The Planning Board is sponsoring Article 29, a technical zoning amendment designed to protect local business owners along Route 28. The move is a proactive response to the state’s planned 2029 streetscape project, which will involve widening the roadway to accommodate shared-use paths.

The proposed amendment would adjust setback requirements to ensure that businesses remain in compliance with town zoning even if the state's land takings move property lines closer to existing structures. Town Administrator Robert Whritenour stated that the town is taking proactive action to look at that zoning to ensure that when the takings are made, that route 28 is improved, all the businesses stay completely within the town zoning.

Without this amendment, some structures could become legally non-conforming through no fault of the owners once the state begins the widening project. This article is part of the town's broader effort to modernize Route 28 while supporting the local business community during significant infrastructural changes.