Board approves conversion of Stevens Buswell School to community center with conditions

The Bedford Planning Board on April 29 approved final site‑plan and conditional use permit applications to convert the former Stevens Buswell School at 18 North Amherst Road into a community center operated by the Bedford Historical Society under a long‑term lease with the Town of Bedford.

Jason Lopez of Keach Nordstrom Associates and Richard Moore, a member of the Stevens Buswell Committee, told the board the proposal preserves the building’s exterior appearance, installs a new septic system (designed for 237 people), connects the building to municipal water for domestic and fire suppression systems, and will require installation of sprinklers as part of occupancy and safety requirements. The applicants noted they plan to use 16 dedicated on‑site parking spaces plus access to 68 town‑office spaces during off‑hours for a total of 84 available spaces outside normal business hours and said they are exploring additional agreements with nearby churches and the library for larger events.

Because the site falls short of the regulations’ parking calculation (which would require 25 spaces under the cited standard of 3.52 spaces per 1,000 sq ft), the applicant requested a parking waiver. Project representatives also requested waivers for soils/HIS mapping and a reduced dumpster setback (from 30 feet to about 10 feet). Priscilla Malcolm moved to grant the three waivers; the board voted to approve them.

Malcolm then moved to approve a 3.12 sq ft wall sign above the north entrance by conditional use permit; that motion passed. The board next granted final site plan approval for the community center (KNA plans last revised 04/05/2024) with conditions listed in the staff report (conditions 1–4 through 10 to be fulfilled within one year and prior to plan signature). Board members emphasized the need for a formal parking agreement with the town and recommended thresholds for event sizes during office hours versus off‑hours to avoid neighborhood parking impacts.

Representatives said typical use will be town organizations and small meetings; large events would be scheduled for off‑hours and require a documented off‑site parking plan, ticketing or other threshold controls. The board noted the property is within the historic district and that any exterior alterations would require the Historic District Commission review.