Westborough board postpones Zara Drive road acceptance after drainage, code issues persist

The Westborough Select Board stopped short of accepting Zara Drive as a public way, citing outstanding drainage and building-code concerns that town staff say remain unresolved.

Farooq Elsari, trustee of Zara Gardens LLC, said his team has been "diligently working on trying to resolve this problem" and that an engineering sketch addressing remedial work was submitted to the Department of Public Works and community development staff the day of the meeting. "Once they approve it and if they're okay with it, then I'll just go ahead and implement it," Elsari said.

Community Development Director Fred Linardi outlined a longer history of resident complaints, inspection letters and a March 2024 formal notice that cited two building-code provisions. Linardi said an engineering report submitted the day of the meeting did not yet address the full scope, and recommended DPW not accept the road until the town receives a comprehensive engineering report and evidence of implementation. He also said he set a February 3 deadline for further action and warned that daily fines under Massachusetts law could resume if the deficiencies persist.

Board members expressed frustration with the pace of remediation and emphasized protecting residents. One board member summarized: the town needs a "complete report on the whole project, not just one individual lot," and said that if substantial progress is not made by February 3, the town should apply fines promptly.

Next steps: staff will coordinate with the developer and DPW to seek a clear, documented plan and will provide an update to the board at its next regular meeting.