Residents Invited to Zoning Workshop for Siting of MBTA Communities Overlay District

Six areas of town are under consideration; legislation is not mandate to build

Please join the Town of Tewksbury on Wednesday, Sept. 13 from 6 – 7 p.m. at the Tewksbury Public Library, 300 Chandler Street, for a workshop to narrow down a site for the potential location of an overlay district compliant with the MBTA Communities legislation.

This workshop contributes to the adoption of a compliant zoning overlay district set forth in M.G.L. 40A, Section 3A, better known as “MBTA Communities zoning.” The Town worked with the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG) to provide visual representations of the districts as well as navigate the compliance model designed by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to evaluate municipal proposals.

At this live feedback session, attendees are asked to participate in exercises to help determine the advantages and disadvantages of each of the six proposed locations which are unique to the site itself. The goal of this workshop is to narrow down the list of six districts to three for further consideration and closer examination.

This is the second of three resident feedback sessions before the Town submits a potential district to EOHLC for preliminary review. See what happened at the first meeting.

As an MBTA adjacent community, the Town of Tewksbury must adopt a zoning district of a minimum of 50 acres to allow housing density of at least 15 units per acre by right. Eligible acreage must be free of wetlands, environmentally sensitive areas, and other excludable land as defined by law.

The project is supported by an NMCOG District Local Technical Assistance grant funded by EOHLC. Registration is not required but is encouraged.

For questions about this project, please contact Community/Economic Development Planner, Alexandra Lowder, at alowder@tewksbury-ma.gov