Planning Board directs Route 20 corridor study toward expanded Village Business District

SUDBURY -- April 30, 2025, Sudbury Planning Board steers Route 20 corridor study toward a tripled Village Business District. Adam Deschaine of the BSC Group presented draft recommendations on April 30 that would expand the district to absorb Chiswick Park and adjacent business and industrial parcels, eliminate minimum parking requirements, raise the single-use cap from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet, allow three stories within a 35-foot height limit, and require continuous sidewalks and pedestrian-scale lighting along Route 20, Union Avenue and Concord Road. Chair Stephen Garvin called the proposed five-foot front setback "too tight in Sudbury" and pushed for an overlay alternative. Vice-Chair John Sugrue urged that the report make changes "super clear" to voters. The board also backed petitioning MassDOT to cede control of Section C of Route 20 and creating a town economic-development position, possibly shared regionally. BSC expects to finalize the report by June 30. The board separately continued the Bonny Brook Estates hearing to May 28 and honored Sugrue at his final regular meeting after seven years.