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ZBA approves special permit for multiple principal uses at 257 Turnpike Road, clearing way for clinical testing tenant
Summary
The Zoning Board granted a special permit to Capital Group Properties for multiple principal uses at 257 Turnpike Road, including medical/clinical testing (B7); the board emphasized parking will be recalculated per tenant and approved the permit with five yes votes and one abstention.
The Southborough Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 12 approved a special permit allowing multiple principal uses at 257 Turnpike Road, a property managed by Capital Group Properties. The permit explicitly includes a clinical/medical testing use (B7), a category Capital Group said would cover a prospective tenant that plans limited in-office lab work.
Shannon Boyce, real estate permitting manager for Capital Group Properties, said the proposed primary addition is a "clinic medical testing 1 under b 7" and that she added several other potential uses to avoid returning to the board for each new tenant. She told the board she will submit a separate parking calculation for each prospective tenant: "Each time I have a prospective tenant, what I'll do is I'll make a new parking calculation for him based on whichever use it is."
Board members voiced general support. Several noted the building already has sufficient parking for the mix of existing tenants and the proposed uses, and that the clinical testing described appears to be limited to blood draws and referral services rather than on-site processing. Boyce said, "My understanding is it's just, blood work. Basically, taking blood samples, and then they send them out for processing."
Members discussed limiting heavier manufacturing-type uses that could introduce noise, vibrations, or hazardous processes; the board indicated the C-level manufacturing categories would not be appropriate for the site and that parking remains the principal constraint. The ZBA approved the permit "as written." The recorded vote was five in favor, none opposed, and one abstention (the abstention resulted from a member remaining muted during the recorded roll call). Staff will prepare a written decision within 14 days and file it with the town clerk; a 20-day appeal period follows before the permit is final.
The permit allows Capital Group to pursue tenants such as medical-testing clinics (B7), retail sales variants, and small-scale manufacturing in the limited categories the applicant included; however, actual tenant occupancy will be contingent on site-specific parking calculations and any additional building or health-permitting requirements.
