In response to some of the comments I wrote:
The Town has little to do with "waiting". That is all between the landowner and the buyer. Once a permit is applied for, there is a time line to be followed. If the project fits within what has been zoned for the space there is little the Planning Board can do to deny it. The opportunity for us to really have our say is when the 'Mater Plan' is revised. That is supposed to happen soon (actually overdue, but that's another story)
And Central MA Home Search wrote:
I agree with the above comment. A Planning Board's jurisdiction lies only in determining if the project is consistent with the zone in which it's proposed. Reasonable requests can be made during the project review, but denial based on opinion of a 'need' for the project is not in their power. On the plus side, there will be some healthier competition for the larger supermarkets...
The current Master Plan for Franklin was finalized in 1997 and can be found on the Planning and Community Development webpage here
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Planning/initiatives/master/index
The update guideline document (shown below) has an outdated time line but the process of updating the Master Plan should still be accurate.
MasterPlan_updateguideline
