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Select Board delays approval of Village Commons LAU after town staff cite unresolved drainage issues at Zara Gardens
Summary
Developer requested Select Board sign-off on a Local Action Unit (LAU) application for four affordable units at Village Commons; town staff said outstanding drainage and corrective-action items remain at Zara Gardens and asked for a final action plan with milestones and staff sign-off before recommending approval. The board agreed to revisit the LAU after a published plan and progress updates.
The Westborough Select Board on March 25 declined to sign off on a Local Action Unit (LAU) application for four affordable housing units at 2 Donia Drive (Village Commons) and instead required the developer to present a final, town-staff-approved plan to resolve outstanding issues at an earlier subdivision, Zara Gardens.
James Earhart, counsel to Village Common Realty Trust, told the board the LAU was a routine state filing needed to move the project to the state Housing agency for approval and that the remainder of the site approvals are in place. "This is more of a perfunctory approval we're looking for," Earhart said.
Town staff — including the community development and planning directors — told the board they could not recommend the LAU without a final action plan and schedule that addresses a set of unresolved items at Zara Gardens, which town engineers, DPW and the building commissioner have been investigating. Planning director Jenny Gingroof told the board the town needed a "final plan of action" and a schedule that shows milestones and when corrective work will be completed; she said the town does not require the work be finished before LAU sign-off but needs a staff-approved plan and timeline.
Developer representatives and counsel argued that the outstanding matters stem from two or possibly one isolated basement flooding events at Zara Gardens and that the developer has been cooperating and has posted bonds and offers to repair any disturbed lawns; they urged the board not to delay the Village Commons project, which includes four affordable units. The developers representative said the work to investigate and correct the older project was underway and that 11 of 12 homeowners in Zara Gardens had agreed to allow investigation access.
Select Board members split on the immediate course. Some members said approving the LAU is a separate, routine state step and that holding the new project would be punitive; others said they must prioritize resident complaints and trust the recommendations of town staff and the planning department. The board instructed the developer to provide a written final action plan with milestones and to obtain staff sign-off from engineering and building officials; the matter was placed on the next Select Board agenda for review once staff confirms progress.
No LAU signatures were provided at the meeting. Board members said a clear, dated corrective schedule and staff sign-off would be the condition for reconsideration on the next meeting agenda.
