At the June 26, 2023 meeting of Acton’s Select Board representatives for McGovern Auto Group, as well as their law and engineering firms, presented a substantially revised redevelopment plan for Nagog Park. The first Nagog Park redevelopment plan that was submitted to the Town in February 2023 aroused considerable community opposition, and the revised plan addressed some of those concerns. The Select Board and Acton residents’ comments followed McGovern’s presentation.
In opening remarks to the hearing, Acton Planning Director Kristen Guichard and Select Board member Dean Charter described the scope of the Select Board’s options when a project’s activities fall within Zoning Bylaw regulations. Ms. Guichard said, “When an underlying use is allowed as of right under zoning, the board’s review authority is confined to site plan review.” And similarly Mr. Charter said “If the applicant decides to continue on with the car dealership, there’s no practical way that can be stopped.”
Mr. Mark Bobrowski (Blatman, Bobrowski, Haverty & Silverstein, LLC, Concord, MA) introduced the presentation, describing meetings with town staff and concerned citizens. David Kelly of Kelly Engineering Group presented the revised plan, emphasizing that the plan is a work in progress. The revised proposal describes a single auto dealership building, rather than the two buildings that were originally proposed. Possible accommodations for almost all the affected businesses were described, although not in detail.
The Select Board’s questions addressed details of the plan, consistent with the Board’s limited powers as described in the opening remarks. Residents’’s comments were more free-ranging. The limitations of the Board’s powers provoked comment, including frustration that those limitations were not made known in advance. Others suggested that a broader view of the Board’s powers could invoke consistency of a given project to the Town’s master plan, which might provide legal justification to reject the project outright. One speaker noted that the consultant conducting the Great Road Complete Streets Study was unaware of the impact of the Nagog Park proposal, suggesting a failure of communication among town groups. A recurring theme of the remarks questioned the need for yet another auto dealership, and the perception of a developing “auto mile” on Great Road.
The hearing concluded with unanimous agreement of the Board to continue consideration of the Nagog Park proposal on September 11, 2023 at 7:10 PM.
