Planning Board approves small auto-sales display at 186 Broadway with conditions

The Taunton City Planning Board on Oct. 2 approved a site-plan request allowing MG Motors Inc., owned by Dean Broadway Realty Trust, to display up to five vehicles for sale at 186 Broadway as an accessory use to an existing retail business.

The board read coordination-meeting conditions that will govern construction under the plans dated Aug. 26 (year as submitted). Conditions include that exterior lighting not illuminate abandoned neighboring properties; the site be cleared of debris; as-built drawings certified by a design engineer and land surveyor be submitted upon occupancy; two updated plan sets conforming to the decision be provided prior to building permit; dumpsters be on a concrete pad, emptied regularly, and enclosed by a six-foot stockade fence or equivalent; vehicles be displayed only in the spaces shown on the approved site plan and not exceed five at any time; and there be no on-site storage or display of vehicle parts.

The engineering reviewer reported no objection to the proposal and said the proposed one-way traffic pattern in the lot is acceptable given slight curb-cut changes tied to a Broadway Phase 2 MassDOT project. The board proceeded with the review despite the applicant not being present, opened public input (no speakers), and approved the site plan by voice vote "with the conditions read." The board instructed staff to include the conditions in the written decision.

Board members and staff noted minor plan edits requested by departments, including removal of a one-way vehicle notation and striping of parking spaces. The decision will be written and distributed; the applicant must comply with the listed conditions before occupancy.