King St. Rezone in Offing, Bellingham Project to Dump Traffic to Prospect St.

Above, site proposed for rezoning on King Street, one of the many active areas in town.

To read the reports from industry-watcher Warren Group or the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, each offering statistical proof that few people are buying or selling homes these days, you might be tempted to conclude that development is also slowing.

At least in the Franklin area, that’s far from the truth. Earlier this month, the Franklin Historical Commission allowed the demolition of an older home at 140 West Central, (covered under the town’s Demolition Delay bylaw) to make way for a newer and larger structure and a similar request is to be heard regarding 19 Dean Avenue.

Monday night, the Planning Board heard about the proposed "friendly 40B" at 444 East Central,which could yield 265 housing units.

Along West Central Street closer to the train station another property was demolished a few weeks ago and yet another is being considered for the same fate.

On King Street, owners are asking the Town Council next week to rezone properties next to the fire station (634 and 648 King St.) from its current residential uses. There is even a Change.org petition drive supporting the proposal.

Flying under the radar, one of the biggest projects currently under discussion, is probably Prospect Village, actually located in Bellingham but only accessible from Prospect Street in Franklin. There, Wall Street Development is putting forth a plan for some 156 townhomes in 52 buildings on 72 acres near the intersection of Lake St. and Prospect St.,  some of the narrowest and least traffic-friendly roads around. 

According to Bellingham Town Planner, Amy Sutherland, the developer had previously proposed more than a dozen single family homes on the site but ran into opposition from Bellingham’s Conservation Commission.

The pitch for this new, much denser project will be aired at public hearing in front of the Bellingham Planning Board on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Arcand Meeting Room in the Municipal Center, 10 Mechanic Street, Bellingham, MA as well as utilizing the Virtual Meeting option found on the Town of Bellingham website, www.bellinghamma.org. The general public may participate either in person or by utilizing the Virtual Meeting option found on the Town of Bellingham website, www.bellinghamma.org.

Christel Akouri, a Prospect Street resident, whose home is almost directly opposite one of the two access driveways proposed for Prospect Village, said she had heard some kind of development was being discussed but was shocked when she recently received an abutter notification from Bellingham detailing the scale of the project.

According to the developer, much of the project had previously been used for sand and gravel extraction by Varney Brothers. As a result, some parts of the property are completely open, but most of the rest is vegetated. The developer acknowledged that much sand and gravel remains and the development plan envisions continuing extraction as the project progresses.

While the traffic study performed for the developed asserted that there would be little or no impact on traffic from the project, the study made the following suggestions:

While the project itself is not creating any new anticipated operational deficiencies and site related traffic will be able to enter and exit the site safely, the importance of creating safe and efficient access for the project is essential to maintain a safe multimodal traveling network for non-site related traffic. The following mitigation measures have been identified below and are intended to provide safe site access.

• STOP control on the Southern Site Driveway and Northern Site Driveway with Stop (R1-1) sign install compliant with Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
• While the proposed project is anticipated to have a minimal impact on this intersection, it is proposed to clear and regrade the roadside on the west side of Prospect Street at Lake Street to bring the grade down to level with the road grade for the purpose of improving visibility. Clear overgrown shrubbery and foliage along the western side of Prospect Street. Widen the corner radius at the northwest corner of Prospect Street & Lake Street. It was noted that there were tire track movements in the gravel area indicating a wider corner radius would be beneficial since they are currently making this movement.
• Install Intersection Ahead signs (W2-2) compliant with MUTCD along Prospect Street in both directions to indicate that Lake Street is ahead.
• Install STOP Ahead sign (W3-1) compliant with MUTCD along Lake Street, approaching Prospect Street

The applications and plans may be viewed at the Planning and Zoning Office or Town Clerk's office in the Municipal Center, 10 Mechanic Street in Bellingham, MA during regular Municipal Center business hours. For questions please contact the Town Planner at 508-657-2893. William F. O'Connell Jr., Chairman Bellingham Planning Board.

Project documents can also be found online here.