Billerica Planning Board Unanimously Approves Market Basket Expansion Use Permit

BILLERICA -- May 8, 2023, Billerica Planning Board approves use permit for Market Basket expansion and clears 120,000-square-foot lab building at Technology Park. The board voted unanimously Monday to grant a site plan special permit for supermarket use at 700 Boston Road, allowing Market Basket to proceed with absorbing approximately 15,320 square feet of former Bob's retail space, with a full site plan review including parking, stormwater, and landscaping planned for a later submission, possibly around December. Two neighbors from Theodore Court raised concerns about nighttime car racing, inadequate south-side screening, and lights left on overnight; developer Jim Lamp of LT Development addressed them directly, showing conceptual plans that break up the parking lot with 20-foot landscape islands and add a raised crosswalk at the main entrance. The board also approved 6-0-1, with one abstention, a site plan special permit for a lab and GMP building at 298 Concord Road, conditioned on stormwater peer review completion with the Conservation Commission within one to two weeks. New chair also announced a 9:30 p.m. cap on starting new permit items at future meetings and a commitment to monthly planning oversight work beginning in June with a review of the mixed-use development overlay.