Housing Headlines

NORWELL --- Town Meeting took two votes this spring that could be construed as positives for housing, needing only a simple majority to pass a bylaw allowing the creation of accessory dwelling units of up to 900 square feet and denying an effort to classify 8.3 acres as conservation land to avoid it being developed for housing.

FALMOUTH --- In an effort to create year-round walkable neighborhoods and multifamily housing that's affordable, Falmouth voters have approved a mixed-use district for the downtown area. Approved last fall by town meeting voters and OK'd by the attorney general's office in March, the new district increases the amount of housing allowed from six to 20 units per acre. "This bylaw (allows) the types of development that the town wants to see, especially in the downtown area with the mixed-use higher density residential,” said Jed Cornrock, the town's planner.

ROCKPORT --- In what's being described as the most comprehensive changes to its zoning since the zoning law was first adopted decades ago, voters at Rockport's special town meeting approved three zoning changes recently, including the adoption an article that will allow mixed-use development around its train station.

GLOUCESTER --- Despite efforts by some city council members and the planning board to make zoning changes that would "bleed some of the pressure off the pressure cooker that is the Gloucester housing crisis,” the Gloucester City Council rejected a second round of zoning amendments after many residents spoke out against the changes over concerns about traffic, parking and overdevelopment.

NATICK --- A mixed-use development for the former St. Patrick's Parish property in downtown Natick may be reaching the finish line as as the town's Zoning Board of Appeals and the developer have scheduled meetings to review plans on May 31 and June 9. Stonegate Group has applied to the town for a Ch. 40B permit to to create a mixed-use, mixed-income project that would include a new building with housing above retail.

MONTAGUE --- At May Town Meeting, Montague voters overwhelmingly OK'd two zoning districts for mixed-income housing in downtown Turners Falls, the Greenfield Recorder reported. Voters OK'd the use of a state program known as Ch. 40R, which incentivizes communities to create zoning that promotes dense residential mixed-use neighborhoods near transit and town centers. This is the first time a community in Franklin County has adopted 40R, according to Alyssa Larose, the county's housing development director. This 2021 news story has more details on the zoning districts.