning change for EMC/Costco parcel
[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 the Southborough Select Board.] Read the full article → from Letter: Select Board asks residents to support zoning Warrant Article at Special Town Meeting
A representative for the owner of the old EMC parcel seeking a new zoning use revealed the big fish they’re trying to land. According to Atlantic Management’s attorney, they are in negotiations with Costco.
The retailer was revealed during Monday night’s Planning Board hearing during an explanation for the developer’s urgency in trying to add “Highway Major Retail” as a use in the Industrial Park (IP) zone. At their meeting last night, the Select Board emphasized the revenue that a “magnet” store like Costco could bring into Southborough. Read the full article → from Fall Town Meeting Update: IP Zoning changes focus on bringing Costco to town (Updated-again)
[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 Planning Board member Alan Belniak.] Read the full article → from Letter: Industrial Park re-zoning proposal is an economic opportunity that should be embraced
Industrial Park zoning changes aren’t the only zoning the Planning Board has been working on of late. They are also bringing an ADU (Accessor Dwelling Unit) Article to the Fall Town Meeting. Read the full article → from Fall Town Meeting: ADU bylaw coming back in simplified form
The Planning Board has scheduled an additional hearing for this Monday to deal with a challenging, but highly desired, zoning Article. The Select Board is eager for Fall Town Meeting voters to approve an Industrial Park zoning use that will allow permitting and construction of a project at 21 Coslin Drive. Read the full article → from Fall Town Meeting: Developer’s Article proposes new use for entire Industrial Park zone
This past winter, a developer purchased about 30 acres of the old Dell/EMC property parcels off of Route 9. Now they are seeking to work with the Town on zoning changes to allow an economically viable project that fits with the community’s vision. Read the full article → from Developer pitches zoning change to allow a retail project on old EMC parcel
Last week, the Select Board discussed tentatively scheduling the Special Town Meeting this fall for the evening of Monday, November 3rd. Read the full article → from Fall Town Meeting anticipated in early November
At last night’s Annual Town Meeting, voters rejected a proposal to update bylaws for special permits for Accessory Apartments. In response, the Planning Board pulled a related Article on oversight of uses that the state now allows by-right. Read the full article → from ADU Bylaw changes fail to pass Town Meeting
At Monday’s Annual Town Meeting, voters will be asked to amend the zoning bylaws for parking in commercial districts. The proposal is to make it easier for businesses to share designated parking spaces. The change isn’t just pro-business. It’s also promoted as “environmentally friendly”. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: Article 30 to enable more shared parking
The Planning Board pitches that the changes will remove the conflicting language and “protect the town’s interests by providing clarity in the zoning code”.
Opponents argue that the board’s proposal under Annual Town Meeting Articles 28 & 29 goes too far in adding local oversight. Read the full article → from Town Meeting Articles 28 & 29 on ADU zoning (Updated)
Despite learning that the zoning bylaws for mixed-use in the Downtown District are less restrictive than he had been told, the developer for a building at 2 East Main Street won’t pursue that use. Instead he will proceed with a multi-family project. Read the full article → from 2 East Main St Update: Hearings being readvertised as Multi-family project
The company that purchased 32 Coslin Drive has since negotiated a deal to buy an abutting parcel. While I’m sharing that news, I’m also providing an update on the Town’s efforts to revise zoning bylaws that could impact both parcels. Read the full article → from Industrial Park update: EMC sold off another property; IP Zoning changes pushed to fall
Special Town Meeting voted to create a bylaw for mixed residential and commercial use buildings zoning downtown. Years later, the first project publicly proposed to make use of the new zoning ran into obstacles that highlight some issues. (The Building Commissioner has apparently interpreted the language differently than it was pitched to voters. And I discovered that the bylaw printed in the online Town Code isn’t the version that voters passed.) Read the full article → from Downtown District’s mixed-use zoning: Code confusion, interpretation issues, and viability criticism