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Planning board accepts 307 Blackstone application, grants multiple waivers after contentious hearing
Summary
The planning board accepted a four‑lot subdivision application for 307 Blackstone Street, closed a lengthy public hearing and granted multiple waiver requests — including allowing a private gravel travel surface — but required a 20‑foot travel width, one paved sidewalk on one side, and an HOA agreement to hold the HOA responsible for road maintenance.
The Town of Blackstone Planning Board accepted an application for a four‑lot subdivision at 307 Blackstone Street, closed the public hearing after extensive testimony from abutters and granted several waivers with conditions.
Attorney Scott Ambler, representing the applicant, said the revised plans removed a stub road that had raised access concerns and that his client had addressed peer‑review comments from Tetra Tech. "The plans that were presented to you tonight, are what my client is seeking to have approved," Ambler said.
Abutters and their counsel strongly opposed the plan. Henry Lane, an attorney for nearby property owners, told the board the proposal amounted to "a plan to avoid subdivision control," arguing the layout relied on a long gravel private way, multiple waivers and departures from frontage and paving standards that, he said, were intended to be safeguarded by the town's subdivision rules.
Town peer reviewer Ethan Dively and other town advisors explained that the planning board has discretion to grant waivers if the board finds them consistent with the public interest and not otherwise inconsistent with subdivision control law. Dively noted that, in his opinion, if the board is comfortable granting the requested waivers and finds the proposed road adequate, the gravel travel surface could be treated as satisfying certain suburban access requirements for planning purposes.
After closing the public hearing, the board moved through the applicant's waiver requests. The board voted to accept the application procedurally, then approved the following, as amended:
- Waivers for plan profile details and to show a general tree line rather than individual trees. - Waiver allowing pond locations in private easements (with long‑term maintenance obligations documented in the O&M plan). - Waiver to retain existing overhead electric and telephone lines rather than requiring underground utilities. - Waiver to omit planting street trees given the existing condition and limited clearing. - Conditional approval of the private way with two changes requested by the board: the travel surface must be 20 feet in width (the applicant had asked for 18 feet) and the developer must provide one paved sidewalk on one side of the way. The board required a mutually acceptable homeowners association (HOA) agreement that assigns road maintenance and specifically places responsibility for any gravel washing onto town roads with the HOA rather than the town.
Counsel and consultants agreed that a finalized written decision and any required plan revisions would be prepared before endorsement. The board set the matter for a final decision draft and signatures at a subsequent meeting after the required notice and appeal period.
What stayed contested: Abutters argued the waivers were excessive and would create precedent; they questioned maintenance reliability of an HOA, gravel road washout risk, and whether the gravel way should be treated as a paved road for zoning frontages. The applicant and the town’s peer reviewer disagreed, citing prior local precedents, a long‑term O&M plan, and the limited traffic the roadway would generate.
Sources: Applicant presentation and board discussion, testimony from abutters’ counsel and town peer reviewers during the public hearing on 307 Blackstone Street.
