Blandford Select Board clears path for Sunset Kennels after 100-day permit delay

BLANDFORD — September 8, 2025 — Blandford Select Board clears stalled kennel permit and moves to form Energy Committee. The board voted unanimously on September 8 to acknowledge that more than 100 days had passed without action on a special permit application from Sunset Kennels on Sunset Road, triggering a constructive-approval path under state zoning law that could allow the dog lodging business to open without further board action, provided no appeal is filed within 20 days and the variance is recorded within a year. The applicants, whose kennel was built before a property rezoning to residential, have been in limbo since May despite submitting a full application package, neighbor signatures, and property documentation. In a separate action, the board confirmed a nine-member Energy Committee structure — three residents recruited through a public application and additional seats filled by designees from existing town committees — as the town faces what members described as six new large-scale commercial energy projects on top of three existing solar facilities, prompting a request for legal guidance on a potential development moratorium. The board also voted to end its September 6 state of emergency, after MEMA and National Weather Service surveyors found no tornado or microburst in Blandford.