Planning board approves four Oak Street special permits, urges single condo association and conditions on private water/septic

The Bridgewater Planning Board voted unanimously May 6 to approve four special-permit and site-plan applications for Map 11 Lot 71 (four Oak Street lots), while urging the applicant to consolidate ownership and maintenance responsibilities under one condominium association.

Chair Patrick Frisco opened deliberations after the public hearing had already closed, saying the board and staff had discussed the option of "tying the 4 special permits together" but that legal counsel and staff advised the board could only recommend — not make mandatory — a single condo association. "The most we can do is recommend it," the chair said.

Several board members pressed the advantages of a single homeowners association during deliberations. One member said the association would preserve quality and maintenance: "It's something that the town wants to be proud of," the member said, adding that shared governance can prevent mismatched maintenance or half-finished facades in the future.

Town planner Shane O'Brien told the board the decision letters and findings of fact would note that the lots will use private wells and septic systems, not municipal water and sewer. "In my memo I put that it’s going to utilize well water and septic tanks," O'Brien said, and the board added language conditioning approvals on compliance with Title 5 and any applicable health-department signoffs.

Town building commissioner Steven Solari reminded the board that a building permit cannot be issued without potable-water signoff: "A permit cannot be issued unless sign off for potable water is there," he said.

Because each lot is a separate special permit on separate lots, the board recorded four separate roll-call votes to approve Lot 1 through Lot 4 with the same standard conditions: adherence to the set of submitted plans, demonstration of adequate potable water and septic compliance before final signoff, and a recommendation (not a condition) that the owner form one condo/HOA to manage shared elements. The chair also instructed staff to add standard language clarifying that any future connections to municipal systems would be subject to Department of Public Works approval.

The approvals close out the four Oak Street applications; applicants were encouraged to follow through on consolidation voluntarily and to secure required health- and building-department signoffs before permits proceed.