Town will not appeal Land Court decision
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

Northborough - The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously not to appeal the decision of the Massachusetts Land Court in a suit brought against the town by the Stop & Shop supermarket chain.

"After meeting in executive session, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously not to appeal the deci- sion in the Stop & Shop case," Board of Selectmen Chair Bill Pantazis said.

Also present in the 90- minute executive session portion of the Special Meeting of the Board of Selectmen Oct. 29 were the town's Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Northborough Town Administrator Barry Brenner said he could not express particulars about the executive session portion of the meeting, but he confirmed that the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals were all briefed by Northborough town counsel on the options and accompanying ramifications that faced the Board of Selectmen.

"They considered all the facts from the legal standpoint," Brenner said. "The selectmen were briefed by legal counsel on the terms of the decision of the court before making its decision."

Brenner said he couldn't divulge what town counsel's recommendation was to the Board of Selectmen, but did note that the board's vote was a unanimous one.

The selectmen's decision not to appeal the Land Court ruling means the matter of the denial of Stop & Shop's request for site plan approval goes back to the Planning Board. The Planning Board triggered the appeal process when it denied Stop & Shop's site plan approval for a 65,000-square-foot Super Stop & Shop at 77 Main St. in July 2006.

In his decision of Oct. 4, Land Court Judge Alexander Sands III ordered that the site plan be remanded to the Planning Board. The town had 30 days from the date of the decision to file an appeal.