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Boxborough housing board reviews six zoning approaches for Stow Road parcel
Summary
Staff presented six distinct zoning and development paths for the town'owned 72 Stow Road site — a custom site overlay, MBTA Communities overlay, Chapter 40Y starter homes, Chapter 40R smart-growth, friendly Chapter 40B, and an outright zoning change — and members discussed trade-offs including density, state support, and legal risk.
At a lengthy presentation, Ian summarized six ways the town might enable housing at 72 Stow Road, framing the options along a spectrum of local control, state support, and likely density.
He described a site-specific overlay (Option 1) as a locally crafted layer that would give maximum control but less state help; the MBTA Communities overlay (Option 2) would follow existing standards the town has used before (setbacks, height limits, parking ratios and 10% affordability). Ian said some options come with EOHLC technical support and grants, while base-zone changes could raise legal risks, including spot-zoning appeals.
Members pressed for specifics about sewage, water, and achievable density. Ian said 40R smart-growth typically expects higher density and more transit-proximity, while 40Y appeared to permit private well/septic based on his read of the language. The board asked staff to produce clearer charts comparing density, ownership versus rental emphasis, and trade-offs ahead of further meetings.
