Freetown Planning Board Delays Subdivision Hearing Over Abutter Notice Error

FREETOWN — October 15, 2024 — Freetown Planning Board delays eight-lot subdivision hearing after abutters were never notified. The board voted 4-0 on October 15 to open and then immediately continue the public hearing for a definitive subdivision proposed by applicant James Simmons at 32 Middle Road and zero Claremont Way, with Greg Drake of Outback Engineering Incorporated as representative, after the chair disclosed a clerical error left abutters without required notice. An unidentified abutter said he found it "horribly inconvenient" and also flagged a potential notice deficiency in a related Conservation Commission filing by the same engineering firm. The hearing was continued to November 12 at 6 p.m. at the Freetown Police Station. The board also learned that a newly hired land use administrator identified only as Kelly had withdrawn before starting, leaving the position vacant with no qualified replacement applicants on file.