Planning board approves Mission of Grace Church site plan at 85 East Main Street

The Westborough Planning Board on March 19 approved a site plan allowing Mission of Grace Church to convert an existing office building at 85 East Main Street into a place of worship, voting 5–0 after reading a set of conditions into the record.

Jenny, the town’s director of planning, told the board the application requested a full site plan review for a religious organization that includes a new sidewalk connection to East Main Street, temporary wayfinding signage during services, and a lease of 25 shared parking spaces at 95 East Main Street. "It's a pretty simple site plan revision," she said, summarizing the requested waivers and access changes.

Michael Grossworth of WDA Design Group, the project’s landscape architect, described the proposed physical changes: a new front walkway, a few bollard lights and sign illumination, and existing rear parking that includes a van-accessible handicapped space. The applicant said the congregation currently numbers about 30 people and anticipates a maximum capacity of roughly 100 attendees, which the lease arrangement is intended to support.

A planning board member moved to approve the plan "pursuant to the rules and regulations relative to site plans under section 3.1 of the zoning bylaws of the Town of Westborough," and read a set of ten conditions into the record. The conditions carry forward prior site plan terms unless modified, limit the approval to the building and the site improvements shown on the submitted plan dated Jan. 18, 2024, require signage to conform to the zoning bylaw and design review board decisions, require removal of temporary wayfinding signs promptly after services, and require the applicant to notify the director of planning immediately if the lease for the 25 parking spaces ends and to present a revised parking plan to the board. The decision also includes a three-year vesting provision and reserves the board’s right to review and modify future plan changes.

The motion passed unanimously, 5–0. Planning staff instructed the applicant on the next steps: the board will file the decision with the town clerk; the applicant should obtain a certified copy and record it at the Worcester registry of deeds, and then apply to the building department for any required permits. The board noted that if the shared-parking lease ends the applicant must return with a plan for additional parking.