Planning Board OKs battery storage bylaw for town meeting
Sturbridge Planning Board sends a battery storage zoning rewrite to town meeting and approves a medical transport tenant.
Planning Board · Meeting of September 28, 2026
Sturbridge Planning Board sends a battery storage zoning rewrite to town meeting and approves a medical transport tenant. The board voted unanimously to adopt amended solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) bylaw language, developed since February with town counsel's input, for a Special Town Meeting warrant; Town Planner Aidan Adams said the new section 300-10.14(H) requires applicants to complete state site-suitability scoring even under local-only review. Separately, the board unanimously approved modifying the 660 Main Street site plan so Coastal Medical Transportation can add office space and two ambulance bays, with engineer Dan Sheehan of Haley and Ward citing 472 available parking spaces against 380 required.
Chair Charles Blanchard pushed back on approving the use without written documentation of Coastal's operations: "We've heard it verbally, but we haven't seen anything really... in writing." Members also pressed Adams on unapproved parking changes at Village Pizza and new stop signs at Hobbs Brook, with one member demanding immediate removal of the Hobbs Brook sign: "That sign has got to come out right now."
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,632 words
Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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