Whately Planning Board Delays Battery Storage Hearing Due to Election Day Conflict

WHATELY — April 28, 2026 — Whately Planning Board continues battery storage hearing to May 5 after election-day conflict. The board, meeting April 28 with three members present, voted unanimously to reschedule the continuation of its public hearing on a proposed zoning bylaw amendment covering energy storage and solar energy facilities — state law bars public hearings on election days, and April 28 was a Whately town election day. An updated draft of the bylaw, revised by town counsel, is to be circulated before the May 5 session, where the board expects to vote and prepare a formal recommendation for the Select Board ahead of annual town meeting in June. The board also received a comprehensive plan briefing from Megan Rhodes, Livability Program Manager for the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, who presented a build-out analysis projecting up to 410 new potential housing units in town under current zoning — against an existing stock of roughly 700 homes — with 62 percent of buildable land either active farmland or environmentally sensitive. A public open house is planned for June 6 at the Whately library, and the completed plan must be accepted by the board before the grant funding deadline of June 30.