Billerica Planning Board unanimously tables Swanson Meadows golf course land use discussion

BILLERICA -- November 10, 2025, Billerica Planning Board tables Swanson Meadows golf course discussion after packed public pushback. The board voted unanimously 7-0 at its November 10 meeting to table an open discussion about the future of the Swanson Meadows Golf Course on Rangeway Road, just one month after town meeting defeated Article 38, a rezoning proposal for the site. Dozens of abutters from the 216 and 218 Rangeway Road condominium associations filled the hearing room; HOA president Janet Moran argued that the discussion violated town meeting's legislative authority, and resident Prakash Govindarajalu cited a 2022 Massachusetts DEP report identifying arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals in a contamination plume he said extends roughly two miles and borders the property. Chair Michael Parker read into the record a November 10 letter from property owner Angelo Skipper stating he "fully acknowledges and respects" the town meeting vote and asking for guidance on what development might be acceptable when the site's restrictive covenant expires October 5, 2030. Member Dina Henderson called for a future charrette-style public meeting to educate residents on land use options, saying "the planning board is a neutral party," while member Blake Robertson noted after voting to table that the parcel represents exactly the kind of resource and needs study the board is chartered to undertake. The board also unanimously continued a public hearing on a scaled-down 147,000-square-foot flex light industrial proposal at 161 Concord Road, reduced from an approved 203,000-square-foot biotech building, to December 8.