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Railroad Contribution Letter
In the interest of improving safety, the Planning Board wants the developer to absorb the costs of widening Rice Road to a uniform 22' paved width (including the 19' wide section within the railroad right-of-way), along with several other off-site improvements including improvements to vehicular and pedestrian safety along Rice Road.
Can The Developer Withdraw?
During a couple of the more recent Millbury Planning Board public hearings for the proposed Rice Pond Village project, the developer, Steven F. Venincasa, has stated (an ultimatum) that he could simply withdraw the special permit application and resubmit an even higher-density affordable housing development, with slightly less than 225 affordable apartments under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40B.
Developer Wants Input On Four Options
At the Monday, January 10, 2022, Millbury Planning Board public hearing, developer, Steven F. Venicasa, proposed four options that he wanted the Millbury Planning Board to vote on, so he could determine a direction to head in with the proposed Rice Pond Village project. At this point, it is like developer, Steven F. Venicasa, is throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Most of these options were not well thought through.
Developer Voices Frustration
At the Monday, December 13, 2021, Millbury Planning Board public hearing for the proposed Rice Pond Village project, at 17 Rice Road in Millbury, Massachusetts, the developer, Steven F. Venincasa, of Whitney Street Home Builders, LLC, lashed out at the neighborhood as "ungrateful", asked for the Providence & Worcester Railroad's safety concerns to be ignored.
$20K For Offsite Improvements
On Monday, December 13, 2021, James Tetreault, from Azimuth Land Design, LLC, the project engineer for the proposed Rice Pond Village project responded in writing to questions from Charles Hunter, of the Providence & Worcester Railroad (a subsidiary of Genesee and Wyoming Railroad) in a letter to the Town of Millbury Planning Board with the following exchange.
Waivers Should Not Be Granted
The proposed Rice Pond Village project is not in the "public interest" and therefore none of the requested waivers should be granted by the Millbury Planning Board. If you read through some (not all) of the applicable regulations (below), it should be easy to determine there is no "public interest" gained from this proposed project that would necessitate the granting of any of the requested waivers.