The Southborough Zoning Board of Appeals on March 19 continued the public hearing on a comprehensive-permit (40B) application for 250 Turnpike Road to April 16, 2025, to allow completion of environmental studies and engineering work.

Brian Charville of Ferris Development Group, counsel for the applicant FD 250 Turnpike LLC, said a vernal-pool migration study was underway and that peer reviewer Lucas Orzel had inspected the on-site monitoring setup. Charville said the migration buckets had been installed and opened, that observations were being made this week and that the study would continue for roughly two more weeks. He also reported the project’s septic system design is nearing completion and will be shared with the board of health and the town’s consultants for review.

Charville further told the board that the applicant had submitted information from the Southborough Fire Department showing on-site work that alleviated the department’s earlier concerns about a secondary fire-lane access from Parkerville Road. The applicant said the fire chief’s feedback is supportive of the proposed approach, though issues such as whether sprinklers are required remain under review.

Board members said they expected a substantive discussion at the April 16 meeting when the migration study and peer-review comments are complete; the board voted to continue the hearing to that date and time (April 16 at 7:45 p.m.). One member noted they could not vote on the motion due to a conflict and voluntarily abstained from voting on their motion; remaining members recorded Aye votes.

Why this matters: 250 Turnpike is a comprehensive-permit application that raises environmental (vernal pool and tributary) and public-safety (fire access, sprinklers) considerations. The outcome of peer-review findings and septic design will affect whether and under what conditions the board can vote to approve a permit.

Next steps: The applicant will complete the migration study and submit the report; the town’s peer reviewer will complete his review; septic design will be finalized and circulated to the board of health; the ZBA will take up the item again April 16 at 7:45 p.m.