Overflowing City Council Chambers Forces Move for Public Hearing

A packed City Council Chambers on Monday night forced a scheduled public hearing to be continued until Thursday night at Beverly High School.

The City Council voted unanimously to continue until Thursday the public hearing about rezoning a portion of land off Brimbal Avenue after the chambers overflowed with people who wished to speak or listen to the proceedings on Monday night.

“Due to the size of the meeting and that everyone does not have a seat” the meeting was moved,” Council President Paul Guanci said.

The hearing is now scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Beverly High School.

The public hearing had started earlier this month and was continued until Monday and now will resume on Thursday.

Once the hearing is closed, the Planning Board will make a recommendation about the rezoning to the City Council, which will have the final say. If the rezoning is approved, it would clear the way for a connector road between Brimbal Avenue and Sohier Road to be moved about 500 feet south and land swap to occur between the state Highway Department and CEA Group which would allow the CEA group to build a 70,000 square foot shopping plaza on its land next to exit 19.

Ward 3 Councilor Jim Latter said many of the residents in City Hall could not hear the proceedings and did not have a seat. The hearing needed to be moved to a larger room “if we want to have a reasonable public hearing,” he said.