Planning Board approves ice cream shop expansion; ZBA backs senior center and restaurant patio.
Zoning Board green-lights senior center; Planning Board defers site-plan vote. The Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit for the Town of Hingham to construct a 26,000-square-foot Hingham Center for Active Living on 5.38 acres off Bare Cove Park Drive, featuring 228 new
Planning Board · Meeting of January 13, 2026
HINGHAM — Zoning Board green-lights senior center; Planning Board defers site-plan vote. The Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a special permit for the Town of Hingham to construct a 26,000-square-foot Hingham Center for Active Living on 5.38 acres off Bare Cove Park Drive, featuring 228 new trees, 500 native shrubs, and approximately 48,000 square feet of native seed mix, while the Planning Board voted unanimously to continue the project's site-plan review to February 9, 2026 pending additional engineering review. The ZBA also unanimously approved a major modification to the Hingham Shipyard Mixed-Use Special Permit allowing The Beth restaurant to seasonally expand outdoor dining from 58 to 150 seats within a designated open space area.
In a separate Planning Board hearing, the board unanimously approved a Site Plan Review and Special Permit A3 for Nona's Homemade Inc. to relocate and expand an ice cream shop with 45 seats to 25 Main Street, finding that 67 existing shared parking spaces exceed the 11 required for the use.
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of January 13, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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