Framingham Planning Board Elects New Chair in Contested 3-2 Vote

FRAMINGHAM -- April 6, 2017, Framingham Planning Board elects new chair in contested vote as downtown apartment debate drags on. The board chose Thomas Mahoney as its new Chair in a 3-2 vote at the April 6 meeting, ending two consecutive years for Christina Wong; Louis Colton was elected Vice Chair by the same margin, and Victor Ortiz was elected Clerk unanimously, 5-0. The night's longest hearing concerned 75 Concord Street, a proposed 197-unit apartment complex by Wood Partners, where board member Victor Ortiz quoted the special-permit bylaw's hazard standard and said the Kendall Street garage exit "do not meet that condition," while multiple town meeting members described the Kendall-Freeman-Frederick Street intersection as already dangerous. The board also heard new concerns from Standing Committee on Planning and Zoning Chair Steven Scholl, who argued the town's freshly ratified city charter bars non-essential actions during the transition period and could invalidate two proposed zoning bylaw amendments, a 100-page recodification package and a rewritten mixed-use bylaw, before they reach the April 25 Annual Town Meeting. The board voted 4-1 to allow a temporary 15-day occupancy permit for IHOP at One Edgell Road for employee training only, contingent on ADA parking compliance.