Chapter 40R proposal for MBTA-owned station parcel sparks debate over timing and community control

Mark Davis presented a concept to overlay Chapter 40R zoning on MBTA-owned land at the Southborough train station and described mechanisms the MBTA has used elsewhere to structure station-area redevelopment.

Davis said the Chapter 40R overlay could bring state incentive payments and per-unit payments to the town, potentially reimburse school impacts and improve the town’s competitiveness for discretionary grants. He described a process in which the town would adopt zoning, then undertake a detailed community planning process that would culminate in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the MBTA defining the project’s design, massing and phasing. “Nothing’s gonna happen unless you have the community process because the MBTA won't allow it,” Davis told the committee.

Davis outlined past MBTA projects in other communities and recommended using the MBTA parcel plus adjacent privately used parcels (he cited Fitzgerald’s and the McCarthy Pool parking area as examples) as an integrated station-area site. He also urged the town to protect the Mill Pond dam, which he said is MBTA-owned and in poor condition, and flagged infrastructure considerations tied to the parcel’s historic mill pond and utility connections.

Committee members reacted strongly. Jesse (committee member) said he could not support advancing a 40R overlay at this time and that presenting the idea so soon after a long MBTA-community zoning process was “insensitive to the residents who just went through a very long and difficult process,” adding, “I'm out.” Other members said the idea was worth hearing but stressed extensive community engagement, an MOA, and careful environmental review if the option were pursued. Resident John Cage urged the committee to examine how much local control other communities retained after adopting 40R districts and raised environmental questions about contamination in the Mill Pond.

Davis responded that the town-led planning process and MOA would define the development blueprint and that the MBTA typically requires strong local support before disposing of or leasing property. Several committee members said the concept should remain a tool in the toolbox but that it would be premature to pursue while station-area zoning changes and recent public hearings remain fresh in residents’ experience.

No formal vote was taken; the committee recorded the presentation and discussion and returned to other agenda items.