At a glance: planning board actions and items headed to the March ballot

What the board decided on Jan. 2 (summary for voters and stakeholders):

- Zoning amendment 4 (commercial storage facilities): Planning Board voted to place this amendment on the March town meeting warrant. The item had limited public comment and the motion to advance carried.

- Zoning amendment 5 (parking updates required by HB 1400): The board approved sending a clarifying update to the voters to align local parking regulations with state law (HB 1400). The hearing produced no major objections.

- Zoning amendment 6 (permanent uses / housekeeping changes): The board voted to put this item on the ballot as written after a short hearing; staff noted that text changes were largely clarifications.

- Appointment recommendation: The board voted to recommend that the Select Board appoint Michael Bouchard to fill a planning board vacancy. The board's recommendation will be forwarded to the Select Board for final action at its next meeting.

Other procedural actions: The board approved December 19, 2024 meeting minutes (with amendments) and selected Barrett Planning as the planning consultant the board will use for the coming work program.

Notes on votes and process: Several of these items were routine or required by state law and were moved forward with limited discussion; final legal text and warrant placement will be confirmed by planning staff and (where required) the town attorney ahead of the warrant deadline. Specific roll‑call tallies for some votes were not fully read into the transcript excerpt; where recorded, abstentions were noted in the minutes.