Planning Board Backs 150-Foot Industrial Buffer, Splits Zoning Article for Town Meeting

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- March 7, 2022, North Attleborough Planning Board settles on 150-foot industrial buffer and splits a Route 1 zoning article ahead of town meeting. The board reached consensus Monday on a 150-foot residential setback standard for a proposed warehouse and distribution complex near Route 1, backing away from a previously discussed 250-foot offset after Jeff O'Neill, a principal of Condign Real Estate Development, argued the larger buffer would eliminate a planned 125,000-square-foot second building by consuming four to five acres of the site; the two-building concept totals roughly 225,000 square feet. The board voted 3-2 to extend the Town Center District boundary to include a local commercial property at parcel 169 on Map 3, with supporters citing the building's commercial history dating to 1927, and then voted unanimously to split the TCD town meeting article into two separable sections so a contested vote on the 169 inclusion would not jeopardize the broader zoning change. The board also voted unanimously to release the covenant on the Miramichi subdivision in reliance on a $195,000 bond held by the town treasurer to guarantee road completion.