OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Framingham Planning Board Meeting - September 19, 2025

Planning Board — Friday, September 19, 2025
BodyFramingham, Massachusetts
SessionPlanning Board
DateFriday, September 19, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:03:09

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

The Framingham Planning Board is comprised of five members.

0:03

The board reviews the wide range of applications for commercial and residential projects.

0:08

The mission of the Planning Board is to ensure the projects increase quality of life, contribute to economic development, and are consistent with Framingham's character.

0:16

The Framingham Planning Board is also responsible for enforcing and revising the zoning bylaws and developing and implementing the city's master plan.

0:24

The following planning board meeting coverage is brought to you by the government channel, a service of the city of Framingham Good evening.

0:53

This is uh my name is Ted Cosgrove, I'm the chair of the planning board here in the City of Framingham.

0:58

This is an open meeting to the public and is being conducted in person and remotely.

1:04

The hour being 7 p.m.

1:06

or later, we'll begin with matters designated on the agenda.

1:10

Please note that the meeting is being recorded and some attendees are participating by a remote conference.

1:22

What I'm gonna do is um I'm gonna really go.

1:27

Usually I would go right down the agenda um and call right in order.

1:32

We're gonna take one out of order today to took one.

1:37

Um if Eric it's Eric Johnson who's gonna be here, right?

1:40

Is he online?

1:41

Yes, he should be.

1:42

Okay.

1:42

Um we'll go down uh in order.

1:46

I will um let the applicant come up, introduce themselves, present, uh ask the board if they have any questions they'd like to ask ask the applicant and go out to the public and uh we'll have a discussion.

2:01

Um just a word to the wise too.

2:04

Uh if you are online, just know that since this is being recorded, uh if you want your um your video uh muted, make sure you do that.

2:15

Uh okay.

2:18

That being said, let's start with um I don't see oh, Eric is here.

2:22

Let um all right, so we'll take that first.

2:25

We'll go with the first five uh yes.

2:29

We have to read the uh public notice for this.

2:31

Just read it into the record.

2:32

Uh beautiful.

2:33

Thank you.

2:34

Yeah, thank you.

2:37

Thank you.

2:42

Uh read what was actually this okay.

2:48

Uh small font next time.

2:51

Good thing I got my uh bifocals here.

2:53

Uh so the first case we're gonna do are some street acceptances, and we have the city engineer here.

2:59

So we're gonna take advantage of that.

3:00

Uh so it's a legal notice of the Framingham Planning Board Notice of Public Hearing, Street Acceptances.

3:06

The Framingham Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 18th, 2025 at uh 7 p.m.

3:13

in the Ablondi Room Memorial Building 150 Concord Street, Framingham Mass, in accordance with the provisions of uh the general laws of Massachusetts, chapter 79 and 82 and chapter 410 of the Acts of 2014 to consider the laying out and acceptance of the following as public ways candlestick lane, gaslight lane, and lantern road to determine whether it is in the public interest to accept these roads as public ways and hear all persons interested in the acceptance of said ways.

3:43

For more information or plans, please visit the planning board office room 121 in the memorial building or at the website uh for the city of Framingham.

3:54

The legal notice can be found in the Metro West Daily News and in the pub uh the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers uh Publisher Association website MNPA.

4:06

Okay.

4:08

Eric, I see you're there.

4:10

Let me turn this back so you can get that back on the file.

4:13

Thank you.

4:14

Eric, the floor is yours.

4:16

Well, thank you very much, Chair.

4:18

Um this is part of actually the uh larger street acceptance program that the city's been undertaking for well over ten years now.

4:24

As you indicated, the special acts of 2014 is actually special legislation that the um that the Ben Town, but the Framingham passed in order to help streamline this process.

4:34

So as the process goes, streets first go to the city council.

4:39

We'll pine that is uh it is in the public's interest to accept these streets, then refer to the planning board to also determine it's in the public interest and basically report back to the city council.

4:50

You have the layouts there before you.

4:52

Um we've reviewed these, they were um constructed.

5:06

Went before the planning board at some point, decades ago, but historically were never finalized.

5:13

And uh we don't know why.

5:14

And it's history of reasons that that these have happened too.

5:17

But unfortunately, what's happened now?

5:19

You have these roads of which the city gave building permits.

5:23

The houses are occupied.

5:25

But there's no one there to own the road.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning███████████████████████████27%
Land Use Planning████████████████████████24%
Transportation Safety█████████████████████21%
Street Acceptance███████7%
Procedural█████5%
Master Planning████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Affordable Housing███3%
Building Codes██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Framingham Planning Board Meeting - September 19, 2025

The Framingham Planning Board convened on September 19, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Ablondi Room of Memorial Building, with remote participation available. The meeting covered street acceptances, a facade painting request, a modification to a 2015 decision for an adult daycare facility, and a temporary remote terminal pilot project for Logan Express. The board also held a lengthy discussion on future planning goals, including zoning reform and updating the master plan.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of September 4, 2025: Approved unanimously.
  • One Worcester Road (Atlantic Poker and Shoppers World): Request to paint the facade. Approved unanimously (no further discussion).

