Cohasset Planning Board Elects New Chair, Adopts Revised Village Design Guidelines

COHASSET -- June 3, 2026, Cohasset Planning Board reorganizes under new chair, debates private road policy and growth tracking. Clark Brewer was unanimously elected chair at the board's June 3 virtual meeting, returning to the role he held about five years ago, with outgoing Chair Kevin Hine shifting to vice chair and Birgit continuing as clerk. The board also voted unanimously to adopt updated Village Business District and Harbor Overlay District Design Guidelines, incorporating corrected bylaw references, a revised project timeline graphic, and new harbor photographs sourced from MAPC. The meeting's longest discussion centered on a proposal by member Amy Glassmeyer to investigate a betterment financing mechanism for the town's private road network, which Brewer said accounts for roughly 60 percent of Cohasset's roads and imposes maintenance costs on abutting property owners that most residents do not know they bear. Town Planner Cassandra, now a "department of one" after a staff position was eliminated, confirmed the planning board has no budget of its own, and that any GIS mapping work to track growth patterns would need to be funded through a grant, though an ongoing state-funded housing production plan update may yield some relevant data.