Boxborough planning board pulls proposed 'gateway' B2 zoning after businesses push back; advances design‑review and several bylaw items for town meeting

The Boxborough Planning Board on March 16 conducted an extended public hearing on proposed zoning changes for the Massachusetts Avenue (Route 111) corridor, including a new Business‑2 (B2) gateway district. After substantial public comment from area business owners and residents — and detailed board discussion about grandfathering, permitting authority, noise mitigation and design standards — the board withdrew the B2 article for further work and voted to advance a revision to Article 2.6 to expand design‑review applicability to business and town‑center districts.

The hearing drew multiple landowner and operator statements. Bobby Lonin of Element Materials (formerly NTS) told the board his company employs about 60–70 people and asked whether lots with long‑standing businesses could be left off the rezoning map so existing operations would not face permit uncertainty. “We want to function with the limitations that are granted to us currently,” he said. Bill Litton and Jen Lynch of Linscog Balancing (1170 Massachusetts Ave) said their facility has operated for more than 30 years and includes machining and welding that is not noiseless; they urged protection for long‑standing industrial users.

Proponent remarks and legal counsel feedback Rich (acting chair) presented a revised article and a use‑table spreadsheet that listed curtailed and expanded uses for the proposed B2 district. The draft also included a proposed noise‑mitigation footnote and instructions to define the district by parcel numbers rather than ambiguous map lines. Legal counsel reviewed the draft and suggested editorial and structural edits to improve clarity and reduce the risk of misinterpretation by property owners.

Board decisions and motions After hearing public testimony, the board voted to withdraw the Article 4.1.3 B2 gateway proposal from the Annual Town Meeting warrant to allow more outreach and refinement. The board then removed references to B2 from the draft design‑review article and passed a motion recommending revisions to Article 2.6 to extend design review to Town Center and Business (B1) districts. The board also approved a revised definition for “specialty food shop” that clarifies circumstances under which food vendors may serve beverages (including alcohol) while preserving separate state and select‑board licensing requirements for alcohol service.

Other warrant recommendations The board recommended several other non‑zoning warrant articles: a home‑rule petition asking state permission to regulate second‑generation anticoagulant rodenticides, and a general bylaw to reduce single‑use polystyrene and disposable plastic food service items with a transition schedule and a defined enforcement escalation (written warning, $50 second offence, $200 per subsequent citation). The board authorized staff to prepare outreach materials and asked proponents to draft the planning‑board recommendation language for printing.

Why it matters The debate illustrates the tension between preserving long‑standing industrial/commercial uses on Route 111 (important to the town’s tax base and local employment) and the town’s stated goal of shaping a more consumer‑oriented, gateway or village‑scale corridor. Board members repeatedly stressed an incremental approach: protect current lawful uses and work with landowners on specific, measurable constraints to avoid unintended consequences.

Next steps Staff will circulate the finalized recommendation language to proponents for the printed warrant by the Wednesday deadline; the B2 gateway article will be reworked with additional stakeholder engagement before any future submittal. The design‑review expansion (Article 2.6), specialty‑food definition, rodenticide home‑rule petition and single‑use plastics bylaw will move forward as recommended.