Westminster Planning Board Approves 88 State Road West Site Plan, Advances Two Zoning Bylaws

ASHBURNHAM — July 14, 2026 — Westminster Planning Board approves 88 State Road West apartment site plan and advances two zoning bylaw amendments to town meeting. The board unanimously approved site plan, stormwater management, and low-impact development permits for 88 State Road West LLC at its July 14 session after peer reviewer Tetra Tech confirmed all technical comments — including floodplain and vernal pool issues — had been resolved; the approval carries a two-year window expiring July 14, 2028, and requires the applicant to fund a Chapter 53G escrow account before breaking ground. Planning Director Ryan Doherty read into the record a full suite of conditions including pre-construction sign-offs from the Westminster Fire Department and Department of Public Works, NPDES stormwater permit coverage, and affordable housing monitoring requirements under EOHLC. The board also voted unanimously to recommend two zoning amendments to a fall special town meeting: a prohibition on data centers in all zoning districts, and removal of a contradictory parking cap in the MBTA multifamily overlay district that the Attorney General's office flagged as potentially unenforceable. Three additional amendments — battery energy storage system siting standards, village center design regulations, and a proposed increase in the R3 district minimum lot size from 86,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet — were continued to the August 25 meeting, with a Bolton Road landowner raising grandfathering concerns about the lot-size change at the hearing.