LYNNFIELD — Finalizing site plans for the new elementary school expansion project, furthering discussions for a two-house subdivision on Main Street, and passing a tree preservation bylaw are all on the Planning Board’s radar as high-priority projects this spring.
The $17 million school expansion project, which residents voted to approve last December, will include the addition of 10 classrooms to the Huckleberry Hill and Summer Street schools in order to accommodate what is projected to be an unprecedented spike in the town’s elementary enrollment by the year 2024.
Site plans will be presented to the Planning Board during its March 31 meeting. Once the town has the board’s approval for both schools, it can then obtain the building permits necessary to begin construction.
“The meeting is important because this will be the best chance for any stakeholders to appear and be heard by the board,” said Planning Board Chairman Brian Charville. “We’ll have not just the presentations from town officials and their designers, but also anyone from the town who wishes to be heard will be welcome to participate and they’ll be recognized.”
The two-house subdivision project, located at 271 Main St., near Reedy Meadow, was brought to the board in the final quarter of last year, Charville said, adding that the March 31 meeting will be the town’s first time hearing feedback from engineers and other professionals.
“The subdivision is unique in that it’s a lot with a house already on it,” he said. “This will enable a new home to be built on what will be a second lot behind the existing home.”
Charville added: “It is next to an environmentally sensitive area, so in this case we’ve been mindful of what the effects of a new home will be, and so both the Planning Board’s engineer and the applicant’s engineers have been looking closely at making sure there’s no wetlands disturbance.”
As for the tree preservation bylaw, which has been in discussion for well over a year, Charville said the purpose is to prevent developers from clearing all trees on a plot of land when making room for new buildings. It will be presented at Town Meeting this June for a vote.
“We heard the town’s feedback, and we think this very narrow tree bylaw, in conjunction with building activities only, is the way to address these problems we’ve heard about from the community,” Charville said.
