Planning Board
Approved site plan and special permit for 80 Haverhill Rd (with conditions and waivers) and the Board voted to support the redevelopment concept for 5 School St. and 9 School St.
The Planning Board opened with routine housekeeping and moved promptly to substantive items. The Board finalized and approved the draft decision for the site plan and special permit at 80 Haverhill Rd, adopting project-specific conditions and two waivers (allowing a 20-ft aisle width in lieu of 24 ft and accepting a traffic memorandum instead of a full traffic report) and requiring 6-foot initial height evergreen screening in specified rear areas; the vote passed 5-0-2. No members of the public spoke at the hearing, and staff noted that the abutter’s attorney indicated satisfaction with the decision’s conditions.
The Board also reviewed a pre-application concept for disposition and redevelopment of 5 and 9 School St., focused on historic preservation of the Ordway building, potential small-scale residential conversion (the Council order allows up to eight units in the Ordway), parking retention, removal of later additions, and directing net sale proceeds to library repairs. Members discussed unit counts, parking/ADU options, timelines for the RFP and bid review, and the tradeoffs between preservation and expediency; the Board voted 6-0 to support the concept. The meeting concluded with one consultant invoice approved and adjournment.