Attorney general rejects rezoning aimed at preventing development

MIDDLEBORO — Last year, Town Meeting voters agreed to rezone the area around the former Meadowbrook Drive-in property in an effort to prevent commercial development — recently the attorney general rejected that decision.

The land in question includes the former Meadowbrook Drive-In property on Harding Street, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods on Vernon Street, Cordial Road and Clayton Road. The proposed zoning change voters approved would have labeled the roughly 50 parcels of land “rural residential,” a zoning restriction intended for single-family homes on large lots.

However, after reviewing the proposal, the attorney general decided it constituted “illegal spot zoning,” and rejected it. Illegal spot zoning is the rezoning of a parcel of land in a manner inconsistent with the surrounding area and unrelated “to public health, safety, morals or general welfare,” according to the attorney general. Because of the state’s decision, the property remains available for commercial use and other development opportunities.

Proponents of the rezoning described the land as a valuable natural resource home to a variety of wildlife. Those opposed to rezoning, particularly town officials, worried that the change may bring an influx of residential development, overburdening schools and infrastructure.

Before last year’s Town Meeting, the Planning Board voted against the proposal and the Select Board declined to take a stand for or against it.

“We’re not merely trying to preserve land, we’re trying to preserve a way of life,’’ resident Matthew Bruffee said in support of the rezoning at last year’s Town Meeting.

As of today there are no existing plans for development, according to Leeann Bradley, Middleboro Director of Planning and Community development.

In May 2024, two weeks after the Town Meeting vote, Jeff Youngquist, owner of Outback Engineering, and Bharti Partel, the administrator of the property, presented plans to parcel out four lots and sell them to developers.

At the time Patel said he hoped to add “light manufacturing” but that ultimately the parcel’s use would be up to the potential future tenants.

Bradley said Patel and Youngquist stopped pursuing the project in December 2024 and there have been no plans since.

In 2023, the Lincoln Project Company proposed constructing three buildings on the site totalling over 700,000 square feet. The project never came to fruition.