Millis planning board orders stop-work action and requires amendment after unpermitted work at 1073 Main Street solar project

The Millis Planning Board on Tuesday directed the developer of a special-permit solar canopy at 1073 Main Street to file for a special-permit amendment and signaled it will ask the building commissioner to issue a stop‑work order after town officials discovered construction had begun without required pre-construction steps and outstanding peer review work.

Chair Richard Nichols said the original special permit was issued in February 2022. Town staff learned in late July that footings had been poured before required pre-conference meetings with the Department of Public Works and before the town’s peer-review engineer had reviewed a finalized set of drawings and provided a scope and fee. Nichols and staff described the current situation as work that had progressed beyond the scope shown on the endorsed drawings, noting the revised plans submitted to the building department included substantially larger footings and a different footing layout.

NextGrid representatives at the meeting — Mike Patterson of NextGrid, Benjie Borra of CSG Developers, and master electrician Patrick Edwards — acknowledged the company started work without holding the pre-construction meeting. Patterson apologized and said the company lost personnel in its construction group, which led to an unintended early start. He said the team wants to work with the town to remedy the issues.

Town officials described specific concerns: - Peer review and scope: staff said there is currently no money in the town’s peer-review account for this project because no scope-and-fee was accepted and no funds were collected. The board directed that the applicant submit the current, revised drawings so the town’s consultant (Beta Group) can prepare a scope and fee for review. - Changed construction scope: officials said the revised drawings include larger, spread footings (the board noted examples of 13-foot by 13-foot footings, three feet deep, and cited about 56 footings on site), a change from the generic footing detail on the original plan. Because the work as built appears to differ materially from the endorsed plans, the board directed the applicant to file an amendment to the special permit and to provide stamped engineering documentation for the field changes. - Cemetery screening and fence location: a plan condition required a stockade fence and plantings to screen the Prospect Hill Cemetery. Staff said the screening and fencing were to be installed before construction began; contractors now say trees and grade changes may complicate the originally envisioned planting plan. The planning board said the screening requirement is essential and must be addressed before the project resumes.

Planning staff and the applicant agreed the next steps are: (1) the town will request a stop‑work order from the building commissioner; (2) the applicant must file a special-permit amendment application and pay required filing and peer-review fees; (3) the town consultant will prepare a scope and fee for review once the current drawings are submitted; and (4) the board will review the amendment at a subsequent meeting after peer review and departmental comments are returned. The board voted to require the applicant to file the amendment; the building commissioner will handle issuance of a formal stop‑work order.

Why it matters: the project touches a public cemetery buffer and required town review steps intended to ensure drainage, structural, and site-safety measures. Town staff said the unauthorized start left the peer-review account with no funds and prevented the town’s consultants from checking design changes before field work began.

What’s next: the board recorded a formal motion requiring the project team to file an addendum to the special permit and directed staff to pursue a stop‑work order; the project will return to the planning board after the required peer review and any filing and hearing requirements have been met.