Auburn Planning Board Recommends Nancy Drive Acceptance After 50-Year Delay

AUBURN -- April 14, 2026, Auburn Planning Board recommends Nancy Drive acceptance to Town Meeting, ending a 50-year administrative lapse. The four-member board voted unanimously Tuesday to forward the street's public-way acceptance to Town Meeting after DPW Director and Town Engineer Joanna Paquin explained that the road's 1971 subdivision process was completed up to, but not including, the final Town Meeting acceptance vote, leaving residents unknowingly on a private road. Paquin estimated a full repaving would cost roughly $130,000 to $140,000, using a grind-and-pulverize method, and said the town may already be collecting Chapter 90 funds for the road. The board also continued two Southbridge Street site plan hearings, Quality Contracting's two-building modification at 282 Southbridge Street (3-1, with Vice Chair Ron Brooks dissenting) and Mast Futures LLC's proposed indoor amusement facility at 615 Southbridge Street (4-0), both to April 28 pending Graves Engineering's technical review. The board introduced two new additions: Town Planner Rose Russell, formerly of the City of Worcester, and new board member Chris Sequeira, an 18-month Auburn resident.