Southborough Planning Board elects Braccio chair, clears 200 Turnpike Road occupancy

SOUTHBOROUGH -- June 1, 2026, Southborough Planning Board reorganizes under new Chair Lisa Braccio and clears a path for occupancy at 200 Turnpike Road. The board unanimously elected Braccio as chair and Deborah DeMuria as vice chair at its June 1 meeting, filling seats vacated by departing Chair Meme Luttrell. In the night's most consequential action, also unanimous, the board voted to recommend that the town's building inspector issue a full certificate of occupancy for a contractor facility owned by CMJ Ventures LLC at 200 Turnpike Road, contingent on a $30,000 performance bond, completion of all landscaping and slope stabilization by October 1, 2026, and a re-inspection one year later. Engineer Peter Bemis argued that apart from plant die-off driven by severe storms and a harsh winter, the site substantially meets its approved plan, telling the board, "We have done everything that this plan called for." Two other Turnpike Road public hearings, the Golf Range modification at No. 22 and a non-compliance matter at No. 154, were continued to June 22 with a hard July 17 decision deadline on both.