Northampton Zoning Board Grants Without-Prejudice Withdrawal on North Farms Road Variance

Zoning Board · Meeting of January 22, 2026

Northampton's Zoning Board of Appeals granted a without-prejudice withdrawal of a variance application for a shared driveway at 0 North Farms Road in Florence. Applicant Thomas Reedy submitted a written withdrawal request on January 16 after his application, filed as LU-25-16, had been continued four times since July 2025 and its decision deadline twice extended by mutual agreement. Chair David Bloomberg and members Elizabeth Silver, Sherry Taylor, and Aaron Irvin voted 3-0 to allow the withdrawal without prejudice, rejecting the more restrictive with-prejudice option that could have barred Reedy from refiling for up to two years under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A, Section 16.

Silver set the tone: "If that doesn't work out, then I don't think he should be barred from coming back." One abutter, identified as Mr. Grief, said he would have preferred a with-prejudice ruling but understood the board's reasoning. The board's next hearings are scheduled for February 12 and February 26, 2026.

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Source: the Zoning Board meeting of January 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.