Flea Market Draws Opposition

will be meeting next week to continue discussions about the proposed flea market on Route 9 at the corner of Oak Street.

Neighbors filled the Planning Board meeting last month to oppose the proposed flea market which could be built at 420 Boston Tpke. and would operate on Saturdays, Sundays and long weekends, according to the Daily Shrewsbury.

The proposal includes 500 booth spaces, which could mean between 80 and 100 vendors.

Residents have sent letters of opposition to the , Planning Board and the Town Manager Dan Morgado.

Kevin Morrissey of Beverly Hill Drive, which abutts the property, is concerned about the Oak Street access road from the property among other things.

"There is no plan to restrict the use of the Oak Street access road," Morrissey wrote in the letter. "Will there be a traffic impact study on the volume of traffic that chooses this access road to access Route 9 W toward Worcester? This intersection is a nightmare to begin with. This will only add to the potential danger of this intersection."

Morrissey is also concerned with what control the town will have over what is being sold at the flea market.

"Because of the number of vendors selling their merchandise, the town will have little to no control of what is being sold, whether it is clothing, gadgets, appliances, household items, chemicals, questionable paraphernalia, et. al." Morrissey writes. "Keep in mind that there is Oak Middle School and the Montessori School just up the road. Do we need a potential area for the exchange of illegal substances or paraphernalia? How do you control it, if you don't know the background of the potential vendors (and changing vendors)?"

Morrissey cited 22 concerns total including how emergency vehicles will access the nieghbors and how the additional vendors could impact the town water and sewer capacities.

"I could go on and on, but I think that the overall neighborhood concerns are legitimate, particularly when you consider the number of real estate tax dollars coming from these neighborhoods," Morrissey wrote. "The cost impact to the town itself needs to be scrutinized."

In the end, he asked the town boards to deny the project.

The Planning Board will be meeting on Thursday, April 5 to continue discussing the matter, though, according to the Daily Shrewsbury, they don't intend to make a final decision at that meeting.

Residents plan to fight the flea market at all boards who have a say on the matter including the Conservation Commission and Board of Selectmen.

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