Concord Planning Board Delays Fenn School Gym Decision, Backs Country Club Permit

CONCORD — July 7, 2026 — Concord Planning Board continues Fenn School gym review amid traffic and septic concerns. The board voted unanimously to continue site plan review of the Fenn School's proposed 16,000-square-foot athletic center at 516 Monument Street to July 28, directing the applicant to submit a fire department letter approving a stretcher-capable elevator in lieu of a rear vehicle access path, lighting cut sheets complying with the town's April 2026 lighting bylaw, a sustainability narrative covering a planned geothermal system, and an event traffic management plan for Carr Road. Neighbor Richard Chazer of 131 Carr Road raised concerns about spectator parking and queuing for a facility with capacity of up to 175 people, telling the board "there is no place to put a car," and questioned whether outside rentals — which Associate Head of School Dave Platt acknowledged were possible — would affect the campus's Title V septic permit. The board also voted unanimously to give a positive recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals for Nashawtuc Country Club's application to replace a 1960s irrigation pump station with a new 500-square-foot structure in the Flood Plain Conservancy District at 1861 Sudbury Road, where compensatory floodplain storage was calculated at 1.64 to 1, above the required 1.5 to 1.