Select Board's one-year sewer moratorium complicates Westborough development, planning board hears

Planning staff told the Town of Westborough Planning Board on April 16 that the Select Board has approved a one‑year sewer moratorium, and the board discussed how the moratorium will affect pending development applications.

Planner Jenny Gingrich said the moratorium allows reallocation of existing sewer capacity and exempts single‑family homes up to four bedrooms, but staff do not yet know the moratorium’s official start date because it must be published in the newspaper. She said the planning office has already been operating under the moratorium practices and is advising applicants accordingly.

Board members raised concerns about the moratorium’s effects on pending projects and on town services. Members asked that the school department review applicant estimates of school‑age children; Jenny said she had circulated comments from the school department and would meet with the superintendent next week to clarify anticipated student counts for proposed developments.

The board discussed options applicants might pursue while the moratorium is in effect: some applicants have proposed private septic systems (Jenny cited 105 Flanders and 134 Fisher as examples) or are seeking to reallocate existing town sewer capacity. Jenny said allocation decisions rest with the DPW director and the town engineer; she encouraged applicants to consult DPW and noted the town may permit alternative arrangements or conditions if town sewer is unavailable.

Members emphasized the need to balance housing availability with sewer capacity and school impacts. Jenny noted a pending DPW study is due in June; the board agreed further policy steps should await that analysis.