Plans approved for Northborough Bartlett Street contractor’s yard

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Plans approved for Northborough Bartlett Street contractor’s yard
R.J. Devereaux plans to turn an existing building into a training center at its proposed contractor’s yard on Bartlett Street. (Photo/Laura Hayes)

NORTHBOROUGH – Efforts to open a new contractor’s yard on Bartlett Street in Northborough are moving forward after the Planning Board unanimously approved the plans and special permits for the project early last month.

The plans had been before the Planning Board for several months prior to the eventual vote to approve on May 3.  

What is proposed

R.J. Devereaux installs natural gas lines for National Grid and Eversource. During past hearings with the Planning Board, staff members had said that they hoped to use the Bartlett Street property as a “support system” for Eversource crews.

The property is 6.7 acres and is currently occupied by Lamy Automotive. During the hearings for the project, R.J. Devereaux officials said that Lamy Automotive will continue to operate with their company as a neighbor. 

R.J. Devereaux applied for a special permit for a contractor’s yard on the site.

The plans call for two separate entrances to two existing buildings, which R.J. Devereaux representatives said earlier this year that they plan to rehabilitate. 

Under plans, one of the buildings will be used as an administrative building, housing offices and being used for training. R.J. Devereaux staff said the training will range from education on first aid to classes on how to operate certain tools.

The second building will be a maintenance building to maintain the company’s equipment. 

Planning Board decision

The Zoning Board of Appeals already granted R.J. Devereaux a use variance for an automotive repair use on the property.

During the Planning Board’s May 3 meeting, the developers then presented a revised site plan to the Planning Board. 

Project engineer Vito Colonna told the board that the “biggest” revision to the plans involved flipping the location of a “mock street” training area with some of the storage spaces. 

The revised plans also added a fence enclosure to a dumpster area and a bike rack.

Throughout the meeting, the Planning Board and R.J. Devereaux staff discussed various aspects of the site plan as well as conditions to be placed on the Planning Board’s decision to approve. Discussion focused on topics including snow storage and removal and landscaping.

The Planning Board weighed the plans against its special permit criteria and ultimately praised R.J. Devereaux’s application for lining up against expectations in the town’s bylaws.

Presentation previewed site impact

R.J. Devereaux personnel in April projected a maximum of 314 car trips spread out over the day as a result of this project, citing data from other operations. 

Earlier discussions with the Planning Board noted an old leach field, which is a kind of underground water filtration and sewage treatment system, on the site in question.

Previously used by Bay State Circuits before being phased out in the late 1980s, that field triggered additional monitoring and permitting requirements for this current project, according to R.J. Devereaux. 

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