Article 2 Amend MBTA Zoning
Dear residents: THANK YOU for your advocacy in the past months. Your voice matters -
Special Town Meeting passed Article 2 overwhelmingly: 164-9-5 (Yes-No-Abstain);
The amendment to add back the 25-acre Lexington Center was defeated 56-120-3.
Recap: MBTA multi-family zoning passed in 2023 allows potentially doubling Lexington's dwelling units, causing budget shortfall, town service reduction, and significant tax increase.
Citizen Petition Article 2 "Amend Zoning Bylaw And Map Multi-Family Housing For MBTA Communities" aims to scale down the MBTA zoning and give the town time to adjust to the unprecedented, unexpected, and unplanned growth.
Lexington Observer coverage
Quick links
How to Support Article 2
& Oppose Amendment to add back Lexington Center
Attend and speak up on the Special Town Meetings at 7:30pm on Monday 3/17
We highly encourage everyone who can, appear in person and sit in the balcony. There is rarely more than a handful of non-Town Meeting members present. A full balcony would send a strong message.
If you aren't able to attend in person, please consider immediately getting into the virtual line to speak. That will create an equivalent line on the screen for all members to see online and from Cary Hall. Again typically that virtual line rarely exceeds 2 dozen.
Email our elected officials, voice your support for Article 2 proposed by citizen petitioners:
Town Meeting Members in your own precinct (note that email addresses have changed since 1/2025: precinct1@lexingtontmma.org for precinct 1, and so on for the 9 precincts)
Planning Board and staff: planning@lexingtontmma.gov
At large voting members on Town Meeting that include the five Select Board members and State representative Michelle Ciccolo and State Senator Mike Barrett: (AtLarge@lexingtontmma.org)
Subscribe to our email list to receive updates on important planning and zoning changes and proposals
Article 2 (with compromises) gives Lexington time to adjust to the unplanned growth
See latest updates on Planning Board webpage
The existing Section 7.5 MBTA Zoning allows up to 13,421 units on 253 acres (including Lexington Center) "by-right" multi-family development, with reduced setbacks, increased building height, and no density limit.
Based on the memorandum by Appropriation Committee on 2/14/2025, every 1,000 units will result in budget shortfall on operational school cost alone $4 million to $12 million annually.
Citizen Petition Article 2
"AMEND ZONING BYLAW AND MAP MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING FOR MBTA COMMUNITIES" ensures that Lexington will continue to comply and exceed the state's MBTA Communities Act requirements:
Reduce acreage from 253 to ~90 acres (vs. required 50 acres);
Reduce districts from 12 to 5
"Unit capacity" - allowing 1,314 multi-family units by-right (vs. required 1,231 units)
Additionally, 10 projects in pipeline of 1,097 units will remain; plus the zoning freeze on 62 acres with unit capacity of 4,856 units that has been filed as of 3/10/2025
Compromises/changes made since 3/5/2025
1) Districts/acreage:
Deleting Concord/Waltham District
Adding Bedford/Worthen District, excluding the parcels where Stop and Shop, Walgreen, and Qdoba stand to ensure the town does not lose the major stores
Adding Merrett/Waltham and Merrett/Spring districts
Lexington Center will not be in the MBTA Zoning
2) Building density and mass:
Increasing unit density limit from 15 to up to 20 units per acre for residential use, 25 units per acre for mixed use
Reducing building height from 60 to 52 feet if 33% of first floor is commercial, 52 to 40 feet for residential;
Adding limit on the number of floors
Ensuring open space with a site coverage (including building and required parking space) limit of 28%
3) No change: 1,097 units in the pipeline plus 4,000+ units on 61 acres that are under zoning freeze as of 3/10/2025 will remain, totaling 6,000+ units, or 50% increase in Lexington's residential units.
Amendment to add back Lexington Center is problematic
On 3/12/2025, after negotiation with Article 2 proponents and compromises made by both sides, the Planning Board voted to unanimously support Article 2 that aims to partially scale back the MBTA zoning.
However, on 3/14/2025 four Town Meeting Members proposed an amendment to add back the Lexington Center.
Adding housing in Lexington Center is desirable but needs more care than the restrictive MBTA zoning allows.
An article for multi-family housing in Lexington Center should be brought to the future Town Meeting on its own merit and only requires simple majority vote (50%+1) to pass.
Data behind Article 2
Summary of acreage & impact
Potential property tax increase
(For school expenses alone, not including capital expenditures, based on Appropriation Committee Memorandem)
Zone Freeze as of 3/16/2025
(Based on the detailed list here)
In addition to 16 Clarke St and 20 Muzzey St, as of 9pm Sunday 3/16, 1834-1840 Mass Ave, 7-9 Muzzey and 11-13 Muzzey Street have been filed for preliminary subdivision, freezing the current zoning in the Lexington Center district.
Press Coverage
DLM determines: MBTA Act is an unfunded mandate by the state
According to Wrentham News on 2/21/2025, the Wrentham Select Board has received a response to its unfunded mandate determination request from the Office of the State Auditor, Diana DiZoglio, through the Division of Local Mandates (DLM).
Municipalities can either continue to comply with no guarantee of reimbursement for expenses incurred or, under the Local Mandate Law, petition the Superior Court for an exemption from compliance until funding is provided. The Town still awaits the issuance of its requested fiscal impact analysis from DLM, which will determine the financial costs relative to compliance with the Act.
Links to full text and more details
Latest presentation (3/12/2025) on the compromise Article 2 proposal
To visit the Planning Board website on zoning amendment proposals in the 3/2025 Special Town Meeting and Annual Town Meeting, click here.
Special Town Meeting link here