Sandisfield Planning Board Sets Village-Business District Boundary Along Route 8

SANDISFIELD -- October 14, 2025, Sandisfield Planning Board unanimously establishes a village/business district boundary along Route 8, aiming for a May town meeting vote. The board voted at its October 14 meeting to designate a corridor running from the Farmington River bridge north through New Boston and west on Route 57 to Silverbrook Road as a new "village/business district," where a wide range of commercial uses, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, retail shops, home offices, and more, could be permitted by right rather than by special permit. Chair Jeff Bye framed the move as a direct response to a community survey showing strong resident interest in village-style amenities, noting that Sandisfield's current 200-foot road frontage requirement would drop sharply under the proposal, potentially tripling the number of buildable parcels in the corridor. The board also authorized an expression of interest filing by October 28 in the state's new Eco One Stop grant portal, the town's next opportunity to secure funding for a long-delayed master plan after its One Stop grant application was not awarded this cycle.