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Planning Board orders peer review for 26 Pearl Street development plan and continues hearing to July 23
Summary
On the advice of town counsel the Planning Board voted to require a technical peer review of the 26 Pearl Street development-plan application under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 44, §53G and continued the public hearing to July 23, 2026 at 7 p.m.
The Bellingham Planning Board voted on June 26 to require a peer review of the development-plan application for 26 Pearl Street and continued the public hearing to July 23, 2026.
On advice of town counsel the board invoked Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 44, §53G to hire a technical peer reviewer to evaluate engineering components of the application, including plans and supporting materials. The chair asked for and the board approved a motion requiring peer review and to continue the public hearing until July 23 at 7 p.m.
Planning staff explained the peer-review process to attendees, emphasizing that the review is a technical engineering check of stormwater, circulation and plan compliance and that peer-review reports typically return with questions that require follow-up between the applicant’s engineers and reviewers. The board noted that public comment will remain part of the continued hearing and that the July 23 meeting will include time for comments depending on filings from the applicant.
The requirement for peer review and the continuance were procedural steps; the board did not take a final substantive vote on the development plan at the meeting. The record shows the board is proceeding with technical review while reserving final determinations until the peer-review findings and any additional submissions are before the board. The continued hearing is scheduled for July 23, 2026, at 7 p.m.
