Town planner Alec presented a draft schedule Feb. 5 laying out the Planning Board’s agenda through the spring town meeting, including an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw public hearing on March 20, a battery energy storage bylaw workshop on April 2 and proposed site plan rule revisions on April 17.

Alec told the board the attorney general’s office has agreed to offer preliminary reviews of ADU bylaws and that the state CMR (building code regulations) providing guidance on ADUs has been released, which will help the board align local language with state code. "The attorney general's office has agreed to offer preliminary reviews of accessory dwelling unit bylaws," Alec said, and staff are preparing draft language with plans to send it for review in advance of the March 20 public hearing.

Alec also said the board will aim to limit one zoning bylaw public hearing per evening to keep meetings manageable. He described the April 2 meeting as focused on battery energy storage systems and April 17 on rules and regulations for site plan review. The planner proposed hosting an informational session within the usual meeting schedule — a half-hour to 45-minute public info session before a planning board meeting — and the board discussed coordinating that with the town’s larger informational events.

Alec reported the town’s District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) grant requests were filed earlier in the week and award letters are expected in the coming weeks; one award will activate additional state grant funding for a select board project, and another DLTA-supported task will help with public engagement on commercial district revisions. Alec also said a procurement (RFP) for a Sandpeth partner is out and consultant responses have already arrived; that project will include an overlay-district study and is likely to begin with a kickoff in March or April. He noted the overlay study has local sensitivity after social media discussion and will be heavily publicized.

Board members and staff agreed to coordinate calendar dates and to consider using the town’s existing public outreach events rather than scheduling duplicate sessions.