Voters at the Oct. 20 Special Town Meeting amended the proposed battery storage bylaw from a 150-foot to a 300-foot setback, then passed it by a two-thirds majority and sent it to the state for review.
The developer's Sept. 11 MassHousing application would put two driveways on a 6.7-acre Pembroke lot, and a concept plan marks a possible wastewater treatment plant there, though the application says no structures are anticipated.
Facing an Oct. 28 deadline, Select Board members questioned whether town counsel had reviewed a Hanover hazardous waste depot agreement that Town Manager Bill Chenard said would cost the town about $2,550 more a year.
The town-owned house at 369 Washington St. was to be relocated for the public safety building project until move preparations exposed deterioration that town officials said made it unsafe to move.
The bylaw would be Pembroke’s first zoning rules for battery storage, and the version posted for the Oct. 20 Town Meeting lists two different capacity thresholds for its middle tier.
Engineers and the building inspector found the house too fragile to move, Town Manager Bill Chenard said, and the town will seek a demolition permit that goes before the Historic District Commission.
The Republican Town Committee voted to endorse the MassGOP’s positions on the 2026 ballot questions; the Democratic Town Committee declined to state positions, saying it does not consider the questions partisan.
The commission’s charter calls for eight members, but its volunteers left after the pandemic began in 2020; Town Manager and ADA Coordinator Bill Chenard is now its only member.
Pembroke is the last member town needed to sign on to a permanent hazardous waste depot in Hanover; board members asked for time to read the revised agreement before voting Oct. 20.
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) bylaw on October 5, 2026, according to the board's agenda published with
