Auburn Planning Board Recommends Nancy Drive Acceptance After 50-Year Delay

AUBURN — April 14, 2026 — Auburn Planning Board recommends Nancy Drive acceptance to Town Meeting, ending a 50-year administrative lapse. The four-member board voted unanimously Tuesday to forward the street's public-way acceptance to Town Meeting after DPW Director and Town Engineer Joanna Paquin explained that the road's 1971 subdivision process was completed up to — but not including — the final Town Meeting acceptance vote, leaving residents unknowingly on a private road. Paquin estimated a full repaving would cost roughly $130,000 to $140,000, using a grind-and-pulverize method, and said the town may already be collecting Chapter 90 funds for the road. The board also continued two Southbridge Street site plan hearings — Quality Contracting's two-building modification at 282 Southbridge Street (3-1, with Vice Chair Ron Brooks dissenting) and Mast Futures LLC's proposed indoor amusement facility at 615 Southbridge Street (4-0) — both to April 28 pending Graves Engineering's technical review. The board introduced two new additions: Town Planner Rose Russell, formerly of the City of Worcester, and new board member Chris Sequeira, an 18-month Auburn resident.