Charlton Planning Board Continues Four Public Hearings at Packed July Meeting

Planning Board · Meeting of July 15, 2026

Charlton Planning Board continued four public hearings and approved two lot actions at its packed July 15 session. The most-discussed item was a site plan for New England Power Company's proposed permanent Snake Hill Substation No. 2235 — a nearly 49,300-square-foot electrical facility on Snake Hill Road designed to provide long-term power to the Amazon Robotics fulfillment warehouse — which was continued to August 12 pending a complete response to Graves Engineering peer-review comments; chair Bill Fontaine said it was "unfortunate that Amazon didn't also become, like, the state's pushing" on solar at the time of its initial approvals. A continued hearing for Hatem Enterprises LLC's proposed Route 20 gasoline station, convenience store, and drive-through with five residential apartments was pushed to September 2, with a water-pressure test scheduled July 21 that will determine whether the residential units survive the design; traffic engineer Bob Michaud of MDM Transportation Consultants flagged unresolved MassDOT driveway review as a key outstanding item.

The Blue Sky Towers IV LLC 120-foot wireless tower at 103 Bond Road advanced after attorney Owen Wall reported all 22 Graves Engineering peer-review comments acknowledged. The board voted unanimously to extend the Gibbons North Sturbridge Road reduced frontage lot special permit to July 17, 2027, endorse an Approval-Not-Required plan for 140 Bond Road, and approve a reduced frontage lot for Elliott Burlingame & Sons off AF Putnam Road.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,881 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.