Hamilton Planning Board Releases Canterbury Bond, Advances Chewbacco Hill Hearing

HAMILTON -- April 5, 2022, Hamilton Planning Board releases $53,861 Canterbury bond and advances Chewbacco Hill review. The board voted unanimously at its April 5 meeting to release $53,861 from a $63,000 surety bond held for Canterbury Capital LLC, retaining roughly $9,000 pending completion of plantings, trail maintenance, and curb repairs confirmed by town planner Patrick. The board then spent most of the evening on the special permit hearing for Tobacco Hill Capital Partners' proposed 50-unit age-restricted development at 133 Essex Street, receiving landscape, architecture, and photometric presentations from the applicant's team including landscape architect William Fleming and lighting specialist Carol Cortmanch. Attorney Deborah Ellison of the Ellison Law Office in Gloucester, representing opponent group Save Chewbacco, told the board the project violates the town's senior housing bylaw on minimal disturbance grounds and that 88 percent of the units, priced at approximately $800,000 each, fail to constitute a meaningful variety of moderately priced housing. The hearing was continued to April 21 at 7 p.m. via Zoom, where the construction management plan and stormwater permit for One Bridge Street will also be taken up.