SHREWSBURY – A citizens’ petition concerned with 1-7 Maple Avenue, the former site of Maj. Howard W. Beal School, was ruled out of order by Moderator James Kane at the Shrewsbury Town Meeting.
The article sought to “rescind any and all land disposition authority previously granted to the Select Board by 2020 Town Meeting… in regards to the town-owned property located at 1-7 Maple Avenue.”
Moderator James Kane followed the advice of Town Counsel Stephen Madaus.
In an April 4 letter to Kane, Madaus wrote that the “authority of a town meeting to rescind a vote of a prior town meeting is limited.” The ability to rescind a past vote becomes particularly limited “when rights of a third-party have intervened and become vested.”
Since the 2020 Town Meeting, two developers – Civico Development and Greenly LLC – prepared and submitted a proposal for the space. The site plans for Beal Commons, a 53-unit residential development with 7,000 square feet of commercial space, were approved by the Planning Board in early April.
Madaus said that the developer has a vested interest in the 2020 decision, now having applied for various permits and approvals for the proposed redevelopment of the property.
