Charlton Planning Board presses Villages developer on density, parking, and traffic safety

CHARLTON — August 13, 2025 — Charlton Planning Board raises density and parking objections at second hearing for 40-unit rental project. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to continue the public hearing for the Villages multifamily development at 35 North Main Street, a 40-unit rental proposal by GM Properties LLC, to the September 3 meeting after members cited serious concerns about parking adequacy, traffic, and site density. One member argued that a single-car garage paired with a tandem driveway space cannot count as two independent parking spaces, calling the distinction fundamental: "If you've got to get out and move a car to move another car, that's not two spaces." The applicant's engineer said no regulation he had seen prohibited the count and called the feedback frustrating at this stage of the process. The board also approved three one-year extensions for existing permits — Rockway Realty Trust's Center Depot Road subdivision, White Development Corporation's Tucker Farm Estates on Smith Road, and the Paoli family's Casey Road reduced-frontage lot — all by unanimous vote. A resident of 36 L. Stevens Road urged the board to study sight lines at the proposed development exit, saying she had nearly been struck head-on at the curve multiple times.