Sturbridge Planning Board taps regional agency to rewrite solar rules

Planning Board · Meeting of February 9, 2026

Sturbridge Planning Board accepts free state-funded help to rewrite solar and battery storage zoning ahead of an October 1 deadline. Ron Barron of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission told the board his agency will compare Sturbridge's zoning against new state model bylaws under a grant running through December 31, at no cost to the town. Projects under 25 megawatts will still go through local permitting; larger battery storage sites move to a new state site suitability board.

Member Brad Goodwin pressed for controls on tree clearing and runoff near solar sites, calling it "one of the things I'd like to see controls around." Town Planner Jean M. Bubon said she began the bylaw review before her planned departure this summer. Separately, the board heard that 2025 meals tax revenue reached $86.6 million, up 8 percent, and hotel revenue hit $22.5 million, with a new 40,000-square-foot building under construction at 660 Main Street tied to a technology company's possible expansion.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of February 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.