Select Board OKs Eminent Domain for Fire Sites
Select Board · Meeting of September 22, 2026
North Reading Select Board seizes fire station land access, backs $3.5 million school debt question. The board voted unanimously to take temporary eminent domain rights over four Main Street properties for a proposed west-side fire station and endorsed a $3.5 million debt exclusion, headed to a Nov. 3 ballot question, to replace 25-year-old modular classrooms at the Hood and Little elementary schools. The board also adopted a demolition-delay bylaw covering roughly 180 historic properties and a one-year moratorium on data center development.
Town Administrator Michael told members North Reading has gotten a favorable early signal on a federal SAFER grant that could offset four new firefighter positions the board already committed to funding. Members Nicholas Masse and Stephen O'Leary clashed sharply over a citizen's petition, organized by Masse and his neighbors, to remove 9 Padley Road from the town's affordable housing overlay district; the board declined to recommend it, 4-1.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,910 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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