Developer seeks 40-townhouse project at 35 North Main; Planning Board continues hearing to June 4

GM Properties LLC asked the Charlton Planning Board on May 21 to open a public hearing for a site plan and special permit to build 40 townhouse-style residential units in eight buildings at 35 North Main Street and L Stevens Road.

The developer’s attorney, Joshua Lee Smith of the presenting law firm, and lead engineer James Taker described a roughly 6-acre site with an existing single-family home and a large wetland area the plan avoids. The applicant said the development would include two separate development areas connected by roads, about 48,000 square feet of building area across eight buildings, interior one-car garages for each unit plus exterior driveways, and about 10 “satellite” parking spaces for a total of 90 parking stalls to meet the town’s 2.25-spaces-per-unit requirement.

The Planning Board and residents focused on traffic and safety at the proposed access points, proximity to wetlands, dimensions of internal drive aisles, snow storage, fire-department access and visual buffering for adjacent homes. The board and peer reviewer noted several items that will require follow-up, and the applicant agreed to continue working with reviewers and town staff.

Why it matters: The project would add 40 housing units in Charlton’s village district and requires special permits and planning-board approvals. Neighbors said they are concerned about traffic, sightlines, emergency access, and how the development’s private drives and storm/snow management would be handled.

Key facts and project details cited at the hearing - Proposal: 40 townhouse-style residential units in eight buildings on about 6 acres at 35 North Main Street/L Stevens Road (village district). - Parking: Applicant says plan provides 90 spaces (40 interior garage spaces + 40 driveway spaces + 10 satellite spaces) to meet the zoning requirement of 2.25 spaces per unit. - Buildings: eight buildings, roughly 48,000 square feet total; streetscapes and landscaping shown in materials. - Wetlands: large central wetland area will be left undeveloped; applicant said five plan edits were made to increase separation from wetlands following Conservation Commission review. - Sidewalks: applicant proposes sidewalks along L Stevens Road and North Main Street (board noted sidewalks will be 5 feet as recently adopted by the town). - Drive aisles and safety: applicant described curb-to-curb drive aisles proposed at about 20 feet, with some driveway segments 16 feet wide; peer-review comments flagged narrower widths and potential guest parking in drives that could obstruct travel and emergency access. - Sewer/wastewater: several units on Olga Lane were proposed with E/One pump units (small grinder pumps) discharging via a proposed force main; applicant preferred routing the force main under the new sidewalk to avoid temporary wetland impacts but said alternate alignments were possible if the board or utility did not accept that approach. - Fire access and turnaround: applicant added a turnaround to address fire-department comments and said it will coordinate further with the fire department.

Board and public concerns Board members and the project peer reviewer raised substantive concerns about drive-aisle width and guest parking obstructing travel lanes, winter snow-storage and removal (including where snow would be placed given adjacent wetlands), sightlines and turning safety at the L Stevens/North Main intersection, and whether narrower drives should be managed via one-way traffic or additional satellite parking and widened sections at locations with units on both sides.

Several nearby residents spoke during the public comment period. Comments included complaints about existing speeding on L Stevens Road, concerns that the proposed driveway would worsen sightline/turning problems at the intersection, requests for additional visual buffers (trees and/or fencing) for adjacent homes (one resident requested arborvitae or trees), and skepticism about the developer’s past responsiveness to neighborhood concerns. The applicant’s attorney offered to provide examples from the developer’s portfolio and to arrange meetings between the developer and neighbors.

Next steps and board action The Planning Board voted to continue the public hearing to the meeting on June 4 to allow the applicant time to address peer-review comments and to coordinate with town departments (highway, fire, sewer & water) and the Conservation Commission. The board also indicated it would request further details on drive-aisle geometry, snow-storage locations, hydrant locations/sprinklering, and sight-line/turning analyses; the board said it was likely to request or require the peer reviewer to examine sightlines and entrance safety.

A continuation does not indicate approval. The applicant and the board said they expect to work through outstanding peer-review items before the next hearing.

Attestations: The project team presented plans and renderings and responded to peer-review comments during the hearing. The board flagged traffic/sightlines and emergency-access items for additional analysis.