Acton board approves special permits for Marcus Lewis Racquet Club; fossil-fuel waiver left open for more analysis

The Acton Select Board on Monday approved three special-permit applications for the Marcus Lewis Racquet Club at 45 Nagog Park, clearing the way for a new clubhouse, a pickleball enclosure and a tennis-court enclosure while leaving a requested waiver from the town's fossil-fuel-free bylaw unresolved.

The board voted, by voice, to approve the use special permit applications for commercial recreation and reduced parking and to approve the associated site-plan special permit. The motion to approve was moved and seconded during the meeting; the board approved the permits in a voice vote and did not record individual roll-call votes.

Town staff and the applicant then discussed a separate application seeking a waiver from Acton’s fossil-fuel-free bylaw. Paul Morris of Pinnacle Construction, representing Marcus Lewis and the project team, asked the board for input and for time to respond to questions from the Building Commissioner and from select board members. Building Department staff said they had communicated with the applicant earlier in the day and that options remain for a fully electric design or for technical pathways that could allow mixed-fuel systems, with review and conditions to follow at permitting and building-permit stages.

Select Board member David, who led a technical discussion about heat pumps and state incentives, said commercial incentives from the Mass Save program could be “many tens of thousands of dollars” and urged the applicant to confirm that the specific equipment proposed appears on Mass Save’s qualified list and to obtain AHRI ratings for proposed units. David added that a Mass Save “rebate commitment letter” can hold rebate amounts for 12 months even if program rules change, which can materially affect project economics.

The applicant and consultants acknowledged outstanding technical questions. Marcus Lewis, the property owner, said he favors lower-emissions options but expressed concern about upfront costs and uncertainty around program incentives. He said the structure chosen is a tension-fabric building rather than an inflated “bubble,” and that rooftop solar was not feasible for the building manufacturer’s structural recommendations.

Public commenters urged the board to treat waiver requests carefully. Deborah Simes, an Acton resident, said the town’s climate commitments and the draft bylaw’s waiver standard — permitting relief only if compliance makes a project “financially infeasible or impractical” — require a transparent rubric and, she suggested, independent evaluation. Several technical commenters, including a professional engineer in the audience, recommended the applicant provide detailed load calculations, envelope R-values, infiltration testing, and demonstration that any proposed heat-pump equipment will perform in local cold-weather conditions.

The board did not act on the waiver request. Members asked the applicant to work with the Building Commissioner and Mass Save commercial staff and to return with stamped engineering calculations, AHRI equipment data, and a clearer cost comparison. Town staff and the applicant agreed to try to return to the Select Board agenda on Oct. 6 with the additional information.

The approved site-plan and use permits remain subject to standard building and occupancy approvals, including any conditions listed by Health or Fire departments at the building-permit stage.

The Select Board also moved consent business earlier in the meeting, including the appointment of an associate member to the Transportation Advisory Committee and other routine items.