Lunenburg Planning Board Approves Subaru Dealership Rebuild at 757 Chase Road

LUNENBURG -- June 8, 2026, Lunenburg Planning Board unanimously approved a site plan and stormwater permit for the rebuilt North End Subaru dealership at 757 Chase Road and rejected a de minimis designation for a residential redesign at 171 Arbor Street. The board voted four-to-zero against treating changes to the Arbor Street project as de minimis, directing applicant Justin LeClaire of McCarty Engineering to submit updated stormwater calculations to peer-review engineer Graves Engineering before the matter returns; the proposed home is roughly 80 percent larger than originally approved and the site grading has been substantially redesigned. At 757 Chase Road, Colonial Automotive Group's Empire Management Corporation received approval to demolish and replace the existing Subaru dealership under two conditions: all vehicles must be loaded and unloaded on site, and soil testing must precede installation of the underground stormwater infiltration system. A stormwater permit for a Unitil substation upgrade at 934 Massachusetts Avenue was continued to the June 22 meeting pending resolution of a parallel Conservation Commission hearing. Planning Director Steve Wallace outlined four zoning amendments targeting May 2027 Annual Town Meeting, including a minor site plan review track intended to speed commercial tenanting of existing buildings, backed by a Montachusett Regional Planning Commission grant to update commercial build-out mapping.