Planning board approves site plan for 36 Meadow Cartway with road repair condition

The Millis Planning Board on Sept. 9 approved site-plan review for work at 36 Meadow Cartway, allowing an accessory dwelling unit adjacent to a relocated nonconforming residence after requiring roadway repairs and ongoing maintenance.

Wayne Carlson, representing the applicant (Tresca family/36 Meadow Cartway 35-36 Realty Trust), told the board that the house relocation had moved the structure out of the floodplain and that the ADU would be within the 50%/900-square-foot limit. "It does represent 50%, are not greater than 900 square feet. There's parking for 2 vehicles," Carlson said.

During the hearing, public-safety officials raised access concerns because Meadow Cartway is a narrow, seasonal-style access that, in places, can be blocked by fallen trees. Mike Gianpietro (applicant team) and others said the plan calls for grading and clearing the road. Gianpietro said the plan is to "cut back the Meadow Cartway and they're gonna have a grader in there to grade that road because there's a lot of potholes in it. As soon as they bring a machine in there, ... they're gonna clean that whole road out right to 109." The Planning Board made approval contingent on the applicant trimming trees, grading the access and establishing a crushed-concrete or graded base; the board also discussed an annual maintenance requirement and set that as a condition.

The applicant asked the board to amend the original application — filed as a special permit — to reflect that, after state changes to ADU law, the project requires only site-plan review. The board voted to amend the application accordingly before taking the approval vote.

The Planning Board's decision included a contingency that the applicant address the fire-chief memo and the road and access improvements described during the hearing. Board members discussed whether the access should be paved; the applicant said crushed concrete would be used rather than full paving. The board’s motion approved the site plan "with the contingency that the road is to be repaired, as per described by the applicant with the trees being trimmed back and a graded base set up" and also requested annual maintenance by the applicant.

On the record one board member announced an abstention during an earlier procedural vote; at the final site-plan approval the motion was approved by voice vote with affirmative responses and recorded abstentions as noted in the transcript. The Planning Board instructed staff to include the fire-chief memo and the maintenance condition in the written decision.