The Village at Little River

The documents below relate to a proposal by The Village at Little River LLC (a joint venture of Beacon Communities LLC and Coastal Partners, LLC) to develop "The Village at Little River", a mixed-used development that would be located in Newbury near the intersection of Route 1 with Middle Road and Hanover Street. The Village at Little River LLC initially presented a concept plan to the Planning Board in mid-2006, and has revised the plan several times since then in response to concerns and requests made by the Planning Board, Board of Selectmen, and other Town officials. The proposed site is zoned Industrial, and therefore Town Meeting would need to approve a zoning change in order for the project to move forward.

In addition to the site plan, The Village at Little River LLC team has provided reports on the esimated impacts of the project on traffic and natural resources, and is analyzing the water and sewer infrastructure requirements. The Village at Little River team includes H.W. Moore Associates, Inc. (environmental and site impacts), Vanasse & Associates, Inc. (traffic impacts), and Woodard & Curran (water and sewer).

The Planning Board has engaged its own team of consultants to conduct independent reviews of The Village at Little River's impact reports, to analyze the project's impacts on Town finances, and to assist with the drafting of zoning regulations necessary to the project. The Village at Little River LLC is providing the funds to the Plannning Board to pay for these consulting services, but the Board's consultants are independent and report only to the Board.

The Town's consulting team is led by the Newburyport planning firm of Taintor & Associates and includes Community Opportunities Group (fiscal impact analysis) and Weston & Sampson Engineers (traffic, environmental, and water and sewer). In addition to coordinating the development reviews, Taintor & Associates is assisting the Planning Board to draft two new zoning overlay districts for the site.

Documents and Reports

Hard copies of all documents included on this site can be obtained from the Newbury Planning Office at Town Hall.
To contact the Planning Office call 978.463.3516 or e-mail planningboardATtownofnewburyDOTorg.

The documents are organized as follows:

Consultant Reports

These are reports and documents related to The Village at Little River LLC proposal, supporting impact reports, and reviews by the Taintor & Associates team.

Fiscal Impact Report, November 2007 (PDF, 25KB)
Prepared by Judith Barrett of Community Opportunities Group.

The Village at Little River LLC Traffic Impact Report, October 2007 (PDF, 7MB)
Prepared by Vanasse & Associates, Inc.

Review of Traffic Report, December 2007 (PDF, 234KB)
Prepared by Weston & Sampson Engineers.

The Village at Little River LLC Environmental Impact Report, October 2007 (PDF, 2.4MB)
Prepared by H.W. Moore Associates, Inc.

Review of Environmental Impact Report, December 2007 (PDF, 723KB)
Prepared by Weston & Sampson Engineers.


Proposed Zoning

Two zoning overlay districts will be proposed for the site.

Chapter 40R Zoning Overview (PDF, 25KB)
Presented at the Board of Selectmen Public Hearing on December 11, 2007.

Draft of Proposed Smart Growth Overlay Zoning District, April 2008 (PDF, 63KB)
This overlay district is proposed for 32 acres of the site. Adoption would require approval from the state and then a vote at Town Meeting.

Smart Growth Zoning Overlay District Application, submitted March 2008 (PDF, 1.8MB)
This application (along with supporting attachments) was submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) which is responsible for determining the eligibility of the proposed zoning district under the state's Smart Growth Zoning Program (Chapter 40R). The application was assembled with the help of the town’s planning consultant, Taintor & Associates, Inc.. The Town received a "Completeness Review Letter" from DHCD indicating that the application is complete and that the proceedings for local adoption of the zoning district can continue.

Overlay Zoning Map, April 2008 (PDF, 168KB)
Map of the proposed Smart Growth and Planned Village Overlay Districts.

Draft of Proposed Planned Village Overlay District, April 2008 (PDF, 47KB)
This overlay district would cover the remainder of the site not included in the Smart Growth Overlay District. Adoption would require a vote at Town Meeting.


Site Plans and Drawings

The Village at Little River LLC Web Page
Follow this link to find out more about the proposed Village at Little River including a summary of the proposal, estimated impacts, and a preliminary site plan.

Little River Transit Village Phase I Study

The site of the proposed "Village at Little River" has been identified for several years as a potential location for village-scale, mixed-use development, both in Newbury's Master Plan and in the 2005-2006 Little River Transit Village Study jointly carried out by the City of Newburyport and the Town of Newbury. For Phase I, Taintor & Associates led a team of consultants to undertake a series of studies to evaluate the feasibility of concentrating development in the “transit village” area. These studies included a build-out analysis under existing zoning regulations, an alternative development scenario using proposed overlay zoning districts, a real estate market assessment, and analyses of impacts of concentrated growth on stormwater, traffic, and water and sewer infrastructure.

Little River Transit Village Study Phase 1 report, November 2005 (PDF, 6.7MB)

Appendix 1: Evaluation of Transfer of Development Rights by RKG Associates, Inc. (PDF, 127KB)

Appendix 2: Traffic, Stormwater, and Water/Wastewater Technical Analyses by Weston & Sampson Engineers (PDF, 4.0MB)