Bedford Planning Board Approves Animal Rescue League Monument Sign on Route 101

BEDFORD — August 16, 2021 — Bedford Planning Board unanimously approved a conditional use permit for an Animal Rescue League of Boston monument sign and overhauled its permit checklist process at its August 16 meeting. The board, operating with six of eight members after Charlie Fairman and Steve Goff were absent and no alternates remained, granted the permit for a 32-square-foot or smaller internally illuminated freestanding sign at 545 Route 101, referencing a Sousa Signs plan revised July 28, 2021, after the applicant addressed four board concerns from a prior hearing including removing changeable copy, squaring off the sign face, and reducing the sign area. Member Bill DeShantco noted that "there really are no residents even within sight of the facility or the sign," lending support to the waiver. The board also voted unanimously to adopt amendments updating Appendix B of the Bedford Land Development Control Regulations and removing the site plan and subdivision checklists from the regulations — a structural change that, per Assistant Planning Director Jillian Harris, will allow staff to update the checklists without triggering a formal public hearing, the first such update since 2007.