HUDSON – At its Oct. 17 meeting, the Planning Board approved an application from Intel Massachusetts Inc. for a definitive subdivision plan at 75 Reed Road.
This comes after Portman Industrial withdrew their plans to construct a 1.28 million-square-foot warehouse last November. Attorney Gregory Sampson and professional engineer Devin Howe of Beals and Associates represented the interests of Intel at the meeting.
Sampson said the hearing was a continuation of a process they began in April to submit a zoning freeze plan. That is what the subdivision plan would accomplish, he said. Per Massachusetts law, the plan must be filed within seven months.
“We get that approved and endorsed, then we’re locked into the zoning that is in effect,” said Sampson. “We are going through a subdivision process, but it is not our intention necessarily to build a subdivision.”
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It is a process where they design a roadway to meet town subdivision rules and regulations, and the specific design is of a cul-de-sac with three small lots. He emphasized that it was “not our intention to build this,” but ultimately to market the site for sale.
“So that is the process we have to follow. It’s admittedly an odd process,” said Sampson.
Howe explained that currently the site houses two industrial buildings that are bordered by Technology Drive on the southwest side, Marlboro Street on the east side, Forest Avenue on the north side and Reed Road on the south side.
The definitive subdivision plan proposed a 266-foot-long roadway in accordance with town regulations. It would be assumed, he said, that existing impervious areas and pavement would be removed in the plan. There is no proposed use for the lots at this time, Howe said.
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Planning Board Chair Robert D’Amelio said all Intel could build right now was three houses. It could not extend the road without coming back to the Planning Board.
He added, “This limits almost anything they can do except put three homes up there.”
As the Planning Board voted to approve the plan, the zoning is locked and cannot be changed. Sampson said this would provide certainty to a future buyer.
Howe noted that if a proposed use should be determined, each lot would go through a stormwater review and other necessary steps. The stormwater would be managed through catch basins at the site adjacent to Reed Road.
There were few standard waivers attached to the plan, such as one for existing utilities and contours within 400 feet as there is sufficient footage and one for a tree plan as they have prepared one already.
D’Amelio said the waivers were ones that would come up in an average subdivision plan process, and he believed what Intel was presenting for use of the site was “more than acceptable” in his professional opinion.
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Resident Carl Barnett said that he uses Reed Road to access Route 290 and that coming up that road can be “very hairy” in peak traffic times.
In the case that the site is developed, he believed that putting a light there could back up the road. He suggested a shared entrance for the Intel site would help greatly.
“I believe those are good points. I travel that road,” D’Amelio said.
He agreed that was a discussion that could happen on a larger proposed plan, but not for just three homes. He said he was glad that Barnett put it into the public record for discussion at a later date.
The Planning Board approved and endorsed the plan, with the contingency that the list of waivers are included. If any work should occur, the entrance to Marlboro Street would be returned to a condition acceptable to the Department of Public Works.
