Planning Board Not Supporting Business District at TM

The Andover Planning Board decided not to support an article for the upcoming Annual Town Meeting that, if approved, would allow for the creation of a new business district on River Road.

Residents, business owners and town officials have commented both positively and negatively about the creation of a business overlay district along River Road over the past couple months.

However, in the end, members of the Planning Board felt there was not enough time to properly vet the idea.

Specifically, the warrant articles asks Town Meeting voters to change the zoning on 65 acres of property east of Interstate 93 on River Road to allow for the establishment of retail businesses. With the mass amount of employees based along that section of River Road, many have stated that it would be beneficial to have more retail establishments.

While the Planning Board chose not to support it at their Tuesday meeting, the warrant article will still go before Town Meeting voters at the end of the month, along with more than 40 others. Planning Director Paul Matarazzo said that the article could still very well pass at Town Meeting.

Matarazzo said that Planning Board members were supportive of creating the business district. However, he said they would like to see the idea studied by an advisory committee or task force and give the proposal the analysis it deserves.

“They did say that they would like to revisit and study this issue should it not move forward this year,” said Matarazzo.

The warrant article was brought forth by an Andover resident who was acting on behalf of the Gutierrez Company, a Burlington-based real estate development firm. The Gutierrez Company owns 15 acres of the 65-acre proposed zoning overlay district.

While various comments have been made on this issue, one common thread is the fear that the new business district in West Andover may hurt the downtown economy by taking business away. But town officials have said that there are certain ways to design the business district so it serves the needs of West Andover without attracting consumers away from downtown.

The Board of Selectmen have been waiting to make a recommendation on this article until the Planning Board made theirs. The board is now expected to make their recommendation to either support or not support the article, which is number 40 on the Town Meeting Warrant.