BCAT News

The Planning Board unanimously approved a special permit for the construction of a storage shed for the Burlington Historical Commission, represented by Commissioner Peter Coppolla. The shed is to be located behind the West School museum at 106 Bedford Street. The West School property is in a residentially zoned area, however with the West School being a museum a special permit is required. 

Once built, historical artifacts will be brought from the Burlington Historic Museum and storage units to the new shed. The new structure will comply with setbacks of the zoning. The shed is set to be 20 feet by 40 feet with 800 square feet of storage for historical artifacts. It will look similar in style, complimenting the historic West School and will be equipped with electricity and humidity control. 

The shed will not be a public building, only open to town employees and volunteers. The board did ask for clarification of part of the application stating that occasionally members of the public will be invited to view certain historical assets in a central viewing area of the new structure.

“The third graders come to the museum in the spring and the fall,” Coppola explained. “When at the West School they’ll be able to walk behind and look inside.”

Students from Shawsheen Tech will participate in the construction of the shed. 

Conditions of the special permit are cedar roof shingling, a 15 foot vegetative buffer from neighboring properties, and trees can only be removed five feet beyond the footprint of the shed as .

With the special permit approved the Historical Commission will meet with their architect and Shawsheen Tech to figure out building materials and the new cost. Funding for the shed was approved in 2019, however following the COVID pandemic the prices of materials and labor have gone up. 

“We can probably get started with the funding that we have but we’ll have to go to Town Meeting with the request for additional funding to complete the job,” Coppolla continued. “Realistically, if we can get a contractor to pour the foundation it will be the summer before we can start doing anything.”