The Southborough Select Board voted on Nov. 4 to deny Pratt Automotive’s application for a Class 2 used‑car dealer license without prejudice, directing the applicant to complete outstanding zoning and permitting reviews before seeking another hearing.

Planning‑board chair Mimi Littrell, who said the planning board had submitted a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Select Board, warned that the property has accumulated multiple uses since the last site plan review in 1986 and that some uses may require a different special permit. "Whether that granite is fabricating, as it says on their Facebook page, then it would require a different special permit before the ZBA," Littrell told the board.

Board members raised several recurring concerns: a site‑plan on file dated to 1986, evidence in public records and on third‑party websites that suggested multiple on‑site businesses, removal of required landscaping, unresolved conservation‑commission issues and uncertainty about whether the property holds a current Class 2 license. Select Board members also pressed the applicant on parking counts; staff and board members said that preliminary onsite estimates and prior site plans make it unlikely that the proposed 20‑car display could be accommodated without updated parking calculations.

During the meeting several Select Board members said the cleanest path was for the applicant and landlord to resolve outstanding matters with the ZBA and Planning Board and then return with an updated site plan and any permits. Town staff agreed to consolidate outstanding requirements into a single letter to the applicant listing the boards and commissions the owner must engage (ZBA, Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Board of Health) to reduce confusion.

The motion to deny the license application without prejudice passed on a roll‑call vote: Dennington, aye; Landry, aye; Fling, no; Hamilton, no; Cook, aye. The board’s order denies the license for now but allows the applicant to reapply once the required approvals and any necessary site‑plan revisions are complete.

The denial is procedural: the board did not cite any criminal or code violations as the basis for denial but conditioned further consideration on clearing outstanding land‑use and public‑safety reviews. Town staff told the applicant they would send a consolidated list of outstanding steps and contacts for the other boards and commissions.

The Select Board advised the applicant to return only after obtaining the ZBA and Planning Board relief and any required permits; the denial was explicitly recorded as "without prejudice," which preserves the applicant’s ability to refile once those matters are resolved.