Billerica Master Plan Committee flags gaps in sidewalk inventory, brownfield grants

BILLERICA -- August 4, 2025, Billerica's Master Plan Oversight Committee found significant gaps in documentation and stalled initiatives while reviewing land use and transportation chapters of the town's 2015 plan. The three-member panel, Jean Favreau, Mary McBride, and Anthony Ventrusca, could not locate a town-wide sidewalk inventory despite a 2017 Complete Streets policy requirement that one exist, and confirmed the town has failed twice to secure a $500,000 federal brownfield assessment grant, with staff saying the most recent rejection came because Billerica "is not dirty enough or sick enough or poor enough." On the positive side, Phase 1 of a major road project is out to bid with roughly $17 million in federal and state funding following MassDOT approval around July 28, and a mixed-use overlay along Boston Road is in place. Members raised the question of whether the now-decade-old plan needs a full public update, which staff said could cost between $150,000 and $350,000. Two seats remain vacant pending appointments from the School Committee and Town Moderator.