Shrewsbury CPC Brings Three Projects to Town Meeting Next Week

SHREWSBURY — May 11, 2026 — Shrewsbury Community Preservation Committee previews three town meeting articles and hears pitches for new open-space projects. At the May 11 public forum, Chair Deborah Mooney told residents the committee will seek town meeting approval for Maple Avenue recreation field lighting, a rental assistance pilot through the Affordable Housing Trust, and phase three restoration of the District Number Five Schoolhouse; all three require a majority vote to proceed. The committee also approved a $193.05 advertising invoice and its April 6 minutes, with two members abstaining from the minutes vote. Resident Carrie Ward raised the possibility of preserving her family's 993 Main Street historic property — a registered historic farmhouse — as parkland or trail space rather than selling for development, while resident John Ciavelli pushed for a phased repair of the deteriorating Maple Avenue stone wall, which assistant town planner Griffin O'Neill confirmed is under active evaluation. Conservation Commission member Diane Jones outlined an early-stage proposal, tied to the town's 300th anniversary, to plant 300 native trees on municipal land using a combination of CPC and DCR funds.