Planning Board Decision Could Lead to Widening of Wachusett Drive

After more than two hours of discussion, the Planning Board Wednesday night voted 4-1 that an applicant seeking to build a new house in place of an old one at 34 Wachusett Drive will have to make improvements to the street in order to move forward with his building plan.

Those improvements could mean widening a portion of the street, from 34 Wachusett Drive to the intersection of Fair Oaks Drive, about a 200-foot span of the roadway.

However, the board had mixed opinions on whether a road width of 16, 18 or 20 feet was necessary. Currently, the street is 16 feet wide, and Planning Board regulations stipulate local streets be 20 feet wide. Neighbors at the meeting and who signed a petition say they oppose any widening of the street.

George Murnaghan, of 34 Wachusett Drive, went before the board on July 14 for a road adequacy determination, seeking a waiver on street mitigation to meet the 20-foot rule.

After debate at that meeting over whether 16 feet was an adequate width, the board decided to hold off on voting until it could seek input from Fire Chief Bill Middlemiss on whether the street was wide enough for fire and rescue operations.

Last night, members Wendy Manz and Richard Canale said they would vote in favor of a waiver to allow the street to remain at 16 feet.

Manz said she did not think fire safety was an issue in that stretch of road, and that other portions of the street are more problematic. Canale called the idea of requiring widening to 18 or 20 feet a "cookie-cutter" following of the board's regulations instead of being flexible based on the situation.

Chairman Gregory Zurlo, Charles Hornig and Tony Galaitsis said they were in favor of seeing the street widened after hearing input from Middlemiss, through meetings and e-mail exchange.

While Middlemiss did not say via e-mail that he preferred the road to be widened to 20 feet, he said that any improvements to the road would make it safer for residents and Fire Department operations, which Manz called a "tepid recommendation" to widen.

Hornig said widening the road for fire safety reasons is because two fire engines, measuring 10 feet in width, need to be able to pass each other, an engine needs to have room to pass a parked car, and both need to occur in winter when snow banks are present.

"We're merely being asked if 16 feet with no mitigation is adequate," Hornig said. "Based what heard from the fire chief on those three things, don't believe it is."

There was discussion over whether to require Murnaghan to widen that portion of the street to 18 feet instead of 20, however Hornig said he felt that would ruin the aesthetics of the neighborhood but still not be enough room for the fire trucks. Members mostly said they felt 20 feet was too wide.

Murnaghan gave the board a copy of a petition started by a Wachusett Drive resident and signed by others on the street saying they were not if favor of the the street being widened.

A resident who lives across the street from where Murnaghan plans to build his new home after demolition of the existing one said she felt widening the street would encourage drivers to speed – a safety risk for neighbors.   

Murnaghan also asked the board what was different about his application, versus a board decision in 2005 that granted a waiver to the resident of 33 Wachusett Drive without requiring street mitigation and widening.

"What is different about this application today and 33 Wachusett Drive in 2005? I have heard no answer to that," Murnaghan said. "This is an identical fact pattern."

Canale said he agreed.

In order to find some solution last night, the board ultimately voted 4-1 in favor of determining that the section of Wachusett Drive was not adequate, and that road improvements must be made that are acceptable to the board. Zurlo was opposed.

Members could not agree on what street width to require and what surfaces would be acceptable, and said those decisions could be fleshed out when road design plans are created.

The board did waive a requirement that the street improvements be made before a building permit is issued, though it must be completed before a certificate of occupancy is issued. That allows Murnaghan to move forward with his building project while road plans are created.

The Planning Board meets next on Aug. 11.