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Boxborough planning board backs narrow fix to MBTA Communities zoning to restore state compliance
Summary
On Aug. 3 the Boxborough Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend Alternative 1 — a targeted change to written density in the MBTA Communities overlay — to bring the town back into compliance with state density calculations.
The Boxborough Planning Board voted on Aug. 3 to recommend a technical change to the town's MBTA Communities overlay that staff says will restore compliance with state density rules. In a 5-0 roll-call vote the board approved Alternative 1 — sometimes described in the meeting packet as "paper compliance" — which raises the written density number used in the bylaw so the town's gross-density calculation meets the state's 15-units-per-acre threshold.
Alec, the town planner, told the board the amendment alters the written units-per-acre figure that appears in the bylaw and is accompanied by a spreadsheet demonstrating the calculation. "You'll see it goes from 13 units per acre to 17 units per acre, which when you apply the excluded land for wetlands, septic systems, roadways, etcetera, that brings you up to a gross density of 15 units per acre," he said during the presentation. The change also formalizes a 20% affordability element that staff said was supported by an economic feasibility analysis.
Board members debated whether to expand the overlay to include additional parcels or adopt the narrower adjustment. Several members said time and public feedback argued for the minimal technical fix; others urged caution about opening the district to more land without additional study. Chair Rich said the two choices presented were to "either add a little bit of land to keep it to 15 or make the density go to 17" and the board chose the latter for now.
The vote sends the recommended warrant article to the Fall Town Meeting process; staff will finalize draft language for the town warrant, and the board's recommendation will accompany the article. The public hearing on the MBTA Communities amendment was closed before the recommendation vote; Rebecca Verner abstained from the motion to close the hearing but later voted on the recommendation. The board noted members of the public raised the possibility of adding larger, buildable parcels but said that would require further public input and additional hearings.
