Auburn Planning Board gives stalled Southbridge project one final continuance

AUBURN — April 28, 2026 — Auburn Planning Board issues last-chance ultimatum on long-delayed Southbridge Street project. The board voted 4-1 Tuesday night to continue the 282 Southbridge Street site plan modification for Quality Contracting — which seeks to add two commercial buildings of roughly 6,250 square feet each — but attached a binding condition: if the applicant's engineer fails to appear at the May 12 meeting, the hearing will be closed. Chair Jason Asirifi and Vice Chair Ron Brooks clashed on the question, with Brooks moving to deny the continuance outright after members noted more than 25 prior delays spanning roughly a year and a half; that motion failed 2-3. Town Planner Rose Russell used the dispute to flag a longer-term fix — a formal re-noticing policy requiring new legal advertisements after extended continuances — though she confirmed any such rule would require Town Meeting adoption. Two other cases, a proposed indoor golf simulation facility at 615 Southbridge Street and a detention-pond replacement by Casella Waste Management at 15 Hardscrabble Road, were each continued unanimously to May 12 pending outstanding peer reviews and an easement draft, respectively. Joe Sziabowski of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission also previewed a new Auburn permitting guide, modeled on a template developed for Charlton, with a final deliverable expected in August 2026.