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Uxbridge ZBA grants variance to create parcel for National Grid substation on Millville Road
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance enabling FE Taft LLC to create a 2.4‑acre, no‑frontage parcel at 900 Millville Road to be conveyed to National Grid for a substation, finding a hardship tied to historic loss of frontage to the railroad.
The Uxbridge Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance allowing FE Taft LLC to create a 2.4‑acre parcel with zero feet of frontage at 900 Millville Road for conveyance to National Grid to build a substation. The board granted the variance after finding a hardship caused by historic loss of frontage when the railroad severed the property from the public way.
Attorney Todd Broder, representing FE Taft LLC, told the board the parcel is “intended to be a parcel transferred to National Grid for purposes of construction of a substation.” He said National Grid requires fee ownership rather than an easement, explaining, “The requirement from National Grid is fee ownership of a parcel.”
Board members probed access, potential precedent and setbacks. Several members said the parcel is an awkward, largely landlocked shape created by decades‑old railroad and utility easements and that a substation use is low‑traffic and appropriate for the site. One board member said the situation is similar to a prior case in which the board granted relief for land without frontage caused by railroad takings and argued the hardship is geographic rather than policy‑driven.
After discussion, a motion to grant the variance on a finding of hardship owing to the loss of frontage was made and seconded and passed by voice vote. The board directed staff to prepare a written decision and deliver it to the applicant within the statutory timeframe.
The variance clears a key local land‑use hurdle for the proposed substation but leaves future planning‑board and permitting steps: the creation of the parcel will also need planning board endorsement and any future structural or setback relief would need separate review if proposed.
