Neighbors press Planning Board to limit vehicle connections and require buffers for 74‑lot Novarize subdivision

The Planning Board heard extensive public comment on the Novarize preliminary subdivision (02PS2026), a proposal for a 74‑lot clustered development on 158.2 acres at 973 Brownsville Road. Marathon Engineering updated the board on comment responses and the developer presented conservation easement and buffering concepts.

Several neighbors who live adjacent to the proposed development urged the board to prioritize the town’s comprehensive plan strategies for connectivity while protecting existing neighborhoods. Resident Nicole Zian told the board the plan "ignores critical privacy protections" and asked that the board mandate an increased lateral setback, an earthen berm of at least 8 feet tall and 20 feet wide with dense evergreens, and restrict the Fronte/Affronti Way extension "to an emergency access and pedestrian bicycle path only, eliminating the threat of daily commuter traffic." Other residents supported non‑vehicular connections and said they appreciated the developer meeting with neighbors to discuss berms and tree buffers.

Town staff walked the board through prior connectivity studies, the official map and access management plan and noted the board must balance the comp plan’s connectivity goals with neighborhood concerns. The developer presented options for stub roads and said the town engineer had found an eventual connection to Brownsville Road feasible. Board members asked the applicant to show concept buffering and berm locations on updated preliminary plans and to provide more detailed materials on property values and proposed home types to address neighborhood concerns about compatibility. The public hearing remained open for further submission and updated plans.