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Millis planning board delays closing of Acorn Place special permit after residents flag safety, drainage and meter issues
Summary
After residents identified sidewalk buckling, a high drainage grate and an unresolved driveway drain, the Millis Planning Board voted to postpone final closeout of the Acorn Place special permit for one month so outstanding infrastructure and a water‑meter connection can be addressed.
The Town of Millis Planning Board voted Jan. 13 to postpone the formal closing of the special permit for the Acorn Place senior residential community after residents and grounds managers outlined unfinished infrastructure work.
Chair (unidentified) opened the discussion by saying the home development is largely built out but that the corporation that operated the project has dissolved. Residents asked the board to leave the permit open to ensure remaining safety and drainage issues are fixed.
"We received the as built plan, we received the Beta Engineering report, and we sent Camille this afternoon a note with 3 items that were related to the infrastructure that we wanted the Board to be aware of," said resident Steve Carden, who identified himself as "president of the HACO and place board of trustees." He listed buckled sidewalk sections, a drainage grate that sits above road level and can’t serve its purpose, and a driveway drainage repair from November that had not remedied the problem.
Sandra Lally, treasurer of the Acorn Place board and a resident at 28 Acorn Place, voiced concern that closing the permit could let the now‑dissolved developer stop addressing outstanding problems. "If you close it out, I can see him going like this and saying, I don't have to do anything," Lally said.
Rich Campbell, who said he manages the grounds and common areas for the development, described the items remaining on the punch list and asked for a short extension so the developer and residents could finish the work. He specifically noted a grate in a median that should be capped to prevent injury and an irrigation pipe yet to be connected.
A Planning Board member provided an estimate for the water‑meter connection: about $2,500 plus $275 for the reader and meter. The chair offered to postpone action for a month to allow residents time to arrange repairs and payments. The board passed a motion to postpone the permit closeout to the next meeting by voice vote.
The board did not record a roll‑call vote in the transcript; members expressed unanimous assent by voice. The postponement gives residents until the board's next meeting to address the sidewalk, drainage grate, driveway drainage and meter connection noted by residents and Beta Engineering.
The next planning board meeting is scheduled in one month, when the board will revisit the Acorn Place closeout.
