Westborough Planning Board Adopts Quarterly Public Sessions After Open-Forum Dispute

WESTBOROUGH -- May 5, 2026, Westborough Planning Board adopts quarterly public informational sessions after residents demand open comment. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to continue a public hearing for 50 Flanders Road to May 19 and to authorize Chair Hazel Nurse to sign a letter of support for an Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities grant application for the 495/Route 9 Gateway Initiative, which the town is pursuing jointly with Southborough ahead of a June 3 deadline. The meeting turned confrontational when residents, citing Article 7 of the town charter, demanded the right to speak before adjournment; Nurse called a 10-minute recess before moving the agenda forward and announcing the dispute would continue at the May 19 meeting. Board member John Galsich pushed back on the open-forum demand, saying state noticing law means the board "can't respond, then it's just a forum to yell at us." Economic Development Coordinator Lara Crawford separately reported 40 site-selection inquiries, roughly 15 new businesses in Westborough since January, and a branding and wayfinding project backed by an approximately $165,000 earmark grant now under contract for installation of roughly 15 signs.