Planning Board approves 173–179 Union Ave site plan and multiple special permits with design conditions

The Framingham Planning Board on the March meeting approved a major site plan review and three special permits for a multi‑family development at 173–179 Union Ave, including relief for compact parking spaces and for a building larger than 30,000 square feet. The board voted to adopt a set of design and operating conditions — recessed balconies, elimination of a loading area on the south side, added landscaping and a retaining‑wall shift, transformer screening, and one compact space reserved for building staff — as part of the approvals.

The action matters because the project prompted extended debate about scale and neighborhood fit while complying with current zoning. Neighbors and several board members said they were troubled by the building’s size and proportionality to adjacent houses; other members said the revised design and additional buffering made…