Commission closes hearing on 715 Main Street mixed‑use project pending engineering, health review; residents raise septic and stormwater concerns

The Town Road Planning & Zoning Commission on July 16 closed the public hearing for a proposed mixed‑use development at 715 Main Street and postponed any vote until the town engineer’s outstanding comments and a final response to health‑department concerns are in writing.

Kathleen Gallagher, the town’s planning and zoning administrator, told commissioners that the state health department “believed the project was feasible after consulting with the state Department of Health,” but that the department and the town engineer have identified requirements that must be satisfied before a certificate of zoning compliance is issued. Gallagher said many items in her review have been addressed but that “there might be one item…that would be a condition of the approval.”

Steven Shapiro, a member of the LLC proposing to purchase and develop the property, presented revised plans including revised landscaping, lighting and a blasting/crushing plan. Shapiro said design changes hide rooftop mechanical equipment: “All the condenser units would be not visible from the street,” he told commissioners, and he said the applicant had provided material samples and renderings for the commission’s review.

During a lengthy public‑comment period residents and an online attorney pressed the commission for more information about traffic, emergency access, stormwater runoff and the proposed septic. One resident who gave an address on Holly Place described the lot as “an acre and a half” and warned that a complicated stormwater system and septic trenching on shallow soil over ledge could pose risks to neighboring wells and businesses. Attorney Doug Dubitsky, participating by Zoom, asked whether zoning regulation revisions and the applicant’s site‑specific special development district (STD No. 9) were being processed concurrently; Gallagher confirmed the site‑specific overlay would be heard in parallel with state‑required mixed‑use revisions.

Residents raised specific technical concerns: the location of septic galleries close to the road and neighboring properties, whether snow‑storage and low‑lying catch basins at the southeast corner of the site could concentrate contaminants toward down‑gradient properties, and the adequacy of on‑site snow storage and snow‑removal plans. Gallagher said the applicant had requested shared parking and a 30% reduction in parking for restaurant uses, and that the developer would be required to provide the affordable‑housing units (10 percent of units), EV‑charging infrastructure rough‑ins, and any conditions governing shared parking in the written approval.

After commissioners discussed the outstanding engineering review and health‑department comments, the panel agreed to close the hearing rather than vote. Chairman Michael Riley said the commission would “close the hearing but not vote on it tonight” and would return to deliberations after receiving the town engineer’s written comments.

Next steps: the commission closed the record for this hearing and will consider conditions and any final vote at a future meeting after staff provides the outstanding engineering feedback and final health‑department requirements.