Boxborough Planning Board continues 1414 Mass. Ave. zoning-freeze hearing to June 5

BOXBOROUGH — May 22, 2023 — Boxborough Planning Board unanimously continues 1414 Mass. Ave. subdivision hearing amid engineering disputes and resident opposition. The board opened a public hearing May 22 on a definitive subdivision plan filed by Niche Engineering on behalf of 1414 Mass Ave Owner, LLC for a 207-plus-acre commercial parcel, with attorney Jay Eiderman of Ruben, Junius and Rose stating plainly that the plan's sole purpose is to freeze Boxborough's zoning as it stood before voters cut the site's allowable floor area ratio by 50 percent at the November 2022 town meeting. Town consulting engineer Sue Carter of Places Associates, whose peer-review letter arrived only hours before the meeting, flagged a central conflict: the plan shows a 60-foot right-of-way sized for arterial roads but a 24-foot pavement width suited only for collector streets, while a traffic study already in the MEPA record projects 2,822 daily vehicle trips on the site — nearly two-and-a-half times the 1,200-trip threshold for arterial classification. Acting Chair Cindy Markowitz and member Rebecca Verner both said they read the regulations as requiring a 30-foot arterial roadway. Residents Aisling O'Shea and Jim Saik questioned whether the mechanism circumvents the town meeting vote, with land use counsel Adam Costa explaining the freeze applies to the entirety of the pre-amendment zoning bylaw. The board voted 5-0 to continue the hearing to June 5 at 7:10 p.m., with the statutory 90-day decision deadline falling July 5, 2023.