Bourne Planning Board Meeting: February 26, 2026 – Fire Station Approval, Zoning Amendments
Bourne Planning Board Meeting: February 26, 2026
The Bourne Planning Board convened on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was recorded for broadcast by Bourne TV. The board approved a site plan review for a new fire station, conducted a public hearing on proposed zoning bylaw amendments, and voted to advance some articles to the annual town meeting while holding others for further study.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from February 12, 2026: Approved unanimously.
Application for Site Plan Review SPR-517 (Bourne Southside Fire Station)
The board considered a continuation of the application from January 22, 2026, for the construction of an 11,831-square-foot fire station at 171 Clay Pond Road (Map 31.4, Parcel 17) in a V Board District. Owner’s project manager Richard Palmer presented, noting that the applicant had since obtained ZBA approval. Engineer Spencer Linz (Pare Corporation) detailed modifications to address previous board comments: the stormwater discharge system was redesigned to include a plunge pool at the base of the 3:1 slope to reduce erosion, and calculations showed a 33% reduction in peak discharge (from 6.82 cfs to 4.58 cfs) and nearly two-thirds reduction in discharge volume (from 19,324 cf to 7,367 cf) for the 100-year storm. The 1-year storm is fully infiltrated. Landscape plan updates were made per board requests. Board members discussed lighting (glare shields on wall packs) and spigots for landscaping.
Vote: Jim moved to approve the site plan review with conditions, seconded by Doc. The board voted unanimously (Corinne, Amanda, Jim, Liz, Dave, Chair – all yes). Conditions included: (1) compliance with town bylaws, (2) deferral to other departments, (3) tree protection, (4) as-built plan, (5) front-facing wall packs must have glare shields, (6) waivers for open space (24.7% vs. requirement), lot coverage (29.5% vs. requirement), and loading area requirements.
Public Hearing on Zoning Bylaw Amendments for Annual Town Meeting 2026
Items A & B: Seasonal Communities Designation and Tiny Homes & Affordable Lots
Board members discussed the proposed amendments to establish a seasonal communities designation and to create regulations for tiny homes and attainable/affordable lots. Town Planner Sean noted that the state’s regulations are evolving, and the board needs more time to study implications. Members raised concerns about the definition of tiny homes (e.g., wheels, registration with RMV), rental restrictions, and potential conflicts with existing bylaws. The consensus was to hold both items for further investigation, public outreach, and clarification before bringing them to a future town meeting.
Vote: Jim moved to postpone Items A and B from the May town meeting for study and review, seconded by Dave. The board voted unanimously to hold.
Item C: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Amendment
Sean presented proposed changes to the ADU bylaw to comply with the state’s Affordable Homes Act of 2024. Key changes: (1) retaining a maximum size of 1,500 square feet or 50% of the primary dwelling (whichever is smaller) – more permissive than the state’s 900 sq ft or 50%; (2) requiring a supportive finding from the Zoning Board of Appeals for ADUs larger than 50% of the primary dwelling but under 1,500 sq ft; (3) removing minimum lot size and parking requirements that conflicted with state law (parking exception within ½ mile of a bus stop). After clarifying the language, the board found the amendment ready for town meeting.
Vote: Jim moved to recommend the ADU amendment to the annual town meeting, seconded by Liz. The board voted unanimously (Corinne, Amanda, Catherine, Jim, Liz, Doc, Rob, Chair – all yes) to forward the article.
Item D: Frontage in Downtown District Amendment
Sean explained a proposed change to Section 2831 to allow parcels in the downtown district that are not on primary streets to have a front setback of 0 to 30 feet by right (previously 0 to 15 feet). The change affects purple parcels on a map and aims to provide flexibility for residential lots. The board agreed the amendment addresses a practical need.
Vote: Jim moved to recommend the frontage amendment to the annual town meeting, seconded by Liz. The board voted unanimously to forward.
Key Outcomes
- Fire Station (SPR-517): Approved with conditions. Construction of a new 11,831 sq ft fire station at 171 Clay Pond Road.
- Zoning Items A & B: Held for further study; will not appear on the May 2026 town meeting warrant.
- Zoning Item C (ADUs): Recommended to the annual town meeting for adoption.
- Zoning Item D (Downtown Frontage): Recommended to the annual town meeting for adoption.
- Meeting adjourned unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
It being 7 p.m. Thursday, February 26, 2026. We will begin our planning board meeting. Note this meeting is being recorded for live broadcast and televised replay by Bourne TV. If anyone is audio or visual recording, please acknowledge at this time. Thank you. All items within the meeting agenda are subject to deliberation and votes. We will call the work to uh order open session. First agenda item is the meeting minutes from February 12th. The chairman, I'll make a motion. We accept the minutes as printed. I have a motion from Jim. Second from Liz. Any questions or comments? Okay, we'll take a vote. Corinne. Yes. Amanda. I'm staying. I think there was an on time for that meeting. Thank you. Jim. Liz. Yes. Yes. Doc. Rob. You're not staying out. Chair votes yes. Accepted. Next up is application for site plan review SPR number 517. This is continued from January 22nd, 2026. 171 Plate Porn Road. The application is for the construction of a new born Southside Fire Station in a V Board District. The structure will be 11,831 square feet. Welcome. Thank you very much. Good evening. Richard Palmer, owner's project manager on behalf of the town of board. So as you mentioned, this is a continuance from our earlier hearing. And at that time we had asked for a continuance because we had not had our ZBA approval as of that time. And we felt it would be an error on the side of caution. And till we had things resolved with the ZBA. Very successfully, we had uh approval last week with the ZBA. We have not made any design uh substantive design modifications. Uh uh, but we do have we took the opportunity if you recall from our last meeting, we sort of did a round table uh and uh got comments, uh very good comments from from your board. So what we'd like to date what we've done is taken the opportunity to modify those documents to address those comments so we can uh discuss those with you this evening. And uh we'd like to uh ask for a vote uh this evening uh for approval of uh the requested variances. Uh Spencer Linz from uh Par is going to be here tonight to present uh those modifications and clarifications. We've asked him to slow it down a little bit so that I can follow him.
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