Planning Board approves revised master plan supplement, advances clean energy facilities bylaw.
Harvard Planning Board approved revisions to the 2026 Master Plan supplement, incorporating climate change language and removing stalled Rural Life Preservation permit references. Chair John McCormack and members Doug Thornton, Irene Battaglia, and Richard Abt voted unanimously to adopt the vision
Planning Board · Meeting of July 20, 2026
Harvard Planning Board approved revisions to the 2026 Master Plan supplement, incorporating climate change language and removing stalled Rural Life Preservation permit references. Chair John McCormack and members Doug Thornton, Irene Battaglia, and Richard Abt voted unanimously to adopt the vision statement changes while deferring the land use section to address gaps in documentation of Form Based Code and OSCPRD modifications since 2016. Community and Economic Development Director Jenny Gingras presented a draft "Clean Energy Facilities" bylaw consolidating solar and battery energy storage permitting; the board assigned Gingras multiple action items including analysis of downtown rezoning options and investigation of the minister's path maintenance project.
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 20, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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