Share This Article
On Tuesday, March 13 the Sudbury Select Board voted 3-2 to recommend approval of the Firearm Business Safety Use Zoning Bylaw to Town Meeting in May. The vote was split along the same lines as prior votes, with Members Russo, Roberts and Carty in support, and Chair Dretler and Vice Chair Kouchakdjian opposed.
During the meeting the board also discussed a March 28 information session to present the bylaw to the community. That meeting will be held at the Goodnow Library and will offer a remote/hybrid option for attendees. More information on the event here. The latest draft of the bylaw is available here.
Discussions about the bylaw continued to focus on the benefits the majority felt a special permit would provide, and concerns the minority had about locations for firearms businesses. Member Russo felt that it would be critical for Town staff to explain the special permit process to the public at the informational session later in March, as it would require a minimum 4-1 vote of the Select Board for a firearms business to open in Sudbury. Members of the minority felt it was important to explain that locations for firearms businesses were not permanently limited just to Industrial District 4, which runs on the south side of Boston Post Road from the eastern edge of the Coolidge Apartments to the Wayland town line. Parcels in some of the other industrial districts in Sudbury could become eligible to apply for the special permit in the future if the businesses/uses in and around those districts changed in the future.
New maps were made available in the packet for the meeting. Here’s one depicting the various different zoning districts along Boston Post Road, with industrial districts in the lighter lime green:
Here’s a map depicting the parcels inside Industrial District 4 that would be eligible to apply for a special permit (thick yellow outline):
Some aspects of the informational session remained unsettled pending additional discussion. The Select Board will meet again on March 26, two days before the information session.