The towns of Douglas, Northbridge, Sutton and Uxbridge
share a jigsaw pattern border centered around the Lackey Dam Road and
Main Street, Northbridge exits of Route 146. Significant opportunities,
with a few challenges, exist for new and expanded economic development
in the four town area. Meetings between the four towns have produced the
common agreement that the towns have much to gain through cooperation
and little if anything to lose.
The discussions to date have focused on the development opportunities of
the target area, regardless of town boundaries, and the steps that the
towns could take, individually and cooperatively, to encourage the kind
of development that would be most beneficial for all. The area currently
has little development and is mostly wooded with one active gravel
extraction operation. The area is approximately 1000 acres zoned for
commercial/industrial use, though with somewhat different regulations
between the four towns.
While private development will provide most of the future construction
on the ground, the four town effort will focus on those aspects that
only the municipalities can address. Three municipal initiatives emerged
as the most significant:
1) Zoning incompatibilities at town borders
2) Intermunicipal planning and the need for agreements in the event of a
multi-town project
3) Infrastructure needs and existing capacity, particularly the water
and sewer infrastructure (or lack thereof)
A joint meeting of town officials from the four towns was held in
February, 2004. Broad consensus was achieved between the four towns on
the municipal initiatives. Inter-municipal planning will continue with
monthly meetings between officials. The town planners and Planning
Boards from the four towns will meet to identify zoning
incompatibilities and to make initial recommendations.
Additionally, the
four towns will initiate a contract for site analysis, visioning and
infrastructure development in the target area.
In February 2005, a meeting was held between the four towns and the
property owners within the target area. Support was sought and received
from the owners for the planning process that will begin this spring.
Additionally several of the properties’ owners will attend the monthly
four town meetings so that we may represent all stakeholders in the
process. The four towns have all contributed to a special Four-Town
account to accomplish the initial planning for the target area. With the
additional support of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley
National Heritage Corridor and Central Mass Regional Planning, the four
towns believe they can affect the development outcome for this piece of
the Blackstone Valley.
Douglas, Northbridge, Sutton and Uxbridge. Four towns joined together
with multiple opportunities and challenges but with a single purpose: To
plan and act for the best and highest use of the land whose borders we
share.