Townsend Planning Board continues three land-use hearings, adopts EPA-required stormwater rules

Planning Board · Meeting of February 23, 2026

Townsend Planning Board continued three active land-use cases, hired peer reviewers for two stormwater applications, and unanimously adopted EPA-mandated stormwater bylaw amendments at its February 23 meeting. Chair Andrew Shepherd recused himself from two items involving Three Wheeler Road and 22 West Meadow Road, designating associate member Lance McNally as a voting replacement for those hearings. On the Lock Brook Solar case at 22 West Meadow Road, the board told applicant Lawrence "Skip" Provost that Zoning Bylaw Section 145-86F gives it no authority to waive a required vegetative buffer, continuing the hearing to March 23 to allow submission of a new hedgerow plan.

For Three Wheeler Road, the board awarded a $1,800 peer-review contract to Graves Engineering to examine a roughly 50-percent reduction in earth-removal scope proposed by engineer Ryan Proctor of Dillis & Roy. On 53 West Meadow Road, a two-lot single-family development by applicant Susan Byrne, the board again chose Graves at $1,900 over Hoyle, Tanner & Associates at $3,203, with $500 already in escrow. The stormwater regulation amendments, required by an EPA Region 1 administrative order targeting post-construction suspended-solids removal, drew no public opposition and take effect upon filing with the Town Clerk.

The board also approved Hoyle, Tanner & Associates for peer review of the Seaver Road Extension definitive subdivision, where applicant representative Wayne Bellick of Land Design Collaborative said a $10,000 escrow was already on deposit and the statutory decision deadline falls July 8, 2026.

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• The complete report — 1,219 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of February 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.