Planning Board Lends Support to Brookview Village

The "Brookview Village" 40B development would bring the kind of housing Marlborough needs to support area businesses said members of the Planning Board to the Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday.

"In general; we think this is a good idea," said Planning Board Member Philip Hodge. "In terms of the development of our city and in terms of planning for the long term it really looks beneficial."

Brookview Village is a 225 unit "friendly 40B" apartment complex that is planned to be located off of Ames Street. The board's support centered around bringing more housing alternatives to the traditional single family homes of the area.

"This is an idea that I was advocating ten years ago and I am really pleased to see someone proposing a specific project," said Hodge.

Planning Board Chair Barbara Fenby was also supportive of the concept of the development, although she stated in a letter to the ZBA that the board has not made a full review of the plans. This type of housing addresses the needs of younger workers in the community, she said.

"This project, if it's design stands up to detailed, careful consideration, and other projects of a similar nature yet to come offer more benefits than drawbacks for a city and should be welcomed and supported," wrote Fenby.

The additional housing would answer the needs of young professionals and also provide a solution to future traffic problems that are caused by people commuting into the city to work, she said.

The project is still before the ZBA with a continuation of the public hearing scheduled for October 30 at 7 p.m. ZBA Chair James Natale said that the board would take a vote at that meeting.