Dartmouth Planning Board approves Audi dealership parking permit, advances Big Y review

DARTMOUTH — June 1, 2026 — Dartmouth Planning Board approves parking reduction for a new Route 6 Audi and Volkswagen dealership and advances a Big Y grocery store proposal to a June 22 hearing. The board voted 5-0 to grant a special permit to PRM Auto Holdings allowing 113 built parking spaces plus 64 ghost spaces at 0 State Road — a 65 percent build-out against a 177-space full requirement — for a proposed 37,000-square-foot combined dealership and service facility just west of Walmart. Engineer David Potter of Parr Corporation reported a 7.6 percent reduction in two-year stormwater peak flow rates. Board member Helio Rosa asked the design team to study glare from the south-facing glass facade on nearby residences and to reconsider tree placement near ghost-parking zones. Chair Lori Ann Miller told operating partner Aaron Anger, "I expect Audi to set the standards for the rest of the dealerships in this town" — specifically, no vehicles parked on grass and no loading on Route 6. Separately, the board continued site plan review for Big Y's proposed 50,000-square-foot grocery store at 57 Faunce Corner Mall Road, where engineers project 1,013 parking spaces against a 957-space requirement; remaining questions centered on rear-lot safety, outdoor merchandise boundaries, and fresh Department of Public Works comments received the morning of the meeting.