5 Takeaways from the Jan. 8 Planning Board Meeting

New East St. self-storage facility receives signoff

The Planning Board met last night without member Jim Duffy. There were no committee reports.

Tewksbury Dental Associates and Tree House Brewing Co. both requested continuances. Member Vinny Fratalia questioned allowing projects to receive multiple consecutive continuances. At least one, Tewksbury Dental, will appear with a firm update at the next meeting.

In her Town Planner’s report, Community/Economic Development Planner Alexandra Lowder advised the board that there will be three new hearings at that Jan. 22 meeting, for electronic menu boards at several Dunkin Donuts locations and for some changes to the planned cannabis dispensary at 1695 Shawsheen St.

NMCOG has invited residents to a year-long planning process to address homelessness. Residents of the nine NMCOG member communities will work to develop realistic affordable and market-rate housing production targets to be used by local planners. Learn more.

Finally, she invited residents to attend the second discussion of proposed changes to the town’s wetland protection bylaws. That meeting will be on Jan. 18 beginning at 5:30 p.m. and will be virtual. Learn more.

Attorney Paul Ross appeared seeking another extension to a permit for the multi-tenant business park at 120 Lumber Lane, off of East St. near the Market Basket warehouse. 

In July 2022, the board approved a nine-month extension after it came to light that some alterations done by businesses renting bays put the building out of compliance with town zoning. Then in January 2023, Ross appeared with owner Joseph Phelan to request an additional three years to come into compliance. He was granted a one-year extension.

Last night Ross said the owner has Pinnacle construction working on all the construction issues and expects to complete all required work within six months of permits being issued. 

He asked for an extension on construction-related issues until July 31. Members Vinny Fratalia and Jonathan Ciampa said they were pleased to see movement. The request was approved unanimously.

MacLellan Oil Development 

Attorney Don Borenstein and Meera Cousens of Civil Design Consultants appeared for the proposed residential apartment building at 1167, 1177, 1187 Main St., in the new Town Center district. The proponents need site plan approval, a special permit for a multifamily development and approval for a major land disturbance. 

The plan is for 24 units with 62 parking spaces; four units will be affordable. It will be a four-level building with a covered garage at street grade and three floors of housing. The top floor will contain four units — two of them with two bedrooms and semi-private outdoor space — and a roof deck for common use. The sidewalks will be concrete, and outdoor parking will be in the rear.

Cousens outlined some plan changes, including a more accessible front entrance and additional stop bars and signage in the parking lot for safety.  She showed a video rendering of the building during the day and evening, below, to illustrate the lighting plan. 

Ciampa praised the lighting, while member Nick Lizotte asked about a school bus stop for children who may reside in the building. That is at the discretion of the school department. Fratalia questioned removal of some cherry trees; Cousens said the roots were problematic and that the existing trees will be replaced by evergreens.

“The project looks great,” said Fratalia, but a conditional approval was off the table given the prominence of the project.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that conditional for something of this size on Main Street without having everything squared away,” said Chair Stephen Johnson. “I think we’ve been slipping a little too much into the conditionals lately.”

With no residents rising to speak, the hearing was continued.

Holt & Bugbee

In April, the board signed off on a plan to split 1600 Shawsheen St., the current Holt & Bugbee mill, into two parcels.

The plan is to condense the Holt & Bugbee lumberyard operation to Lot 2, an irregularly shaped 9.31 acre parcel that wraps around the building housing the East Elite Cheer Gym. The 13.26 subdivided portion of the 22.6 acre lot is slated to hold a 179,375 square foot warehouse. 

Daniel Mora of National Development and Matthew Costa of Beals Associates appeared last night to update the board. No tenants have been identified for the new warehouse, according to Mora. There are a number of issues with the town’s engineering division over stormwater management, the need for a traffic study peer review, and an 80-foot curb cut that is smaller than originally proposed but still larger than preferred for pedestrian safety.

There are three special permits requests, to allow manufacturing and multiple buildings within the Industrial I district and for parking reductions, as well as waivers for parking, curbing, snow storage and driveway positioning.

Lizotte brought up snow storage, while Fratalia asked how much work will be required to satisfy engineering. Mora said the biggest issue is stormwater; they still need to appear before the Conservation Commission. Another sticking point is an 80-foot curb cut with no pedestrian island, or area of refuge. There will be a crosswalk, but there will not be an island where a person walking down Shawsheen could shelter if a truck were entering or exiting.

Ciampa called out the presence of pedestrian-friendly entrances at Wamesit Lanes and reminded Mora of the child killed by a truck in Andover due to a lack of visibility.

“We do want to make sure we get this right and that we don’t ever have a similar incident in our town,” said Ciampa.

Mora said there would be a full sightline study.

The second proposed site, for the Holt & Bugbee operations, also requires a list of special permits and waivers, including for warehouse use in Industrial I, a building height exceeding 40 feet, and less parking and a narrower driveway than required. They also need several waivers.

Hearings for both lots were continued pending further work with engineering and the Conservation Commission’s take on stormwater and site grading.

Cousens and Jim Hanley of Civil Design Consultants appeared for a proposed three-story, climate-controlled, 32,300 square-foot self-service storage facility on an approximately one acre site at 911 – 913 East St. that currently houses D&G Landscaping and ZP Marble & Granite. Two existing buildings will be demolished, and the storage facility will be new construction with 12 parking spaces. 

There will be granite curbing and bituminous concrete sidewalks and onsite security such that there is no need for a gate that could lead to cars being backed up onto East St. Cousens said the footprint will be about 11,000 sf. 

After some discussion over the number of parking spaces, the board approved the waiver, closed the public hearing and signed off on the project.

There were no member announcements or unforeseen new business. The next meeting will be Jan. 22.