Mark Your Calendar: March 28, 2022
Please mark your calendar for Monday, March 28, 2022, at 7:15 PM, the Millbury Planning Board will be holding a public hearing on one of the citizen's petitions for the "Rezoning To Suburban II A Portion Of Residential I North Of Rice Road". All neighborhood residents should attend in person, if possible, and if not, then by ZOOM, and should encourage the Millbury Planning Board to make a favorable recommendation on the citizen's petition. No matter the recommendation of the Millbury Planning Board, the citizen's petition will be on the Town Warrant for the voters of Millbury to vote upon.
The public hearing will be held at the Millbury Town Hall at 127 Elm Street in Millbury, Massachusetts. A presentation will be made by one of our neighbors with all of the details and will be available to answer any questions from the Millbury Planning Board or the general public.
Properties Contained
| Property Address | Signed Petition | Lot Area (acres) | 1 Rice Road | Yes | 1.0783± |
| 3 Rice Road | Yes | 0.3524± |
| 5 Rice Road | Yes | 0.3448± |
| 7 Rice Road | Agree [1] | 0.3271± |
| 9 Rice Road | Yes | 0.3988± |
| 11 Rice Road | Yes | 0.4637± |
| 17 Rice Road | — [2] | 3.2974± + 11.9674± |
| 19 Rice Road | Agree [1] | 0.7163± |
[1] registered voter was not available when signatures were collected, however, have expressed agreement with efforts.
[2] land owners do not reside at this address, however, they have told a number of neighbors that their intent was to develop the parcels of land as single-family house lots.
Zoning District Differences
The core differences in zoning bylaws are highlighted below:
| Requirements | Residential I | Suburban II |
| Zoning Intent | The intent of Residential Districts is to provide for a range of dwelling types in areas having existing development at relatively high densities and having public utility service, and in residential office overlay districts, to additionally provide for a limited range of compatible business uses. | The intent of Suburban Districts is to provide for low-density one and two family development at moderate density where public services are provided and at low density where they are not. |
| Minimum Lot Area (is with public water and public sewer) |
12,500 Sq. Ft. | 15,000 Sq. Ft. |
| Multi-Family Special Permit | provided that it is serviced by public sewerage and public water | provided that it is serviced by public sewerage and public water, and provided that access from a major street as herein defined does not require use of a minor street substantially developed for single-family homes. |
Major Streets
"All state-numbered highways (Routes 20, I-190, 122, 122A, and 146) Auburn Road, Carleton Road, Elm Street, Grafton Street, Greenwood Street, Howe Avenue, Martin Street, Millbury Avenue, McCracken Road east of Greenwood, North Main Street, Stone Road, Sutton Road, West Main Street, plus any street subsequently laid out with right-of-way width of sixty feet (60') or more."
Rice Road is minor street with a variable right-of-way width, the majority being forty feet (40') and the "Layout Plan for Rice Road" in the Town Clerk’s records shows a portion of the right-of-way width as only twenty-seven (27'±).
Millbury's Comprehensive Master Plan (2019)
"Survey results show that respondents felt that Millbury’s top housing needs include more single‐family homes on small lots, single‐family homes on small lots, townhouses, and assisted-living, extended care and nursing facilities." There is no typographical error in the preceding sentence, "single‐family homes on small lots" was written twice, so it must have been of paramount importance that single-family house are the desire of residents over any other type of housing.