Board votes to recommend battery storage, data center bylaws

Planning Board · Meeting of October 19, 2026

KINGSTON — The Kingston Planning Board voted 3-0 to recommend favorable action on zoning articles banning data centers and regulating battery energy storage systems ahead of the October 27 Fall Special Town Meeting. The town planner said the data center measure amounts to a moratorium, citing water and power concerns and "doesn't create very many jobs." The battery storage bylaw sets 500-foot buffers from homes, the Jones River and water overlay districts, with special permits required above the smallest tier. The board also reported two new state grants: design funding to finish an Exit 20 roundabout, with Kingston and Duxbury each contributing $250,000, and $365,000 toward the Big Y intersection redesign.

The board noted it is down to four filled seats after member Bob Ketter resigned and appealed for residents to apply as members or alternates.

In the full story:

• Public Hearing: Warrant Articles on Data Centers and Battery Storage
• Board Composition and Vacancy
• Subdivision Approval: 29 Nelson Street
• Transportation and Infrastructure Grant Updates
• Adena Wharf and Parking Lot Elevation Project
• Routine Business: Minutes and Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,695 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of October 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.