Planning board approves Stevens Buswell School conversion to community center with waivers and conditions

The Bedford Planning Board voted April 29 to grant final site plan approval to convert the former Stevens Buswell School at 18 North Amherst Road into a community center under a long‑term lease to the Bedford Historical Society.

Jason Lopez of Keach Nordstrom Associates and Richard Moore, member of the Stevens Buswell Committee, presented the proposal and described utilities and capacity: a newly designed septic system sized for 237 people, recent connection to municipal water to serve domestic use and fire suppression, and a fire suppression (sprinkler) system required to be operational before opening. The building’s fire‑code maximum occupancy is 553; the project team said realistic operating occupancy for events will be constrained by septic loading and parking.

Parking was the central topic. The site contains 16 dedicated parking spaces and the lease allows shared use of a 68‑space town office lot during non‑business hours (total 84 off‑hours). The board noted the Land Development Control Regulations require 25 spaces for the proposed use; the applicant requested a waiver to rely on shared parking agreements and event scheduling. The board and staff emphasized Condition 9 in the staff memo: the applicant must document a parking agreement or acceptable coordination plan with the town and other off‑site parking providers (library, church) and outline thresholds for small, medium and large events (for example, ticketing or shuttle plans for large gatherings).

The board granted three waivers (reduced off‑street parking, dumpster setback reduction from 30 feet, and HIS mapping) and approved the conditional use permit for a small wall sign above the north entrance. Final site plan approval was granted with conditions 1–4 and 6–10 from the staff report (the board struck condition 3 as discussed on the record). Among conditions, staff asked for two handicap signs to be installed and confirmation of the sprinkler system prior to occupancy. The board also discussed working with the planning department to draft a specific shared‑parking protocol and thresholds for different event sizes.

Board members and project representatives discussed limiting large events to off‑hours when shared parking is available, use of volunteers for parking management, and coordination with nearby properties. No members of the public spoke against the plan in the hearing; the board approved the waivers and the site plan.