Templeton ZBA continues hearing after residents raise traffic, contamination concerns over proposed used-car sales at 94 Crossroad

The Town of Templeton Zoning Board of Appeals on June 3 continued a public hearing on a request by Lynn's Realty Inc. and USA Auto Recycling to add a Class 2 used-car sales license at 94 Crossroad (Map 4‑13, Parcels 1 and 2) after residents raised concerns about traffic, site contamination and neighborhood character and the applicant failed to provide a plot plan or appear.

The application was filed under the board's authority to consider changes to preexisting nonconforming uses under the zoning bylaws (section 300‑19). Board members said they could not complete a detailed review without a plot/site plan and additional materials from the applicant. A ZBA member said, "We can't really get down to the nitty gritty until they come in here, lay out what they got, and then we can go from there."

Why this matters: the property currently operates as an auto-recycling/junkyard that predates current zoning. Converting or expanding that activity to include regulated used-car sales would change how the site operates and could trigger separate reviews by the planning board, conservation commission and building department. Residents told the ZBA they walk and let pets along South Main and Crossroad and that additional traffic, test drives and larger trucks could pose safety and quality-of-life issues.

At the hearing, multiple residents raised specific concerns. One resident said a used-car lot would be "detrimental to the residential neighborhood character of the street" and questioned whether test-driving customers would pay adequate attention to pedestrians. Another asked whether the site has ever been tested for contamination and described visible oil and staining on the ground at the existing operation. Board members noted that environmental or public‑health inspections would be handled by state agencies where applicable and that the ZBA could impose conditions on hours, lighting and other operational matters if it approved a use change.

Town staff told the panel they had contacted the applicant on May 27 but had not received the missing plot plan; the owner, identified in meeting comments as Mr. Lin of Lynn's Realty Inc., did not appear at the hearing. A staff member said staff would contact the applicant again and arrange a continued hearing. The board voted to continue the matter to a July date so the applicant could submit plans and the hearing could be properly advertised in the local newspaper; the board chair said July 15–17 were possible dates to consider.

Board members and residents discussed other procedural and site-specific issues that will be revisited when the application returns: the property's recorded acreage (staff noted a figure of about 1.29 acres on the property card), whether new pavement could increase runoff and conservation review if work affects nearby wetlands, septic and water requirements if employees or a sales office are added, and neighbor permission for a potential sidewalk (staff said a property owner had signed a permission form to allow a sidewalk on part of the parcel).

The ZBA opened the public hearing so residents could comment and then continued the hearing because the applicant had not provided required site plans. The board instructed staff to re-notify the applicant and advertise the continued hearing; no substantive decision on the use change or Class 2 license was made at the June 3 meeting.

The board also addressed routine business at the start of the session, including acceptance of minutes from the Jan. 7, 2025 meeting.