The Northborough Planning Board continued the hearing with The Gutierrez Company at its October 20 meeting and ultimately denied their requests for a special permit with site plan approval and two groundwater special permits for 0 Bartlett Street.
There was a lot of pushback from residents (over 1600 signatures on a petition) and Board members who had concerns on this particular site as it abuts Stirrup Brook and was proposed near Algonquin Regional High School and nearby neighborhoods.
Overall, the Board lacked confidence in the ability of oversight on the snow removal plan and its potential impact on the wetlands, and the benefits of the proposal did not outweigh the risks.
Even though The Gutierrez Company had a new configuration of the driveway to discourage truck traffic from making a left into the facility from Bartlett Street or a right out of the facility onto Bartlett Street, enforcement would be difficult without a truck exclusion. In order for the town to implement a truck exclusion on that section of Bartlett Street, the towns that would be receiving the redirected traffic have to agree to it, and it is unlikely that Westborough or Marlborough would agree to it.
The impacts to the environment; affect on traffic, safety, and noise; and an unknown tenant all were a part of the decision to deny the applicant.
One interesting fact that was mentioned by the town’s building inspector during the discussion that one resident called “breaking news” during public comment is that Amazon is coming to town at 330 and 350 Bartlett Street–properties also developed by The Gutierrez Company.
View the full meeting on YouTube on the Northborough Remote Meeting channel.