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Westborough Affordable Housing Trust backs revised inclusionary zoning (Article 17)
Summary
The Westborough Affordable Housing Trust voted 6–0 to notify the Planning Board it supports Article 17, which standardizes inclusionary requirements at 15% (beginning at the 10th unit), sets a 70% AMI average for affordable units, and adds 5% moderate-income units; the Trust discussed in-lieu payments and where those funds would be directed.
The Westborough Affordable Housing Trust voted to support Article 17, a Planning Board–sponsored amendment to the town zoning bylaw that would create a single, townwide inclusionary zoning standard for multiunit residential development.
Trust members said the amendment simplifies prior, district-specific rules by setting a 15% affordable-unit requirement that applies starting at the tenth unit, not the fifth. A presenter for the Planning Board explained, "This sets it at 15, and it starts with the tenth unit, not the fifth," and said the amendment also establishes an average affordability target of about 70 percent of area median income (AMI) with a mix of 80%, 70%, 60% and 50% units allowed. The proposal includes an extra 5 percent of "moderate income" units, described as between 80% and 120% AMI.
Why it matters: Trustees said the single standard should make expectations clearer for developers and ease financing. The presenter said a cental feature is the option of in-lieu payments when on-site units are infeasible; those payments would be calibrated to household-income multiples and, in current numbers cited during the meeting, would be "just under $200,000 per unit" at 80% AMI for a four-person household. Trustees discussed options for handling in-lieu proceeds — the Planning Board can write in-lieu language so that payments go directly to the Trust, to the housing authority, or to a designated fund; whether a transfer from a stabilization fund later would require Town Meeting depends on the way the transfer is structured.
Trust action and next steps: Chair moved and the Trust voted 6–0 to notify the Planning Board of its support for Article 17. Trustees asked staff to monitor how the Planning Board frames any in-lieu payment language so the Trust can confirm whether Town Meeting approval will be required for transfers of those funds. The Trust did not adopt any binding conditions beyond the formal notification of support.
Context and process: The zoning change replaces variable inclusionary rules across overlays (senior, downtown, TOV, historic) with the single set of rules for all multiunit residential development, which trustees and the Planning Board said will give developers greater flexibility while preserving an affordable-unit requirement. The proposal was included in the Town Meeting warrant submitted by the Select Board and will be debated at the upcoming Town Meeting.
The Trust's vote to support Article 17 was recorded as 6 in favor, 0 opposed.
