Pembroke town meeting: Zoning change to allow Big Y defeated; setback for community center

PEMBROKE – Town meeting voters rejected spending more money on a new community center and rejected a Route 53 zoning change that would have allowed a Big Y grocery store and a gas station to open.

The proposals were among 15 articles on the May 10 annual town meeting warrant at Pembroke High School.

Current zoning at 450 Washington St. allows a commercial corridor along Route 53, with the exception of a small area between Pleasant and Baker streets that is near wetlands and a brook. The commercial and residential zoning would have replaced a residential zone.

The planning board had advised "favorable action" on the proposal.

Community center money defeated

After a controversial vote count, town meeting also rejected spending an additional $2.6 million to build a community center.

A standing vote count had seemed to pass the proposal by one vote, but some residents challenged the count.

Moderator Stephen Dodge called the vote "final."

"I have to put an end to this discussion, it's over, it's not debatable, it's not challengeable," he said.

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After voting on other warrant articles, Dodge announced that town counsel told him he was wrong and that residents could challenge the vote. Residents were given paper ballots.

The second vote was 216 to 117, shy of the two-thirds required.

Town Manager William Chenard said the select board will go back to the drawing board.

"We can't build what was proposed," he said. "We paid millions to consultants for a building we can no longer build. We have two choices: find another project or reappropriate the money we've already borrowed."

The town could also cut the building dramatically, reducing the gym size and eliminating a kitchen.

"It's a call for all of the leadership sitting next to me," he said, motioning to the select board members.

Earlier in the meeting, Chenard said the additional $2.6 million was needed because demolition of the old community center is going to cost a lot more than initially anticipated because of the quantity of asbestos, wrapped around pipes, under the roof and even behind the building's bricks.

Residents approved a $19 million temporary tax increase for the community center at the 2021 town meeting, and then again at the 2021 town election.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Zoning change to allow Big Y defeated by Pembroke town meeting