Planning Board Closes Maple Avenue Commercial Hearing, Advances Toward Conditional Approval

SHREWSBURY — June 4, 2026 — Shrewsbury Planning Board closes commercial hearing at 335 Maple Avenue, continues mixed-use component to July. The board voted unanimously Thursday night to close the public hearing on the commercial pad site component — Lot 1 — of the 335 Maple Avenue development, with attorney Mark Borenstein of Waltham Bella and Worcester telling the board that outstanding peer review comments from Graves Engineering had been substantially resolved; the board warned the applicant that specific tenants and site layouts, including any drive-through uses, will require return appearances. The mixed-use Lot 2 portion, which has drawn concern about design and a pending right-turn lane study on Oak Street at Route 9, was continued to July 9. On a separate continued hearing for the proposed 250-unit mixed-use development at 525 Hartford Turnpike, traffic consultant Carrie Pike of Howard Stein Hudson reported a Route 20 daily volume of 25,000 vehicles and net new weekday morning trips of 233, with peer reviewer Maureen of Bowman Engineering confirming all traffic comments had been addressed; a Housing Choice grant application for the required Route 20 traffic signal was submitted to the state June 3, with awards expected in October. The board also bid farewell to nine-year member Dino Perna, who reflected on the body's work: "If nobody is happy, applicant, consultant, and resident, then that means we have done a good job of balancing the interests of everybody."