HARVARD — The Board of Selectmen has asked the Planning Board for comments on Chapter 40T, which allows the creation of a special district that acts as a “town within a town.” The law would be used in the Town Center.
Using 40T to create a Town Center district would merely create a divide in Harvard, said Planner Joseph Sudol. Property owners within such a district could lose representation within it, he said.
“We don’t think it’s good for Harvard in the long run,” he said.
There appears to be some clear problems with Chapter 40T, said board Chairman Mary Essary.
Chapter 40T tends to work in larger cities, said Sudol. He volunteered to draft the board’s response on the matter to be sent to the selectmen.
In other news, the board continued two hearings to its April 28 meeting in the old library’s Hapgood Room. One is for applicant Donald Walter, of Lovers Lane, for a special-permit modification hearing. The other is for applicant Fox Realty Trust for a driveway site-plan review and scenic-road consent hearing for a property on Stow Road.
Finally, the board held its officer elections during the meeting, with Sudol being elected as the new chairman, Essary as vice chairman and Kara Minar as clerk. — Richard Breyer
