Hamilton Planning Board Approves Myopia Club Permits, Pursues Housing Grant Status

HAMILTON -- February 24, 2026, Hamilton Planning Board unanimously approved Myopia Hunt Club facility permits and voted to seek state Housing Choice designation at its February 24 meeting. The board accepted a peer-review waiver from Bill Ross of Mane Lake Civil Engineering of Salem, who found that a small repaved area at the club's maintenance site posed no environmental risk to the town's water supply, then approved both a site plan and stormwater management permit for the club's above-ground fuel tank replacement, subject to dark-sky lighting and landscaping conditions. Planning Director Mark briefed members on the state Housing Choice Communities program, noting Hamilton has permitted more than 3 percent of its housing stock over five years, including 45 units at Asper Commons, making it eligible for a five-year designation that yields preference points for MassWorks, Clean Streets, and Clean Water Trust grants. The board also heard Board of Health Chair David Smith and Public Health Agent Greg Bernard explain that the town's 80,000-square-foot-per-dwelling-unit Groundwater Protection Overlay District standard predates modern nitrogen-removal septic technology, which Bernard said adds roughly 30 percent to system cost but can increase allowable density from four to as many as six bedrooms per acre in sensitive zones.