Boxborough Town Center

The Public Hearing is closed.

The Planning Board has till May 3rd to submit their decision on the site plan that has been submitted.

A public notice has been published that the Planning Board will meet and likely vote on their decision on Tuesday, April 10th at 7:30pm at the Town Hall.  No one can comment, but we can attend and listen and react when the decision is rendered. See the latest blog post for more details.

Recent news:

• The legal team hired by our community-funded group has submitted a second letter to support our claim that the Planning Board should deny the current site plan application, including examples of legal precedent for similar denial decisions in MA, that were upheld in court.
• The traffic and safety committee has compiled a detailed, research-backed letter that was submitted to the Planning Board to advocate for drastic changes to the existing proposed conditions that will not, as written, ensure the safety of anyone driving on 111/Mass Ave.
• We are fundraising! Check this blog post to learn why, and email us at fundraising@boxboroughtowncenter to learn more about how to help us support the Planning Board in their mandate to keep our town safe.

You can always join the ongoing discussion in our community Facebook group, or watch for updates on the Public ‘Neighbors of Boxborough’ page, where you can also join our email mailing list (hello@boxboroughtowncenter.org) for timely updates on meeting times and locations!

Want to help? We are still collecting funds to continue this important effort.  

What is all the Fuss about?

The ‘Town Center’ zoned land that is bordered by 111 (Mass Ave), Stow Road and Burroughs Road, is currently under consideration, with plans submitted by “Boxborough Town Center LLC”, owned by developers Michael J. Jeanson and James D. Fenton and under agreement to sell to Toll Brothers (TOL), to build a private community of 100 densely packed senior housing units and a private recreation center. Toll Brothers are currently selling similar 55+ ‘luxury’ units in Stow, already under construction – but at a significantly lower density than proposed in Boxborough.

Currently only abutters are notified of public meetings, however we aim to bring the awareness of the plans and meetings to the general Boxborough population.  We are NOT affiliated with Boxborough Town Center LLC, which is an LLC owned by the developers Fenton and Jeanson, and former Boxborough Selectman, John Lyons.

Why should you care?

The proposed density of housing has the potential to:

1. Have an undetermined long-term impact on the aquifer
2. Hijack the intended mixed-use development of our land that was voted to become our Town Center in 1989
3. Increase the population of Boxborough by ~2-5%
4. Add significant burden on essential town services (Fire, Police, Public Works)
5. Increase traffic on Mass Ave, Burroughs Road and Stow Road (not far from Blanchard, the Library & Flerra Meadows)
6. Create new road access to both 111 and Burroughs Rd (via Priest Lane)
7. NOT address the need for affordable, ‘downsizing’ options for seniors
8. Contribute an unknown amount of added light pollution to impact the local night sky
9. May put an area of wetlands (flora and endangered fauna) at risk
10. Expose the entire town to YEARS of widely-felt blasting and construction headaches

What do you need to know?

The applicants own the name ‘Boxborough Town Center, LLC’, but did not register the website domain – so we’re using this site to collect and disseminate public information about this development, the plans that have been filed, and the schedule of town committee meetings at which these plans have/will be discussed.

A more detailed history of this proposal, including drawings of the plans can be found here. Older plans that would have created a ‘true’ Town Center can be seen here.

See our Blog for accounts of past meetings, links to video from public hearings, summary analyses of potential environmental impact, and our resources page for traffic and fiscal projection reports. More reports still to come!

What can you do?

Please check back here for information, share with your neighbors, and attend any public hearings or committee meetings to express your concerns. The Planning Board is comprised of elected officials, and they must take the concerns of their constituents into account during this process.

You can also join our closed Facebook group, which we are building into a Community awareness and interaction forum. We discuss the Town Center project, but also other events and issues of interest to Boxborough Residents. Please join us!

In addition to checking the agenda of Town Committee meetings,    **please attend the upcoming Planning Board meeting on March 5th** 

We are a group of concerned Boxborough residents, who are trying to educate other residents of the proposed plans for the land in the center of Boxborough, which was zoned as Town Center land.

We are NOT affiliated with Boxborough Town Center LLC, which is an LLC set up by the developers Fenton and Jeanson and is under agreement to sell to Toll Brothers, that has filed the site permit for the high-density units.

We also maintain a closed Facebook community group, where we offer updates and news about the Town Center development proposal, as well as other activities and events in the Boxborough community.

Please join us there (and invite your neighbors!) to actively engage with your fellow residents, and to learn more about pervious Public Hearings and how to have your voice heard at several local, municipal, and state levels.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boxboroughtowncenter/videos/

For background reading, and many links, here is an archive of past email newsletters. For now, I’ve uploaded a single PDF, but it includes newsletters from February 22 till September 26th.

Oct 11, 2017 Newsletter: Public Hearing still open – Planning Board considering ‘conditions’