Acushnet Planning Board Unanimously Adopts 2026 Master Plan After Two-Year Process

ACUSHNET — July 2, 2026 — Acushnet Planning Board adopts the town's 2026 Master Plan after nearly two years of volunteer-driven work. The board voted unanimously Thursday to accept the approximately 200-page document, which calls for zoning recodification, housing diversification beyond single-family homes, a neighborhood-friendly business district on Main Street, and pedestrian and bicycle connections to the South Coast Bikeway. Chairman Brian Deshampes credited volunteer committee members including board member Steve Boucher, member Pete Gaieffa, Selectman Gaspar, and resident Ryan Resendiz, along with Town Planner Victoria Alfaro and regional planning agency SRPEDD. The board also unanimously approved five minor modifications to the Clem's Way Solar project at 1094 Main Street — most significantly, complete removal of the Battery Energy Storage System, reducing equipment pad impervious surface from 5,500 to 3,700 square feet — and authorized Alfaro to pursue two grant opportunities, a SNEP Network stormwater technical assistance application and the MassDOT Complete Streets Funding Program, both subject to Select Board approval. Two companion planning documents, the 2026 Open Space and Recreation Plan and the 2026 Water Resource Management Strategy, were deferred to future meetings as still incomplete.