Carlisle Planning Board Advances Country Store Gas Station Permit, Splits Willard Common Lot

CARLISLE — March 24, 2026 — Carlisle Planning Board reviews country store gas station permit, unanimously endorses Willard Common lot split. The board heard a full presentation from the team behind a proposed renovation at 166 Commonwealth Avenue — where Concord Country Store, LLC, seeks to reopen a dormant gas station as a full-service, attendant-operated country store selling hardware, gifts, and produce alongside fuel — but took no action, continuing the matter to April 14 pending peer review of stormwater drainage, traffic, and site engineering submittals. Attorney Jonathan Silverstein of BDHS said the applicant chose to seek a new use special permit rather than proceed as an alteration of a pre-existing nonconforming use "to bring the use into compliance." Outstanding questions include whether the renovation triggers the town's fossil-fuel-free bylaw, whether exterior cladding will be authentic cedar or composite, and where HVAC equipment will be sited. On a separate item, the board voted 5-0 to endorse an approval-not-required plan by Stansky & McNary dividing a 148,487-square-foot parcel at 49 Willard Common into three lots, each exceeding 40,000 square feet, over objections from abutter Cynthia Drescher, who argued the application misstated the status of Willard Common as a public rather than private way.