Townsend Planning Board releases $20,000 bond, defers zoning amendment to ZBA

Planning Board · Meeting of January 12, 2026

Townsend Planning Board releases a $20,000 subdivision bond and refers a contested zoning amendment back to the Zoning Board of Appeals. At the January 12 meeting, Chair Andrew Shepherd and Vice Chair Carol Hoffses voted unanimously to approve a warrant for payment releasing the $20,000 performance bond — plus accumulated interest — on Harbor Trace Road and Cooperage Way, a guarantee in place since 2008 tied to a subdivision originally approved around 2001. Attorney Peter A.

Campobasso presented the release request on behalf of his client. On a proposed amendment to Section 145-29 governing hotel-motel uses in the town's overlay district, Hoffses warned that Town Counsel's review raised serious doubt about attorney general approval, adding an unresolved question about whether affected properties had been paying required lodging fees: "This could open up a can of worms that was unintended." The board took no action and sent the matter back to the ZBA. Hoffses was also reappointed as the board's capital planning committee representative through June 30, 2026.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of January 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.