Sherborn Planning Board Approves 65 Farm Road Stormwater Permit With Conditions

SHERBORN — June 23, 2026 — Sherborn Planning Board unanimously approves stormwater permit for 65 Farm Road and advances zoning overhaul targeting business permitting barriers. The board voted 6-0 to grant the permit to property owner Gary Lambert for a new single-family dwelling, incorporating conditions drawn from Conservation Agent Joyce's June 3 review memo, including pre-construction erosion controls and a planning board inspection before certificate-of-occupancy sign-off. Town Planner Heidi told the board that Sherborn's business districts allow only single-family homes and agriculture by right, requiring every retail or commercial tenant to obtain a special permit through the Zoning Board of Appeals — a minimum two-month process with a 20-day appeals period and three-year renewals. "We don't make it very easy to do business here," she said. The board voted 6-0 to link a new consultant-hosted zoning bylaw review website to the town's official site, after member Brett Piercy argued the site's current framing understated a review that includes streamlining and modernizing permitting processes. Heidi also briefed the board on a 501(c)(3) soccer club's interest in purchasing the 100-acre Bliss Acres property at Route 115 and Bullard Street for $6 million to build two lighted artificial turf fields, warning that Dover Amendment protections could leave the town with leverage only over stormwater and parking — and that conversion to nonprofit ownership could repeat a revenue loss comparable to Millbourne Farms, which cost the town approximately $180,000 per year.