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Montessori school proposes 3,534 sq ft addition; board flags parking, traffic and well/septic as outstanding issues
Summary
Bedford Montessori School presented a conceptual plan to add 3,534 sq ft and expand enrollment to about 60 students. Board members asked for stronger justification for a large parking waiver (proposed 10 spaces vs. ~26 required) and required a traffic study, well siting and septic testing before a formal application.
Bedford Montessori School representatives presented a conceptual plan Aug. 11 to enlarge the existing school with a 3,534‑square‑foot addition and to increase enrollment from roughly 35 to as many as 60 students.
Matt Walsh, project manager and co‑owner of Ekman Construction, and Brian Jones of Allen and Major Associates described the single‑story addition, a new septic system and a new well to meet public water‑supply rules. "We are showing 10 parking spaces with the option to build an additional 5 if necessary," Jones said; he also noted that the zoning bylaw parking standard (0.43 spaces per student) would translate to roughly 26 spaces for the proposed enrollment.
Walsh told the board that constraints of ledge on the front lawn and the cost of blasting make it difficult to provide the full 26 spaces and that the school’s current operations typically see only 5–6 cars on site outside drop‑off/pick‑up windows. Board members asked applicants to make a stronger, written case for any parking waiver, and to provide a detailed traffic‑study analysis of queuing and trip generation at the nearby Tyrrell (Terrell) Hill/New Boston Road intersection. Becky Hebert, planning director, advised that the town’s technical review will scrutinize trip generation and sight distance.
The applicants said they plan to submit a formal application Aug. 28 and expect to return to the board in October. They described the project phasing that would keep the school open while building the addition and completing limited work on the existing building the following summer.
Neighbor Jeff Huberty said he had not been contacted about the concept and raised concerns about the addition’s proximity to his yard, potential visibility from his house and traffic impacts at peak drop‑off/pick‑up times. Applicants and staff said screening, landscaping, a traffic study and final grading details will be part of the formal application. The board asked applicants to supply staffing and queuing data to support a parking waiver request and to demonstrate how on‑site queuing and any overflow will be managed so neighbors are not unduly affected.
Next steps: the applicant will file a full application (planned Aug. 28), submit a traffic study and the hydrogeologic work for the new well site, and provide a parking‑waiver justification and detailed landscaping/screening plans for board consideration.
