Billerica Planning Board Continues Sterling Road Permit, Targets July Vote on Rules Overhaul

BILLERICA — June 8, 2026 — Billerica's Planning Board unanimously continued a commercial site plan special permit for 14 Sterling Road to its July 13 meeting, citing unresolved stormwater peer review comments and pending Conservation Commission action. The board, sitting six of seven members with Marlise absent, also gave a first reading to an internal policies-and-procedures document — the first component of a comprehensive rules-and-regulations overhaul — with a vote to adopt expected at the July 13 meeting. Applicant representatives from WL French and CEC told the board they had revised grading plans to restore a required 20-foot green strip along the project's western edge, addressing earlier concerns from neighbors on Rangeway Road, but a board member noted that the peer review contained close to 50 comments and warned against voting on a waiver before conservation issues were resolved. Staff also presented a fee-schedule comparison with neighboring towns, prompted by Finance Committee concerns about business-friendliness, with a draft fee schedule for the updated site plan bylaw due by August.