Planning Board reviews conditions for Stop & Shop
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Northborough - At its Dec. 3 meeting, the Planning Board continued to move through its review of a draft decision for the site plan of the Super Stop & Shop, which the grocery-store chain hopes to build at 77 Main St.

Stop & Shop filed plans to build the store in June 2005, but the board denied the site plan in June 2006. Stop & Shop's appeal of the denial was upheld in October in Land Court and the site plan was sent back to the Planning Board for outright approval or approval with conditions.

At the end of the 100-minute review, both sides thought the board had made good progress on the list of conditions that will be attached to its approval of the site plan for the 10-acre lot that used to house the New England hub of Northeast Great Dane Trucking.

"I thought we made some really good progress," Planning Board Chair Rick Leif said. "We got through a number of the issues I felt we needed to discuss and I'm pretty confident that we will be able to wrap up what we have left at our January meeting."

Leif's comments were encouraging to Kevin O'Flaherty, a litigation attorney for Goulston & Storrs.

"They made good progress, more than I thought they would, to be honest," O'Flaherty said. "We'll see how the next meeting goes."

O'Flaherty, whose expertise is in land use litigation and includes zoning and permitting, sat in the second row of the audience during the meeting and declined to comment on several occasions when asked by Leif to explain changes he had submitted to the draft decision.

O'Flaherty's decision to not comment puzzled Leif.

"It's not a public hearing. I can't comment," O'Flaherty said. "Even if invited to, I am not permitted to comment; no one in the audience is."

The major progress made at the meeting came with regard to the conditions that involved earth and snow removal, traffic and possible mitigation to be provided by the applicant.

The Planning Board decided during its review of conditions not to require a traffic signal at the intersection of the site driveway and Route 20, since it was opposed to having the light during initial discussions.

"Since there's a question regarding whether they're going to get the light approved by MassHighway anyway," Planning Board member George Pember said, "let's leave it out so if MassHighway doesn't give them the light, it's fine; we didn't want a light there anyway."

Another condition required Stop & Shop to pay mitigation money for improvements that will be necessary on Summer Street, given the anticipated increased traffic on the residential road once the store opens. Three options had been proposed, but board members had issues with all of the options.

Planning Board member Bob Rosenberg recommended the condition be removed.

"The options proposed may be worse than doing nothing," Rosenberg said. "I think we should take it out altogether."

Town Engineer Fred Litchfield opposed Rosenberg's suggestion.

"By deleting it, you are relieving the applicant of any obligations to make or pay for any improvements," Litchfield said.

The board voted to remove the condition.

The discussion about the draft decision for the approval of Stop & Shop site plan will continue Tuesday Jan. 8, 2008, at 7 p.m.