Proposed North Andover Recreation Complex Clears Key Hurdle

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The planning board voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve a recreation complex, with conditions, on 16 acres near the North Andover Middle and Atkinson schools. The conditions include testing the brightness of lights to minimize impacts on nearby homes and periodic reports on the health and safety of the turf being used at the complex. The Middle School Fields Improvement Committee will also be required to include neighbors on a panel that will determine hours and other policies at the complex.

According to the Eagle-Tribune, which first reported this story, the project still needs to be approved by the Conservation Commission. About 50 people attended Tuesday's hearing. Most of them, the newspaper said, did not object to the project as a whole but were concerned about the lights and the artificial turf.

For more on this story, see the Eagle-Tribune.