Taunton board's written decision approves Winthrop Street's 29 apartments 6-0, with 14 conditions
The developer's representative says a state curb cut permit is the approval now being worked on and that the owner wants to start construction as soon as permissible.
TAUNTON A plan for 29 apartments, a coffee shop and an auto repair shop on Winthrop Street has cleared the Taunton Planning Board on a 6-0 vote with one member recused, the board's written decision shows.
The decision, dated Friday, grants site plan review for 477 and 485 Winthrop St. with 14 conditions, after the board's Nov. 5 meeting. Vice Chairman Dennis I. Ackerman, Brian Carr, John Reardon, Jordan H.F. Fiore, George Moniz and Peter Thomas voted in favor, and Anthony Abreau recused himself. The decision does not give a reason for the recusal.
The vote followed two other local approvals. The Municipal Council granted the project a special permit on Aug. 11, its written decision shows, and the Conservation Commission approved the wetlands filing Nov. 2. What remains under the two decisions is a state curb cut permit and a list of conditions to meet before building permits and occupancy.
"The project has received the approvals from the City Council, the Planning Board, and the Conservation Commission already. We are currently working on the MassDOT Curb Cut approval," John DeSousa, CEO of Northcounty Group Inc., who answered for the owner, said in an email. "My client is looking to start construction as soon as permissible."
What the council approved
The council's decision allows a mixed-use development of 29 residential units, a 20-seat coffee shop and an 8,647-square-foot auto repair shop in the Highway Business District. Owner Paul Braga filed the petition on or about June 25, and the council held a public hearing Aug. 11. The Planning Board's decision lists the owner as Paulo S. Braga, trustee, of 485 Winthrop St.
Eight councilors voted in favor: Scott Martin, David W. Pottier, John M. McCaul, Phillip E. Duarte, David F. Chaves, Barry C. Sanders, Debra A. Botellio and Edward A. Correia. Deborah A. Carr was absent, and none opposed. The council wrote that it weighed socioeconomic impacts, odor, utilities, traffic, landscaping and the health and welfare of inhabitants, and determined "that the development is in the best interest of the City."
The council added five conditions. A copy of the state curb cut permit is due before any occupancy permits, the parcels must be combined before any building permits, the project must obtain a valid hazardous materials permit from the Board of Health, an inflow and infiltration calculation sheet is required, and the drainage outflow must be moved entirely onto the property.
The Planning Board's conditions
Before any building permit, the site plan decision requires the two parcels to be combined through a recorded plan and updated deed, two sets of updated plans that conform to the decision, and a revised drainage report reviewed and approved by the city engineer. Eight more test pits must be dug before that drainage report is final.
No more than 27 vehicles that are unregistered or waiting to be worked on or picked up may be stored on the site at one time, and only in the storage spaces shown on the plan. The dumpster must sit on a concrete pad inside a six-foot stockade fence, be emptied regularly and stay closed, and lighting may not shine on any part of an abutting property.
The project must use the existing gravity sewer service and not a force main as long as capacity allows, meet the Conservation Commission's order of conditions, sign the coffee shop's customer parking and keep the site clean. A copy of the state curb cut permit is due before occupancy, and two sets of as-built plans certified by the design engineer and land surveyor are due upon occupancy. The approved plans are dated June 23 and revised through Oct. 29.
What was said at the meeting
DeSousa, presenting for the owner, told the board on Nov. 5 that the land now holds a repair shop and a small rented house with a garage and shed, between Winthrop Street and Winthrop Lane. The new building would sit in the middle of the lots with parking between the two structures, the main entrance on Winthrop Street, which carries Route 44, and a second driveway on Winthrop Lane, he said. Parking spaces in front of the repair shop that reach into the road layout would be removed.
Rainwater would run to deep-sump catch basins and oil and grit chambers and then into infiltration basins, and utilities, including electric, would be underground, he said. Members asked about fire truck access, snow storage, lighting and a drainage swale along the back of the lot. One member said he backs the garage and the coffee shop as commercial uses that pay taxes, and said of the housing, "the City Council has that jurisdiction. We do not." No resident spoke when the board opened public input.
The city engineer's latest letter, read at the meeting, asked for a sewer connection for 485 Winthrop St. and called the driveway radius on Winthrop Lane "a little excessive given the speed and volume of traffic" there. Our earlier story covers the Conservation Commission's Nov. 2 vote.
What happens next
The state curb cut permit, the revised drainage report and the combined parcels are the steps the two decisions name ahead of permits for the site. DeSousa did not give a construction start date. The Planning Board office is at 141 Oak St., 508-821-1051.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
The votes, names and conditions come from the two written decisions the Taunton planning office sent South Coast 360 on Nov. 9, 2026, not from the developer's representative, whose vote count matches the Planning Board's record. The decision's roll call types Peter Thomas's vote as "TES"; we read it as yes because the same page counts six in favor, and no one opposed the motion on the meeting recording. What was said at the Nov. 5 meeting comes from the city's recording on its municipal network, where DeSousa gives his name; we describe board members who spoke by role. Statements about approvals and the construction start are attributed to John DeSousa of Northcounty Group, who answered for the owner. Quotes are word for word. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. The Planning Board decision gives no reason for the recusal, and we did not ask the member. We have not independently confirmed the status of the state curb cut filing.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (5)
- City of Taunton Planning Board: Decision on the petition for site plan review, 477 and 485 Winthrop St., dated Nov. 6, 2026 (3 pages)Sent by Head Administrative Clerk Denise J. Paiva, Nov. 9, 2026, 8:34 a.m.; not posted on the city site when read. Vote by name, 14 conditions, Sept. 9 filing, Nov. 5 meeting, signed by Vice Chairman Dennis I. Ackerman. Read Nov. 9, 2026.
- City of Taunton Municipal Council: Decision on the petition for special permit, 477 and 485 Winthrop St., case 2026-28, Aug. 11, 2026 (2 pages)Sent by Head Administrative Clerk Denise J. Paiva, Nov. 9, 2026, 8:34 a.m. Eight in favor, none opposed, one absent; five conditions; Highway Business District; June 25 filing. Read Nov. 9, 2026.
- Taunton Municipal Network: Planning Board 2026 11 5 (recording, 1 hour 57 minutes)Winthrop Street item from about 1:35:16 to 1:56:15. The presenter gives his name; board members who spoke are described by role. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Conservation Commission approves wetlands filing for the Winthrop Street plan (Nov. 2, 2026)Our earlier story on the Nov. 2 vote. Read Nov. 6, 2026.
- John DeSousa, CEO, Northcounty Group Inc., email to South Coast 360, Nov. 9, 2026, 9 a.m.Answers for the owner on approvals, the MassDOT curb cut and the start of construction. Read Nov. 9, 2026.