Townsend Planning Board Continues Cedar Road Subdivision Hearing, Seeks Legal Opinion

Planning Board · Meeting of July 27, 2026

Townsend Planning Board continues a contested three-lot subdivision hearing on Cedar Road and prepares to seek legal guidance before its September 14 decision deadline. The board voted unanimously at its July 27 meeting to continue the public hearing on an application by Belvedere Capital, LLC, for a definitive subdivision plan proposing a 560-foot extension of Cedar Road and three single-family lots, pending review of multiple outstanding waiver requests. Chair Andrew Shepherd said he would ask Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Faxon to solicit a formal opinion from Town Counsel on whether waivers granted at the 2022 preliminary plan stage carry forward to the current definitive plan proceeding.

Member Robert Therrien said that in his view all technical requirements had been met but that legal distinctions about road abandonment remain unresolved: "The question of private road versus a public road is not anything that we can address." Michael Seikman, a Seaver Road resident and attorney, argued the plan violates at least three provisions of the Townsend Subdivision Bylaws, including a section he said bars subdivision streets from enabling approval-not-required lots on abutting land not part of the subdivision. The board also unanimously recommended Gerilyn Bozikas to the Select Board for appointment to the vacant associate member seat, and named Clerk Cindy Marie King as the board's representative to the Community Preservation Committee.

In the full story:

• Community Preservation Committee Representative
• Associate Member Candidate — Gerilyn Bozikas
• Floodplain Overlay District Application Form — Agenda Item 2.1 / 3.3
• Wheeler Road Draft Decision — Agenda Item 3.4
• Abutting-Town Notices — Agenda Item 3.5 / Communications
• Clean Energy Permitting — Communications
• The complete report — 3,097 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.