The Planning Board on Monday continued a hearing on work proposed for 75 South Street until March 9 so that the board could attend a site walk of the property.

Consultant Joe Marquedant represented owner Lance LaFave at the minor site plan application hearing. The applicant intends to repurpose 75 South Street from a commercial/industrial building to an office building/warehouse, moving away from manufacturing.

The building currently is used for offices and manufacturing. The property was purchased in September 2024 by Magunco Realty LLC. The 32,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1973 and houses multiple tenants, including RSC Industries and CTS Valpey Corporation.

The “driving force” of the proposed project is to create access to a new shipping and receiving area, Marquedant said. The plan would add a loading dock to the southerly side of the building. Two doors would be added, and paving would replace the lawn leading up to the loading dock. Vehicles would be able to access it from South Street.

The proposed loading dock triggered the need to reconfigure the current parking lot, Marquedant noted. The area would be regraded to remove about 2 feet of material, allowing for better access to the shipping and receiving doors. The parking lot would then be repaved and restriped, potentially losing several of the current 67 parking spaces.

He added that the grade change would mimic the current stormwater flow. There will be no increase to impervious area.

In addition, a small door would be added to the building’s easterly side at a second parking lot, Marquedant said.

The total number of parking spaces for both lots would decrease from 91 to 71. Based on the zoning code, only 19 spaces are required, Marquedant pointed out.

The proposal also calls for a main connection to the town’s septic system at Hayward Street. This would need to be reviewed by the Board of Health and the Department of Public Works, Marquedant said. The Conservation Commission also will require an order of conditions.

Vice chair Matthew Wronka chaired the meeting in the absence of chair Rob Benson. He pointed out the lack of sidewalks on most of that side of South Street. He stressed the need for pedestrian safely, noting that pedestrian connectivity previously was a board priority.

Kerry Reed, the Department of Public Works director, told the board that there is not enough public right-of-way to create a sidewalk there. She asked if the board could work with the applicant to improve connectivity to the Dunkin’ across the street and Project Just Because on an adjoining lot.

Wronka scheduled a site walk this Saturday at 10 a.m.

Eversource tree removal plans approved

The board approved scenic road permits in 8-0 votes for two plans proposed by Eversource for tree removal and limb pruning.

Matthew Mitchell, a certified arborist and utility specialist with Eversource, presented the two projects simultaneously. The first included trees on Pond Street, School Street, Spring Street and West Elm Street.

The second project is located on Wilson Street. Mitchell called the Wilson Street tree removal more critical because it involves a potential penalty circuit. The state’s Department of Public Works classifies a penalty circuit as one that, if damaged, would cause numerous outages “unacceptable for Massachusetts citizens to experience,” he explained.

Mitchell showed a photo of a large tree that fell onto primary power lines during the previous week’s blizzard. The currently dead power lines also hung precariously close to a chain-link fence.

“We are trying to get these trees down because I believe that they hold a potential risk to public safety, not just the electrical reliability,” he said.

Between the two projects, Eversource is seeking to remove 85 trees in an effort to prevent dead limbs from falling on high-voltage wires. The trees vary in size and class. Some trees have base rot, while others have limbs that have grown into the roadway.

Mitchell pointed out that 31 ash trees that are infected with emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that eventually kills them. He called the affected trees “dead trees standing,” noting that three others are already dead.

He added that a majority of the trees border Hopkinton State Park. Their removal would not cause deforestation.

Reed, who also serves as the tree warden, said she endorsed the plans.

“I personally am very appreciative of this work because these are some of the roads that we’ve had a lot of concerns about,” she said.

As an aside, she noted that there were no power outages during the recent blizzard due to trees taking down wires.