Hopkinton council opens hearing on inclusionary zoning changes, sets Dec. 16 for further action

The Hopkinton Town Council on Dec. 2 opened a public hearing on an amendment to Appendix A, section 5.3, of the town code to update the municipality’s inclusionary zoning language to conform with recent state law changes. Council members heard a brief staff presentation describing the change and the planning department’s recommendation.

The town solicitor told the council the change was part of a broader effort to bring the municipal code into compliance with state legislation. “I think that the planning department is doing a great job getting our, our ordinances cleaned up,” the town solicitor said, expressing support for the proposed update.

After brief discussion, a councilor moved to close the hearing and set a date to consider adoption. The council identified Dec. 16 as the meeting to take up adoption of the ordinance; a subsequent motion to table consideration to the same meeting was also made and recorded. There was no formal recorded public testimony in the meeting minutes or the portion of the record provided.

The amendment’s stated purpose in council materials is to repeal exclusionary zoning language and replace it with inclusionary zoning provisions consistent with recent changes at the state level. The solicitor reiterated the standard hearing process: open the public hearing, take any public comment, close the hearing and set a date for the council’s vote to consider adoption.

Next steps: the council will revisit the inclusionary zoning amendment at its Dec. 16 meeting for a possible adoption vote or further deliberation.