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Marlborough committee approves amendment to traffic conditions for 339 Boston Post Road development
Summary
The Urban Affairs Committee approved an amendment to a previously granted special permit for a 140-unit development at 339 Boston Post Road that replaces a requested radar-sign condition with required rectangular rapid flashing beacons and a $25,000 mitigation payment if MassDOT later approves radar signs.
The Marlborough City Council Urban Affairs Committee on April 7 approved an amendment to a previously granted special permit for a planned multifamily development at 339 Boston Post Road that changes traffic-safety conditions tied to the project.
The amendment deletes the original condition 8(c) and requires the applicant to coordinate with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the city's engineering division to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at the proposed crosswalks on Route 20 in the vicinity of the site. The amendment also requires the applicant to pay $25,000 to the city for future radar speed signs or other transportation-safety improvements if MassDOT later authorizes radar signs at those locations.
The change follows the developer's and the city engineer's discussions with MassDOT. Tom DiPercio, the city engineer, said he "concur[s] with the statements" in the application and noted an email exchange dated June 28, 2024, in which MassDOT said it would not permit installation of the requested radar speed signs at this time and would conduct a speed study once roadway work is completed.
The committee record states the original special permit was granted in September 2022 authorizing construction of a 140-unit multifamily residential development on approximately 25.7 acres. The amendment notes that RRFBs at the crosswalks have been installed and that MassDOT refused the radar sign requests. The decision requires the applicant, within 30 days of the appeal period expiring following final approval of the amendment, to deliver $25,000 to the city to be held for future installation of radar speed signs if MassDOT later permits them or to be used for other transportation safety improvements in the area.
Councillor Doucette moved approval "as amended." The committee voted in favor; the committee chair said the decision will be referred to the city solicitor to be placed in proper legal form and then returned to the full City Council agenda for final action.
Department heads — including the Board of Health, Building Department, Marlborough Fire Department, Marlborough Police Department, and Conservation — were recorded as having "no comments or objections" on the amendment. The decision also requires recording this amendment with the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds.
The applicant listed in the committee record is Procopio Companies of Middleton, Massachusetts. The committee minutes note that no members of the public spoke for or against the amendment at the public hearing.
What happens next: the committee referred the amended decision to the city solicitor for legal review and instructed staff to return the final draft to the City Council for a vote. If the full council approves the amended permit in legal form and the appeal period expires without a successful appeal, the applicant must make the $25,000 payment to the McGee Farm Mitigation Stabilization account as specified in the decision.
