Planning Board Approves New St. Thomas Church Hall

Planning Board · Meeting of October 13, 2026

Millis Planning Board approved a new St. Thomas Church hall and continued two major subdivision hearings. The board voted unanimously to approve a special permit for a new one-story parish community center at 82 Exchange Street, adding 15 parking spaces for a total of 103. Board member Nicole, an attorney, said the project is protected under the Dover Amendment: "we cannot zone certain uses such as schools, religious facilities, solar, in such a way that it makes the applicant unable to actually build them." The board also continued, to November 10, both a 44-lot Woodlands LLC subdivision drawing resident objections over a North Street traffic connection and a 22-unit Ferreira Realty Trust senior community after a buried drain line was discovered.

Town Counsel Attorney Leiden briefed the board by Zoom on state-mandated Chapter 40A changes, including a new "practical difficulty" variance standard that weighs housing production, with Building Inspector Bob Fogarty calling the new law "not ideal by any means."

In the full story:

• Temporary Tent Permit, 140 Causeway Street
• Form A Plan Endorsement, 142 Exchange Street
• St. Thomas Church Special Permit and Site Plan, 82 Exchange Street
• Accessory Dwelling Unit, 194 Ridge Street
• 325 Village Street Senior Residential Community (Continued)
• Woodlands LLC 44-Lot Subdivision (Continued)
• 172 Ridge Street A&R Endorsement
• Chapter 40A Zoning Bylaw Amendments
• Middle/High School Minor Site Plan Modification
• Wagenberg (1380) As-Built Site Plan
• Administrative Matters
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,308 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.