Information for Meeting of Board of Planning and Community Development
Wednesday October 06, 2021 7:00 PM EDT

I. Call to Order

II. Approval of August 25, 2021 and September 1, 2021 Meeting Minutes

III. Approval Not Required (ANR) Plan:  Robert & Terry Bouchard for property located at 4668 South Athol Road (Map 55 Parcels 45 and 99)

IV. Request for a Licensed Marijuana Establishment Special Permit Approval Decision Extension by 1620 Labs, LLC for an adult use marijuana cultivation and processing establishment at property located at 503 South Street and 20 Tunnel Street, Athol, MA (Map 30 Parcels 391, 392 and 393). Extension request is for an additional two years beyond the extension granted on February 3, 2021 until this November 8, 2021.  The Special Permit Approval would lapse unless further extended by the BPCD based on a good cause determination.

V. 7:10PM Public Hearing on proposed amendments to the Athol Zoning Bylaw (all BPCD Sponsored):

a) Amendment to Section 3.26, Registered Marijuana Dispensary (medical marijuana), and Section 3.29, Licensed Marijuana Establishments (adult use/recreational marijuana), by deleting Section 3.26, Registered Marijuana Dispensaries, in its entirety, and Section 3.29, Licensed Marijuana Establishments, in its entirety, and inserting a new Section 3.26, Licensed Marijuana Establishments. The chief purpose of this amendment is to consolidate the medical and adult use/recreational marijuana zoning provisions into one set of marijuana-related zoning provisions.

b) Zoning Bylaw Amendment for proposed new Licensed Marijuana Establishment use category, Indoor Cultivation of Marijuana, that would be allowed subject to a BPCD Special Permit in the Residential-C, Central Commercial, General Commercial, and Industrial-Commercial Zoning Districts. It would also include a series of performance standards.

c) Zoning Bylaw Amendment for proposed new Licensed Marijuana Establishment use category, Outdoor Cultivation of Marijuana, that would be allowed subject to a BPCD Special Permit in the Residential-C, General Commercial, and Industrial-Commercial Zoning Districts. It would also include a series of performance standards.

d) A proposed Zoning Map amendment, as referenced in Section 2.1.3, to expand the Central Commercial (CA) Zoning District boundary within Downtown Athol.

e) A proposed Zoning Map amendment, as referenced in Section 2.1.3, to a series of parcels between Walnut Street and Main Street between property identified as Parcel #030-068 and Parcel #030-074 on the eastern extents running westerly to the Millers River. The rezoning would rectify a number of parcels currently split between two zoning districts (Residential-A and General Commercial) and place each parcel in a single zoning district.

f) A proposed zoning bylaw amendment to delete provisions within Section 2.1.4 and Section 2.1.6. The deletion of Section 2.1.4 would remove language that restricts lots split between one or more zoning districts currently located within the Town of Athol to the most restricted use. The deletion of Section 2.1.6 would remove language that currently allows the least restrictive provisions that govern any lot split between the Town of Athol and a surrounding municipality to cover the entire parcel. This current provision of Section 2.1.6 effectively allows another town’s zoning to supersede Athol’s zoning where such a parcel is split between Athol and another municipality.

g) Amendment to Section 3.30, Battery Storage Energy Systems, that was approved at the October 19, 2020 Town Meeting. The amendments would address a number of comments identified by the Mass. Attorney General’s Office as part of their approval of the Battery Storage Energy Systems Zoning Bylaw. The amendments would also allow for new distribution power line-level tier subject to a Special Permit. The last significant change would exempt Tier 1 systems (those designed for individual residences) from zoning, but they would still be required to obtain a Building, Fire Safety, and Electrical Permit.

h) Amendment to the Athol Zoning Bylaw by adding in a new Bed and Breakfast use to the Use Regulation Schedule, Section 2.3, plus provide specific Parking Requirements under Section 3.6, and a new Definition for the Bed and Breakfast use in Section 4.1.

VI. 7:40PM Public Hearing for Licensed Marijuana Establishment Special Permit application for Green Speed Delivery, LLC, for a marijuana delivery service establishment and limited marijuana processing and manufacturing, for property located at 41 Exchange Street (Map 30 Parcels 249 and 251).

VII. Warrant Article Review and Vote to recommend or not to recommend the following articles for matters concerning the physical, economic, and environmental development of the Town for the October 18, 2021 Annual Town Meeting Warrant: Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

VIII. Anticipated Upcoming Meetings: Topics for next regular committee meeting date (Wednesday, November 3, 2021) discussed: public hearings for potential new permit applications and other topics planned for discussion. Board discussion on potential for alternative meeting location from Room #21 over the winter months (e.g. Virtual, via Zoom or at a larger meeting venue as needed).

IX. Adjournment