Lakeville committee debates housing mandate, reconvenes economic development talks ahead of annual town meeting

Members of the Master Plan Implementation Committee discussed reconvening the town's economic development committee and spent substantial time debating recent state housing mandates and Lakeville's Housing Production Plan.

Under agenda items and during general discussion, the committee reviewed the process for keeping the master plan a "living" document and said it meets yearly with other town committees to cross-reference progress. "We didn't want it to be a static document. We wanted it to be a living, breathing document," the chair said.

Committee members discussed the upcoming annual town meeting, noting the Select Board voted to schedule the meeting for June 9 at 7 p.m. and that warrant articles are due to the town administrator by 4 p.m. on Monday, April 14. Tracy Craig McGee, executive assistant to the select board and town administrator, was cited for the filing instructions in an email the committee referenced.

A lengthy discussion followed about housing quotas tied to state programs and consequences if the town falls below the 10% affordable-housing threshold set by state standards that inform municipal planning. The chair, speaking as a private citizen, questioned the state mandate and described the law as an "unfunded mandate" that changes the character of Lakeville. The chair also noted litigation in other towns, saying Milton had filed and "won the case," though the state withheld some grant funds after the filing, and that other towns had pursued similar challenges.

Committee members said that the Lakeville Hospital property and the Rocky Woods site contribute to the town's proximity to the 10% threshold but that timing matters: developers have 12 months from a comprehensive-permit milestone to pull building permits, and if that does not happen, the town could drop below the threshold within a year. "Once that comprehensive permit gets signed... they have 12 months to pull a building permit," a committee member said.

The committee agreed to reconvene the economic development committee and solicited interested applicants from the public. Members said the economic development committee's charge had been updated but remained largely the same since about 2017.

The committee scheduled meetings for Tuesday, April 15, and Tuesday, May 20, both at 6 p.m., to prepare for the April 14 warrant-article deadline and the June 9 annual town meeting. There were no formal votes recorded on legal action or changes to the master plan during the meeting.