Natick Report

Since 2020: More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

Developer files suit against Natick Planning Board over Route 9 car wash permit rejection

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The applicant whose bid to locate a Prestige Car Wash on Rte. 9 west was denied in June by the Natick Planning Board, has filed a complaint in Massachusetts Land Court seeking to annul the elected body’s decision.

Based on the court docket, “Both parties stated they are open to mediation.” Also, the Planning Board on its Sept. 23 meeting agenda has an executive session (not open to public) agenda item during which it is slated to “discuss strategy with respect to litigation…” on this matter.

Natick Report in April 2025 began covering Prestige’s efforts to possibly open in town, and followed this story through until the Planning Board decision in June (the board voted to deny on June 3 and filed its 28-page decision with the town clerk on June 16).

Hearings—which included plenty of complaints from neighbors about possible noise, traffic, and more—got testy at times between the board and project proponent’s team. In the end, board member Andy Meyer called it “the most thorough denial I’ve ever heard,” after Board Chair Doug Landry expanded on the motion to deny for 10 full minutes.

Boston Capital Investment Group and 625 Worcester St. filed their suit recently vs. the Natick Planning Board and its individual members, and according to the complaint, they took particular exception to Landry’s actions during the meetings.

The developer had sought a special permit to build the car wash on property previously occupied by a furniture store.

prestige rendering
Prestige rendering submitted to Planning Board

 
The applicant argued in hearings and in the complaint that its plans would actually improve the property in numerous ways, from overall noise reduction to removal of impervious surface.

As it contended during hearings, the applicant in the complaint emphasized that this Rte. 9 property is “one of small handful of lots in Natick on which a car wash could be approved” based on zoning rules.

ScrubaDub, which has its headquarters in Natick and is celebrating its 60th year in business, is located about a mile east on the other side of Rte. 9.

In addition to seeking annulment of the Planning Board decision, the complaint requests a declaration that “the Board acted with bad faith or gross negligence and award the Plaintiff costs and attorney’s fees” and “Grant Plaintiff such other relief that the Court deems just and equitable.”

We reached out late Tuesday afternoon to the plaintiff’s lead attorney as well as the town’s planning director for further comment on the suit (this was shortly before we gained to the full complaint). We may update this post based on responses received after initial publishing.

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Legal notice: MassDOT public meeting for Rt. 27/9 Bridge Replacement Project

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) invites you to attend an upcoming In-Person Public Information Meeting for the Routes 27/9 Bridge Replacement and Interchange Improvements in Natick, MA. The public is encouraged to attend this meeting and learn more about the Project and provide feedback.

There will be information on the project background, project design, schedule and construction phasing, public involvement, and next steps. The meeting will include both an open house segment and a brief presentation segment, with a Question-and-Answer session (Q&A) following the presentation.

The meeting will start in an open house format at 6:30 p.m., followed by a brief presentation starting at 7:30 p.m., and Q&A after the presentation.

All views and comments made at the meeting will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.

In-Person Public Information Meeting

DATE: June 4th , 2025
TIME: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Wilson Middle School, 22 Rutledge Road, Natick, MA, 01760
Online Event Page: https://www.mass.gov/event/natick-route-27-and-route-9-bridge-replacement-and-interchange-improvements-06-04-2025

This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. MassDOT provides reasonable accommodations and/or language assistance free of charge upon request (e.g. interpreters in American Sign Language and languages other than English, live captioning, videos, assistive listening devices and alternate material formats), as available.  For accommodation or language assistance,
please contact MassDOT’s Chief Diversity and Civil Rights Officer by phone (857-368-8580) or by email (MassDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us). Requests should be made as soon as possible prior to the meeting, and for services including sign-language, CART, language translation, or interpretation, requests should be made at least ten business days before the meeting.

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Legal notice: MassDot meeting for Routes 27/9 Bridge Replacement and Interchange Improvements in Natick, MA

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) invites you to attend an upcoming Virtual Public Information Meeting for the Routes 27/9 Bridge Replacement and Interchange Improvements in Natick, MA.

The public is encouraged to attend this meeting and learn more about the Project and provide feedback. There will be information on the project background, project design, schedule and construction phasing, public involvement, and next steps. All views and comments made at the meeting will be reviewed and considered to the maximum extent possible.

Virtual Public Information Meeting

Date: November 21, 2024
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Location: This Live Virtual Public Information Meeting will be hosted online. Here is a link.

This meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. MassDOT provides reasonable accommodations and/or language assistance free of charge upon request (e.g. interpreters in American Sign Language and languages other than English, live captioning, videos, assistive listening devices and alternate material formats), as available.  For accommodation or language assistance, please contact MassDOT’s Chief Diversity and Civil Rights Officer by phone (857-368-8580) or by email (MassDOT.CivilRights@dot.state.ma.us). Requests should be made as soon as possible prior to the meeting, and for services including sign-language, CART or language translation or interpretation, requests should be made at least ten business days before the meeting.

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Natick settles suit over 50 Pleasant St. condo development; Case dismissed

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The Town of Natick has settled with a couple that brought a civil rights lawsuit to federal court in 2021 claiming that town entities had discriminated against them in rejecting a proposed condominium project at 50 Pleasant St.

While Natick Town Administrator Jamie Errickson wrote in response to our inquiry about the settlement that he was not able to directly answer our questions, he did say “that the matter has been resolved through a mediated settlement, and a payment was made by the Town and the Town’s insurer to the Plaintiffs, with the insurer picking up the bulk of the payment. As a result, the case was dismissed with prejudice and all rights of appeal waived—that was finalized this week. Natick resolved the matter because it was in the best interests of the Town to do so. The Town’s position remains that the Board and Town officials did nothing wrong, but there is always risk that a jury could find differently. Natick is and always has been committed to treating every applicant equally, and with respect and dignity.”

According to an affidavit filed by the plaintiffs on April 19, a mediator recommended a settlement of $1.6M, much lower than the $10M-plus sought earlier. After insurance, the town is out about $300,000, covered via its litigation fund. With the case dismissed, the particular claims can’t be raised again in federal court.

An effort by the town to have the court dismiss claims in the suit via a summery judgment was denied in December, and the case had been slated to go to trial in March in Boston before it was settled. The matter was settled amidst the plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking to withdraw from the case.

Property owners Linda and Joel Valentin, and Grace Gables Manoirs, LLC, had filed the suit against the town, its Planning Board and Historical Commission, and some members of those bodies. The plaintiffs, who are immigrants of Haitian descent, claimed their proposal had been rejected based on race, color and national origin and was a violation of their rights under the Fair Housing Act. They began the process of getting their project approved in 2018 and submitted their first application for a special permit in 2019.

They claimed that town bodies had been swayed in their decision by neighbors of the project who opposed the build-out and raised objections through a “Stop 50 Pleasant” campaign that included lawn signs. The neighbors countered that they were not opposed to the developers, but to the size of the project, which originally included plans for 11 units and the building of a barn on the property acquired in 2006 for under $1M.

The plaintiffs in their 2021 filing also raised concerns about an historic preservation zoning bylaw change that they said worked against them. The developers had said back in 2019 that they might build a school on the property if their condo plans were denied.

The Planning Board this past September approved by a 5-0 vote a scaled down version of the project with 5 townhouses within 2 historic buildings on the property, and signed their decision in October. Various iterations of the project were the subject of dozens of Planning Board meetings.

Discussion of the related litigation has been a regular agenda item under executive session (behind closed doors) of the Select Board in recent months.

Pleasant street scenic road

 

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