Framingham Zoning Board of Appeals Heads for a Showdown on Salem End Rd Waterfront Property

A prior set of guest articles laid out the background to this development and environmental crisis in a quiet neighborhood on Salem End Rd at the Stearns Reservoir:

Nanette Magnani Makes the Case to Protect Waterfront Land on Salem End Rd (February 9, 2026)

Another Developer Rides Roughshod Over a Quiet Residential Framingham Neighborhood (September 25, 2026)

After cutting down trees and digging up areas of the site without first obtaining the appropriate permits, the developer has invoked the Dover Amendment as a means to construct a 47 unit residential development on a 4 acre site currently zoned R-4, or single family residential development.

The validity of the Dover Amendment invocation hinges on a lease which has never been disclosed, but supposedly has the New England Center for Children, located on Rt 9 in Southborough, leasing a building, which does not yet exist, for 20 years.

The Dover Amendment (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 3) is a state law restricting municipalities from using local zoning bylaws to prohibit, regulate, or restrict the use of land or structures for religious or non-profit educational purposes. It aims to prevent local discrimination against these uses, providing exemptions for educational, religious, agricultural, and daycare facilities.

The Framingham Building Commissioner, Fred Bray, approved the development under the Dover Amendment, triggering an appeal by a group of neighbors, which was heard at a ZBA meeting on February 11, 2026.

At that hearing the ZBA determined that they could not make a decision on the appeal without further information on the purported lease, and the non-profit status of the developer, which is also an issue.

If a lease does not in fact exist, the Dover Amendment argument fails, so a lot of attention has been focused on the fact that the lease has not been disclosed.

It is remarkable that the Building Commissioner could have approved the development under the Dover Amendment without having reviewed the lease.

Anyone who is concerned about this proposed development should turn up at the hearing where this matter is likely to be decided:

Meeting: Zoning Board of Appeals

Time: 7pm, Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Place: Blumer Community Room/Remote

Agenda: https://framinghamma.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=framinghamma_6fe4baf1b40ffb2332f4a526996b9d21.pdf&view=1

Apart from the questions about the existence of a lease and its conditions, here are some other questions for consideration:

1. Why would NECC want to lease a property which does not yet exist, has no established and approved design specifications, and could take years to come online, with a court battle guaranteed if the ZBA approves the development?

2. Why would NECC opt for a waterfront property which would be inherently more expensive than other available properties?

3. If NECC wants accommodations for its staff, why doesn’t it simple build them in the very large parking lot right its the Southborough headquarters. That would have the following management and financial advantages:

a. NECC owns that land already.

b. It is at the educational location, so the staff would have no commute, and would have access to the cafeteria for breakfast, and other building amenities outside normal hours. Those include the NECC Knights Gym and the Dukakis Aquatic Center.

c. The building could be managed from the existing office at Southborough, so a separate management office would not have to be constructed, again lowering costs.

How this situation gets resolved is one of the most important issues in residential development in Framingham at this moment in time.

PLEASE TURN UP IN PERSON OR ON ZOOM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTINUED ZBA HEARING

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MATTERS

GOVERNMENT DOES RESPOND TO SOUND AND RESOLUTE COMMUNITY INPUT