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Developer seeks timely decision for 2 East Main multi-family project; board continues hearings to Oct. 27
Summary
Applicant for a proposed multi-family building at 2 East Main Street pressed the board for a prompt decision; staff and the board discussed peer-review comments (Fuss & O'Neill), lighting waivers, landscaping and standard decision language; the board continued hearings to Oct. 27 and agreed to aim for a draft decision before the pre-STM meeting.
The applicant for a proposed multi-family building at 2 East Main Street urged the Planning Board on Oct. 20 to complete review and issue a decision quickly; the board and staff discussed outstanding peer-review comments, lighting levels and landscaping requirements.
Peter Bemis, speaking for the applicant, asked the board to finalize a decision as soon as possible and noted the project team had submitted a fifth revision and received peer-review comments from Fuss & O'Neill that afternoon. Planning staff and board members confirmed Fuss & O'Neill's recent review reiterated three prior topics and that the applicant had requested a lighting waiver; staff asked the applicant to place waiver rationale and supporting documentation in a single waiver submittal to simplify decision drafting.
Technical points discussed included photometric plan updates, hardscape calculations, open-space square footage along parking edges (applicant identified north and west plantings as meeting 900 square-feet open-space strips), and the need to include certain architectural elevations and heights on plan sheets. The board and applicant also discussed emergency-access/turning-radius constraints and standard conditions such as building sprinklers, ADA compliance (addressed at building permit), affordable-unit requirements and incorporation of board-of-health feedback.
Board action and schedule: the planning board voted to continue the major-site-plan and downtown-district special-permit hearings for 2 East Main Street to Oct. 27, 2025, at 5:15 p.m. (pre-STM session). The board agreed staff would draft a proposed decision and circulate it to the applicant and board members in advance of that meeting; the board also extended the decision due date (administrative extension recorded on the public record) to Oct. 31 to allow time for final drafting and any remaining department conditions.
Next steps: applicant and staff to exchange a draft decision and finalize conditions including specific language on any granted waivers, lighting levels and plantings. The board scheduled a pre-STM meeting on Oct. 27 to consider and, if ready, vote on the decision.
