Shrewsbury Planner Headed To Southborough
Denoncourt
It took about six months and included vetting more than 100 candidates, but the town of Southborough will finally have a new planner on Monday.
Shrewsbury planner and development coordinator Eric Denoncourt takes over the post next week after 11 years in Shrewsbury. Former Southborough Town Planner Vera Kolias left the position earlier this year to work for the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, which is based in Worcester.
For Denoncourt, the Southborough job represents career advancement and an opportunity to have more authority over long-range planning initiatives.
For Southborough, one of the fastest growing towns in MetroWest, Denoncourt represents someone that can balance a bustling commercial sector along Route 9 with the quaint small-town feel of the community's residential base.
Controlling Growth
And Denoncourt will have his hands full. Southborough has seen steady employment growth over the last decade. And its business community has grown as well.
Between 2001 and 2008, 50 new businesses set up shop in town, an increase of 15 percent, according to data compiled by the MetroWest Economic Research Center (MERC). That's the largest percentage gain of any of the 12 communities that MERC tracks.
"Clearly Southborough is in the heart of an important piece of Route 9, making it a critically important piece of the MetroWest region," Denoncourt said.
One of the most important challenges, he said, will be to balance the needs of businesses with the needs of residents.
"Whenever you have something like ... the residential side abutting the commercial side, you want to maintain that economic development while keeping that small-town feel," he said.
The best way to do that, he said, is to work with businesses as early as possible in development projects to ensure they are mutually beneficial for the town and the businesses.
Another important factor is to have a clearly defined plan for the town moving forward. While a master plan has recently been completed in Southborough, Denoncourt said he looks forward to engaging in long-term planning in the community.
In his new position, Denoncourt will be a department head reporting directly to the town's planning board. That's a step up from his role in Shrewsbury where he reported to the town engineer.
One specific aspect of Denoncourt's résumé that attracted town officials is his engineering background, according to Town Administrator Jean Kitchen. His engineering experience will mean that the town will no longer have to contract out some site plan review work.
When Denoncourt arrives on the job on Oct. 4 he will have to become familiar with several new projects. Specifically, the Southborough Planning Board is considering two residential developments, according to Charles Gaffney, chairman of the board.
One project is a 15-unit development on Oregon Road being put together by Capital Group Properties of Southborough. Another up for consideration is a 14-unit proposal for Oak Hill Road. The town is also looking for some state transportation funding to repave Route 30, the Main Street in Southborough.
Denoncourt, 36, is a resident of Clinton and graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in civil engineering. He received a master's in public administration from Framingham State University. Before working in Shrewsbury, he also worked in the private sector, including at Auburn's Johnson & Seamen Engineering.
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