Essex Planning Board closes hearings on two housing special permits

ESSEX -- July 2, 2025, Essex Planning Board closes public hearings on two special permits for housing projects. The board closed hearings Wednesday on a 36-home Open Space Residential Development on Essex Park Road, proposed by Bell Point LLC, and a six-unit mixed-use building at 44 Main Street sought by Costello Construction and Remodeling. Engineer Will of Moore and Cameron Group presented impervious-surface calculations showing the OSRD would cover roughly 10 percent of the 84.4-acre site, below the 15 percent threshold requiring additional permitting, while peer reviewer James Pearson of Weston and Sampson confirmed via email that four previously flagged lots met constructability requirements. Turtleback Road abutters dominated public comment, pressing the board on who bears the cost of road damage caused by emergency access use. On 44 Main Street, Town Planner Valerie Massard told the board that no existing downtown building carries a commercial component smaller than 950 square feet, the bylaw minimum, flagging the applicant's proposed 600-square-foot commercial space as potentially setting a damaging precedent. The board agreed to condition any 44 Main Street special permit on a full traffic impact memorandum at site plan review, and will take up draft special permit language for both projects at its July 16, 2025 meeting.