Discussion Items

  • Street Acceptances – Candlestick Lane, Gaslight Lane, Lantern Road: Eric Johnson, city engineer, explained that these streets were never finalized after construction. The city has funds to improve them, and acceptance would increase Chapter 90 funding. The board reviewed layouts and voted unanimously to recommend the city council adopt the layouts as public ways.
  • 655 Kachichuit Road – Modification to 2015 Planning Board Decision for Adult Daycare Facility: Attorney Lima Agranovich represented the prospective tenant (adult daycare). The applicant requested: (1) extending the permitted use to adult daycare, (2) reusing the existing building frame instead of demolishing and rebuilding, (3) reducing required parking by one space (from 62 to 61), and (4) space-banking eight front parking spots to allow a bus turnaround and potential landscaping. Board members discussed the parking need, support for reducing asphalt, and a sidewalk requirement (Condition 30 from 2015) that would lead to a "sidewalk to nowhere." The board voted to approve the modification, including removing Condition 30 (sidewalk) and allowing the applicant to reuse the frame, while space-banking eight spots. The motion passed unanimously.
  • 19 Flutie Pass – Special Permit for Temporary Remote Terminal Pilot Project (Logan Express): Representatives from Massport (Tommy Butler, Liz Yusom, architect Amy Corte, and civil engineer Dan Ketches) presented a pilot program for a prefabricated remote terminal building for passenger screening and bus transport to Logan Airport. The building would be temporary (three months) and removed after the pilot. Two options were presented; both comply with zoning. The board discussed the temporary nature, security, and the project's role in informing a permanent future terminal. The board approved the application with a condition that the temporary building must be removed after the pilot (motion passed unanimously).
  • Future Goals Discussion: The board engaged in a strategic conversation about priorities, including: updating the housing plan (to maintain 10% affordability threshold and possibly anticipate a state increase to 15%), simplifying the zoning bylaw (possibly hiring a consultant), addressing specific corridors (Waverly Street, Route 9, Hollis Street), and revising the master plan to be actionable. No formal votes were taken, but the board agreed to review the 2023 master plan and prioritize targeted workshop-style community engagement.

Key Outcomes

  • Street Acceptances: Unanimous vote to recommend adoption of Candlestick Lane, Gaslight Lane, and Lantern Road as public ways.
  • 655 Kachichuit Road: Unanimous approval of modification to 2015 decision, including one parking space reduction, space-banking eight spots, removal of Condition 30 (sidewalk), and allowance to reuse building frame.
  • 19 Flutie Pass: Unanimous approval of special permit for temporary remote terminal pilot project, with condition that the building must be removed after the pilot period.
  • Meeting Adjourned: Motion to adjourn passed unanimously after recess.

Meeting Transcript

The Framingham Planning Board is comprised of five members. The board reviews the wide range of applications for commercial and residential projects. The mission of the Planning Board is to ensure the projects increase quality of life, contribute to economic development, and are consistent with Framingham's character. The Framingham Planning Board is also responsible for enforcing and revising the zoning bylaws and developing and implementing the city's master plan. The following planning board meeting coverage is brought to you by the government channel, a service of the city of Framingham Good evening. This is uh my name is Ted Cosgrove, I'm the chair of the planning board here in the City of Framingham. This is an open meeting to the public and is being conducted in person and remotely. The hour being 7 p.m. or later, we'll begin with matters designated on the agenda. Please note that the meeting is being recorded and some attendees are participating by a remote conference. What I'm gonna do is um I'm gonna really go. Usually I would go right down the agenda um and call right in order. We're gonna take one out of order today to took one. Um if Eric it's Eric Johnson who's gonna be here, right? Is he online? Yes, he should be. Okay. Um we'll go down uh in order. I will um let the applicant come up, introduce themselves, present, uh ask the board if they have any questions they'd like to ask ask the applicant and go out to the public and uh we'll have a discussion. Um just a word to the wise too. Uh if you are online, just know that since this is being recorded, uh if you want your um your video uh muted, make sure you do that. Uh okay. That being said, let's start with um I don't see oh, Eric is here. Let um all right, so we'll take that first. We'll go with the first five uh yes. We have to read the uh public notice for this. Just read it into the record. Uh beautiful. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Uh read what was actually this okay. Uh small font next time. Good thing I got my uh bifocals here. Uh so the first case we're gonna do are some street acceptances, and we have the city engineer here. So we're gonna take advantage of that. Uh so it's a legal notice of the Framingham Planning Board Notice of Public Hearing, Street Acceptances. The Framingham Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 18th, 2025 at uh 7 p.m. in the Ablondi Room Memorial Building 150 Concord Street, Framingham Mass, in accordance with the provisions of uh the general laws of Massachusetts, chapter 79 and 82 and chapter 410 of the Acts of 2014 to consider the laying out and acceptance of the following as public ways candlestick lane, gaslight lane, and lantern road to determine whether it is in the public interest to accept these roads as public ways and hear all persons interested in the acceptance of said ways. For more information or plans, please visit the planning board office room 121 in the memorial building or at the website uh for the city of Framingham. The legal notice can be found in the Metro West Daily News and in the pub uh the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers uh Publisher Association website MNPA. Okay. Eric, I see you're there. Let me turn this back so you can get that back on the file. Thank you. Eric, the floor is yours. Well, thank you very much, Chair. Um this is part of actually the uh larger street acceptance program that the city's been undertaking for well over ten years now. As you indicated, the special acts of 2014 is actually special legislation that the um that the Ben Town, but the Framingham passed in order to help streamline this process. So as the process goes, streets first go to the city council.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com