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Attorney asks Select Board to include a 40Y Starter Home Overlay District at 49 Elm St. on ATM warrant
Summary
An attorney and consultant asked the Select Board to place a 40Y Starter Home Overlay District warrant article for 49 Elm Street on the Annual Town Meeting warrant, proposing eight new starter-home units plus an existing farmhouse; the board sought Planning Department feedback on affordability and regulatory compliance.
An attorney for the petitioner and a housing consultant presented a request to include a M.G.L. Chapter 40Y Starter Home Overlay District (SHOD) for 49 Elm Street on the town’s Annual Town Meeting warrant.
Attorney Pamela Brown and consultant Lynne Sweet said the overlay would permit a compact development of eight new units plus an existing farmhouse on roughly an acre, with units limited to 1,850 square feet and ranging from one to three bedrooms. The proposal uses the statutory framework in M.G.L. Chapter 40Y and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ implementing regulations; the Planning Board would serve as the plan-approval authority under the proposed bylaw.
Select Board members asked how the homes would meet state and local affordability requirements. Tony Fields, the Planning Director, said the proposal would be a major topic for the Planning Department and would be reviewed at an upcoming Planning Board meeting. The Select Board did not vote that night on whether to include the article on the warrant and asked staff to obtain Planning Department feedback before considering placement on the ATM warrant.
What’s next: The Planning Department will review the draft 40Y bylaw and report back to the Select Board; the petitioner may seek placement on the ATM warrant pending Planning Department input and further Select Board deliberation.
