Planning Board Forms Subcommittee on Data Centers

Planning Board · Meeting of October 8, 2026

BOURNE — The Bourne Planning Board weighed draft zoning bylaws for battery storage and data centers but took no votes on either, agreeing instead to form a subcommittee. Board member Steve argued a staff-drafted data center moratorium running through December 2028 is "entirely too long," citing Mansfield and Northborough as towns that passed zoning bylaws instead. Members raised concerns that a roughly 38-to-60-acre Bourndale Road site eyed for battery storage sits near the aquifer supplying much of the town's drinking water, against an unverified estimate of $3 million a year in tax revenue cited by the landowner's attorney.

Planning staff member Jen said the state's new battery storage permitting rules, effective October 1, create a roughly 12-month expedited approval process limited by the Dover Amendment. The board also reviewed landscaping standards presented by member Doc, correcting an improper forestry measurement term, with little objection.

In the full story:

• Meeting Minutes Approval
• Battery Energy Storage Systems
• Data Center Moratorium
• Landscaping, Section 3500
• Other Business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,515 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.