Stoughton Planning Board approves Town Hall parking lot expansion with 19 new spaces

STOUGHTON — April 23, 2026 — Stoughton Planning Board approves 19-space Town Hall parking expansion with ginkgo trees and a budget under pressure. The board unanimously approved a site plan modification for the Town Hall parking lot renovation at 10 Pearl Street on April 23, incorporating a parcel acquired after two town meeting votes that enables 19 additional parking spaces, a reconfigured Porter Street drive exit, and a new stormwater infiltration basin. Development Services Director Bill Roth acknowledged the project's contingency is nearly exhausted, with paving going under the existing Public Works contract, landscaping to be installed by town crews, and lighting upgrades drawn from maintenance budgets. After a lengthy debate, the board substituted ginkgo trees for the proposed thornless honey locust along Rose Street and approved a commercial black vinyl chain-link fence with six-foot minimum arborvitae for the dumpster enclosure; a boundary fence or guardrail along the adjacent private property will appear as a bid alternate. The board also referred a potential HVAC screening violation at the Camden Street mini storage facility to code enforcement, noting the town holds an $18,000 landscape bond on that project.