Bellingham Planning Board Sends Walmart's 115-Foot Sign to Full Public Review

BELLINGHAM -- April 9, 2026, Bellingham Planning Board unanimously declared a proposed 115-foot Walmart pylon sign at 250 Hartford Avenue a major modification, sending it into a full public-hearing process. The board, chaired by Philip M. Devine and including Vice Chairman William F. O'Connell, Jr., also continued four active hearings, including a new back-lot subdivision at 40 Grove Street and a proposed 21,450-square-foot industrial flex building at 316 Hartford Avenue, all to May 14. On the Walmart sign, one board member who attended an earlier balloon test said the proposal "goes beyond the sign bylaw," and Town Administrator Joseph Laydon indicated town counsel will assess whether the sign may also require a separate Zoning Board of Appeals special permit. A general-business discussion of a major-modification request at 239 Maple Street was aborted after Laydon acknowledged the town had erroneously omitted a public-hearing notice from the agenda, requiring the matter to be re-advertised and reheard May 14. Laydon also announced that Rachel Benson, planning director in Wrentham for seven years, will join as town planner on April 27, and a new building commissioner will start May 4.