Central Gas Station Plan Gets Approval on 5-2 Vote

The Hudson Planning Board hoped to wrap up a long presentation for the 77 Central Street gas station and convenience store plan at their June 26 meeting. After extensive input, multiple changes to the original proposal, and extensive debate from the Planning Board, the Central Gas project had been pending before the Planning Board for several months. Project Attorney, Andrew Perlman, was at the meeting to continue the presentation, along with Project Engineer, Paul Chisholm, from Keach-Nordstrom Associates.
“We were here last month, and I believe we were down to a handful of questions,” said Perlman. “We respectfully request conditional approval tonight.”
With the long wait time, there was pressure to move forward with a final approval or rejection of the plan.
“I hear opinions that the Planning Board should decide on this application tonight because we’ve been over a lot of things,” member, James Crowley, conceded, maintaining a concern that more steps were needed to address his concerns with the project. “It was obvious to me that this proposed project had traffic, location, and environmental issues.”
He expressed frustration that the plan was not revised enough in response to earlier concerns, singling out a review of the elevation of the gas station’s underground storage tank.
“I don’t see a stipulation for it, I don’t see any revised plans either, that’s what worries me,” said Crowley.
Worried about what he saw as an inadequate traffic plan, Crowley asked for a stipulation requiring a sign on the Central Street driveway exit of the gas station to limit left turns from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“If I’m not mistaken, when we put the Mobil station in, a “No Left Turn” sign was placed there. It has since disappeared and people still make left hand turns, but it’s not a unique situation in Hudson for that to occur,” said Vice Chair, Jordan Ulery. “But we still have that traffic study that says there are no issues.”
Chair, Tim Malley, added that no turn signs were “unenforceable by the police department” without adding it specifically to the town code.
“It’s a suggestion, probably kind of a feelgood suggestion,” said Malley. “Unless the Board of Selectmen changes the town code to make it a legal requirement, it’s not enforceable.”
The stipulation was eventually rejected in a two-to-five vote. Requests by member, Victor Oates, to reconsider several waiver proposals from the last presentation, including a driveway waiver and a requirement to monitor benzine levels at the gas station also failed.
“I think I’m done asking the questions, everybody’s entrenched, we all know how this is going to go,” said Oates, who was audibly frustrated at what he saw as a lack of proper scrutiny by the Planning Board on the Central Gas plan, especially regarding waiver approval. “I just don’t understand what we’re doing.”
He also worried that without a full study, the gas station would be a risk to the surrounding wetlands and aquifers.
The Planning Board voted five to two in favor of endorsing the Central Gas proposal with over a dozen stipulations, including limits on exterior construction, state approval, hours of operation for the convenience store, an overfill device, and a spill prevention plan. Oates and Crowley opposed the plan.

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