Zoning Board continues review of proposed multi‑family development at 35 Village Road

The Middleton Zoning Board of Appeals continued its hearing on a Comprehensive Permit application for multi‑family housing at 35 Village Road after the project’s peer review identified significant outstanding engineering and stormwater concerns.

Attorney John Smolak of Smolak & Vaughan LLP and civil engineer Jesse Johnson of Weston & Sampson summarized the applicant team’s submission and said they will supply more complete responses to peer review comments in future filings. Town Planner Anna Bury Carmer told the board that the sewer serving the site is not town‑owned and that the application must include language assigning maintenance responsibilities and emergency response procedures for privately owned sewer connections.

Why it matters: the applicant’s sewer generation estimates—prepared under Massachusetts Title V (310 CMR 15.000) using 110 gallons per bedroom—put combined average daily flow at 30,800 gallons per day, a 24‑hour maximum of 15,400 gpd and a calculated peak of 86,240 gpd. The scale of those flows and the site’s downstream drainage capacity were central to the peer review’s findings.

A peer review by engineering firm Howard Stein Hudson (HSH) identified multiple items that remain unresolved, including anticipated zoning waivers (setbacks, multifamily use and parking), the need for additional landscaping and site details, watershed modeling and revised HydroCAD runs, infiltration testing, detention basin design and demonstration of downstream capacity to accept proposed discharges. HSH described its review as preliminary and requested substantial supplemental information, revised calculations and waiver documentation before the engineering and regulatory review can be completed.

During public comment, residents raised site‑specific concerns. Anne Bettencourt, of 40 Village Road, asked for clarification about a drainage ditch and how the Town will notify neighbors of future hearings. An unidentified resident raised traffic and access questions and complained about potholes and inadequate lighting on the privately owned portion of Village Road. Marie Simone (Unit 704, 40 Village Road) expressed concerns about stormwater runoff, traffic impacts, preservation of existing trees as a buffer and the potential effects of blasting on nearby buildings. Ann DeGregorio (48 Village Road) questioned the Fire Department’s response capacity and staffing and asked whether taxpayers could be asked to cover additional equipment needs.

Chairperson Richard Benevento called a motion to continue the hearing to the Board’s next meeting on June 25, 2026; the motion by Anne Cote, seconded by Craig Hartwell, passed unanimously. The continuation gives the applicant time to respond to HSH’s technical comments and to provide the additional documentation the peer reviewer requested.

Next steps: the applicant is expected to submit revised engineering analyses, updated HydroCAD modeling and explicit language addressing sewer maintenance and emergency response for the Board’s review at the continued hearing scheduled for June 25.