Board Continues 745 Webster St. Hearing to Sept. 14

Planning Board · Meeting of August 17, 2026

Marshfield Planning Board was briefed on sweeping state zoning changes and continued a Webster Street hearing to September. Town Counsel Robert Galvin told the board that fiscal 2027 budget amendments to Chapter 40A, effective July 9, replace the old "substantial hardship" variance test with a "more flexible, practical difficulty standard," now requiring boards to weigh housing production as a mandatory factor. The board, chaired in Michael Biviano Jr.'s absence by Vice Chair Katharine O'Donnell, voted 4-0 to continue a special permit hearing for a two-story mixed-use building at 745 Webster Street, with offices and two apartments, to September 14 at 7:05 p.m. pending outstanding grading questions.

Members also tabled selection of a representative to a new nine-member Economic Development Advisory Committee and approved minutes from five prior meetings on 4-0 roll calls.

In the full story:

• Call to Order and Attendance
• State Law Overhaul: Chapter 40A Amendments Briefing
• Continued Public Hearing: 745 Webster Street Mixed-Use Special Permit
• Economic Development Advisory Committee Representative
• Approval of Minutes and Stormwater Regulations
• Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,477 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of August 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.