Design committee reviews 30 Barefoot Road update, recommends waivers and further study on sidewalks

Northborough — The North Road Design Review Committee on Jan. 29 reviewed revisions to the site plan for 30 Barefoot Road and agreed to forward a memo to the planning board that will include two waiver requests and several recommendations on signage and off‑site pedestrian access.

Quentin Park, who presented the update, said the applicant moved the dumpster pad to free an on‑site loading bay and designed the pad so garbage trucks can circulate counterclockwise and exit without backing against traffic. He told the committee the plans add bicycle parking and four electric-vehicle charging spaces near the building and that the storefront materials will match the adjacent property at 30 Barefoot.

“The way the bylaw calculation works, the gray areas total 6.3% of the area enclosed by the blue,” Park said, arguing that adjacent landscaped areas and a 10‑ to 11‑foot retaining wall with plantings achieve the intent of the 10% landscaping requirement even though the numeric calculation falls short.

The committee discussed whether the applicant could reconfigure spaces or rely on shared‑parking agreements to increase the measured landscaping area, but members noted that changing the layout risks losing parking the owner considers necessary for marketability. Park said he will seek a waiver at site‑plan review and submit a good‑faith planting and screening plan intended to improve the site compared with current conditions.

Committee members also reviewed a proposed reduction of a 20‑foot landscape buffer to 15 feet along the property edge between 10 and 20 Barefoot Road. Park described a roughly 10‑foot grade differential, a retaining wall and a combination of shrubs and trees on top of the wall, and asked the committee to treat the three‑dimensional screening as equivalent to the larger horizontal buffer.

A major portion of the meeting focused on whether the applicant should build a sidewalk or a mixed pedestrian/bicycle path along Barefoot Road. Members referenced the town’s Complete Streets prioritization plan and funding estimates and debated jurisdiction (Department of Public Works vs. planning board), cost and the utility of building a short sidewalk segment that could remain disconnected from a townwide network for years. The committee asked Park to meet with staff (Laurie and Scott) to clarify DPW specifications and evaluate off‑site or phased approaches; the planning board will have final authority over conditions attached to site-plan approval.

On signage, the committee asked for a schematic of the freestanding sign, noting the applicant intends a low monument sign consistent with the sign at 30 Barefoot to reduce driver confusion between the adjacent lots. Park agreed to deliver the sign schematic and material samples with his site‑plan submission.

The committee also noted snow‑storage, driveway geometry, and stormwater features (including a proposed rain garden where an existing driveway will be removed). Members asked the applicant to add several evergreen trees to help mitigate the measured shortfall in parking‑lot landscaping and to clearly indicate the dumpster location and screening in the plans.

The committee did not take a binding vote on any waiver at the meeting. Instead, members agreed to include the committee’s recommendations in a memo to the planning board: support for (1) seeking a waiver of the 10% parking‑lot landscaping measurement (project measures 6.3% under the bylaw method), (2) consideration of a buffer reduction to 15 feet in this location with added evergreen screening, (3) submission of a freestanding sign schematic consistent with 30 Barefoot, and (4) further coordination between the applicant, planning staff and DPW on sidewalk or shared‑use path options. Park agreed to meet with staff before the planning‑board hearing and to provide the requested documentation.

A motion to adjourn was then made and seconded. The committee scheduled a follow‑up meeting for Feb. 26 to continue unfinished business and to finalize design‑guideline items.

What’s next: The applicant will submit site‑plan materials and a sign schematic to the planning board; the committee’s memo will document the requested waivers and recommendations. The planning board will consider the site plan and any formal waiver requests at its review.