Chapter 40B Public Hearing - February 28, 2024
Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, February 28, 2024, starting at 7:00 PM, as the Millbury Board of Appeals will be holding another public hearing in a sequence regarding the proposed Rice Pond Village project under Chapter 40B, planned to be located at 17 Rice Road in Millbury, Massachusetts. The venue for this event will be at the Millbury Senior Center, situated at One River Street in Millbury, Massachusetts. Attending in person is encouraged for maximum participation. However, if you're unable to attend physically, you can join via Zoom using Meeting ID 863 3392 3170 or watch it on either Verizon FIOS channel 26 or (Charter) Spectrum channel 191, or afterwards on Millbury Video-On-Demand.
The project engineer, James Tetreault, representing Steven Venincasa and James Venincasa, submitted a list of waivers and justifications to the Millbury Board of Appeals. These do not serve the best interests of the community but instead prioritize profit maximization of the developers, and fail to address the public safety concerns exacerbated by their proposed project, consequently transferring the responsibility onto local taxpayers to mitigate potential accidents, injuries, or worse, which could have been prevented.
Despite being well into the public hearing process for this Chapter 40B application, Steven Venincasa and James Venincasa have yet to provide the essential documentation and information vital for making informed decisions regarding the application's outcome. This pattern is consistent with their typical approach.
While these developers are seeking a lengthy list of waivers, the Millbury Board of Appeals should initially focus on scrutinizing the primary local zoning regulation, which pertains to the potential endorsement of Section 23 within the Millbury Zoning Bylaw. This particular section addresses the exclusion of multifamily dwelling units in a Suburban II zoning district that lack direct access from a major street, as outlined in the zoning bylaw. It mandates a right-of-way width of at least 60 feet and a pavement width of 32 feet, as stipulated in Section 6.7(6) of the Subdivision Rules and Regulations, alongside Section 32.6 of the Millbury Zoning Bylaw. Additionally, it necessitates a 5-foot grass strip and an 8-foot sidewalk, as prescribed in Section 7.5 of the Subdivision Rules and Regulations and Section 32.6 of the Millbury Zoning Bylaw.
The zoning bylaw explicitly states that when access is granted from a major street and does not necessitate the use of a minor street primarily developed for single-family homes. Rice Road, in this context, fails to meet the criteria of a major street, raising significant public safety concerns that the developers have not even attempted to addressed nor do they intend to. Furthermore, Rice Road has exclusively served as a residential area for single-family homes for over six decades.
If the Millbury Board of Appeals remains true to its commitment to uphold the rule of law, it should refuse the proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project, as well as all the developer's numerous waiver requests. None of these requests align with the best interests of the community. This waiver request marks a critical decision with profound ramifications that could set a precedent for all subsequent waiver requests. Most of the waivers sought are reminiscent of those previously presented in the initial project proposal for this site, which involved 46 condominiums. However, the Millbury Planning Board denied that proposal largely because of the developers' neglect to address the escalating public safety concerns, which they have yet to acknowledge or attempt to mitigate. Notably, these include:
Inadequate dimensions and geometry of Rice Road (20-22 feet in width)
Dual points of entry and exit
Building height considerations
Unit density
Deficiencies in road infrastructure
Concerns surrounding the Providence & Worcester Railroad crossing
Intersection challenges at Rice Road with Providence Street and South Main Street
Measures to mitigate motor vehicle accidents in the vicinity
Alignment of building typography and design with the neighborhood aesthetic
These developers ought to seek out an alternative location that does not pose the multitude of challenges present in this site and its vicinity on a major street. Selecting the right site is crucial for any project, and it appears that these developers have encountered difficulties in this regard, as evidenced by recent proposals in Auburn and Sutton that they abandoned due to town officials holding them accountable to development regulations. The Millbury Board of Appeals needs to hold these developers fully accountable to our local development regulations.
The published agenda lacks sub-items, but there are several revised documents available from the developers, residents, and one peer review memorandum. All documentation, including project details, alongside vital state regulations, design guidelines, and additional resources, can be accessed on the Resources page.