Charlton Planning Board Continues 40-Unit Townhouse Hearing, Cites Safety Concerns

CHARLTON — May 21, 2025 — Charlton Planning Board continues 40-unit rental townhouse proposal amid safety and traffic concerns. Acting Chair Bill Fontaine led a packed session Wednesday in which the board unanimously continued the public hearing for GM Properties LLC's proposed Villages development — 40 townhouse-style rental units in eight buildings at 35 North Main Street — to June 4, citing unresolved driveway width issues, inadequate sight lines at the L. Stevens Road intersection, and disputed snow storage in a wetland-constrained six-acre site. Attorney Joshua Lee Smith of Baudich and Dewey and engineer James Tatro presented for the Shrewsbury-based applicant, confirming the project meets the bylaw's 90-space parking minimum and would install five-foot sidewalks along both street frontages following a Town Meeting vote days earlier. Two abutters pushed back, with one L. Stevens Road resident calling the intersection "a nightmare" and saying "you're adding people coming in on one side and essentially a blind spot." The board also deadlocked over whether NextEra Energy can choose its decommissioning bond instrument at 261 North Sturbridge Road under language the board called "very gray," and directed staff to obtain a Town Counsel opinion and prepare bylaw amendments for the fall Town Meeting.