Ayer Planning Board Suspends Fines at 42 Park Street, Demands Stormwater Fix

AYER -- July 14, 2026, Ayer Planning Board suspends fines at 42 Park Street after developer agrees to remediation plan. Town Planner Danny Ruiz told the board at its July 14 meeting that the commercial site at 42 Park Street, approved in December 2023, was constructed approximately two feet below the approved grade, with the stormwater system installed in the wrong locations, ADA ramp deficiencies, and excess impervious area, issues first identified in March 2025 as-built plans. After the developer's attorney asserted in June that the project was complete and no further work would be done, Ruiz issued a formal violation letter and imposed fines; following a July 14 multi-department meeting, the developer agreed to submit a revised stormwater plan for board approval before completing remediation work. The board also continued a stormwater permit hearing for New England Power Company's proposed paving of roughly 2,000 linear feet of access road to its Sandy Pond HVDC substation to August 11, pending location of an unmapped 10-inch water main, and adopted a new standard condition requiring monthly engineer progress reports on all future Planning Board approvals.