Billerica Planning Board Continues 279 Boston Road Mixed-Use Hearing to December

BILLERICA -- November 14, 2022, Billerica Planning Board continues 279 Boston Road mixed-use hearing amid density bonus dispute. The board unanimously extended the public hearing to December 12 after a two-hour session in which applicant attorney Steven Lentini unveiled revisions to the proposed 20-unit development, down from 21, including an indoor bicycle storage room, two ADA-accessible upper-floor apartments, a right-in, right-out curb cut on Boston Road, and a proposal to relocate a nearby LRTA bus stop to the project site at the applicant's expense. Select Board member Michael Rosa, testifying as a resident, submitted a written analysis arguing the project fails to satisfy the bylaw's density bonus criteria, contending it lacks the required separate bicycle routes, pedestrian connections, and cross-access between adjacent parcels. Director of Planning and Community Development Erica countered that the project meets the bonus's intent, citing the mixed-use overlay's own language superseding the general zoning standards Rosa invoked on parking. Peer review consultant Phil Paradis of Beta Group, joining by Zoom, said his firm has not yet received a formal response to its roughly 50 technical comments and reserved the right to re-review the full revised package. Board member Mike Parker, the Vice Chair, said he would not support a density bonus vote until the applicant delivers a complete consolidated plan set at the December session.