Select Board Receives Update on MBTA Communities Multi-Family Zoning, Affirms Decision to Present Ballot Question on Form of Government at Annual Town Meeting

ANDOVER, MA – The Andover Select Board met on Monday, January 22 in the School Committee Room at the Andover Public School Administrative Offices. The Board received an update on the status of the implementation of the MBTA Communities zoning law in Andover. MBTA Communities Working Group Chair Jennifer Lemmerman and Director of Planning & Land Use Paul Materazzo outlined the Working Group’s proposal to disperse the location of the required multi-family housing zone across three locations. The proposal will be considered in a zoning bylaw article considered by Town Meeting in April.

The Board also reviewed a citizen petition requesting that a question be placed on the 2024 Annual Town Election ballot that would ask voters if Andover should retain its existing Open Town Meeting form of government, a topic that has been discussed extensively since the November 20 Special Town Meeting. The Board opted not to act on the petition, deciding instead to affirm its previously determined approach of instead presenting the question at Annual Town Meeting.

MBTA Communities Update
MBTA Communities Working Group Chair Jennifer Lemmerman and Director of Planning & Land Use Paul Materazzo provided an update on the proposed locations of multi-family housing zones that comply with the state’s MBTA Communities housing law.

Last month, following extensive public input, the MBTA Communities Working Group recommended dispersing the location of Andover’s MBTA Communities multi-family housing zone across three locations: Downtown, Ballardvale, and the River Road Corridor.

An interactive map published by the Planning Division allows residents to take a closer look at the three proposed districts, learn more about the properties included in the zone, and review current property densities.  

The MBTA Communities zoning law requires communities that host MBTA service, including Andover, to create at least one district in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right, meaning that development within the district may move forward if compliant with zoning without a special permit review. The law requires that the zoning district must be able to accommodate a reasonable number of units, set at 15 percent of the community’s total housing units for cities and towns hosting commuter rail service.

A district created in Andover must be zoned to accommodate at least 2,031 housing units. Under the proposal approved by the MBTA Communities Working Group, this density would be dispersed across the three identified locations.

Paul Materazzo provided a brief overview of the characteristics of the three districts. The Downtown district will include a portion of the Historic Mill District, the Lupine Road Corridor, and Shawsheen Plaza, and will accommodate a total capacity of approximately 1,243 units, or 23.3 units per acre. The Ballardvale district is proposed to include a stretch along Dale Street between the Shawsheen River and the MBTA Commuter Rail Station. This district would have the lowest density of the three proposed locations, allowing for a total capacity of 119 units.

The district proposed for the River Road corridor is notably outside of the immediate proximity of either of Andover’s transit stations, but is close to many large employers. It is also supported by regional bus service. The creation of a multi-family housing district in this area is intended to create housing that may support the corridor’s workforce, and potentially create new amenities and retail options that could benefit existing commercial enterprises. This district would have the highest density of the three locations, supporting a total unit capacity of 768 units of housing, or 39 units per acre.

The zoning proposed by the MBTA Communities Working Group will be reviewed by the Planning Board in the coming months, and will ultimately be considered for adoption by Town Meeting in the form of a zoning bylaw article. The article will be taken up during Town Meeting, which begins on April 29.

The Town of Andover must adopt compliant MBTA Communities multi-family housing zoning by the end of 2024 in order to remain in compliance with the law and avoid financial and other sanctions from the state.

Citizen Petition for Ballot Question
The Select Board discussed a citizen petition filed with the Board requesting that a question be placed on the 2024 Annual Town Election ballot asking voters if Andover should retain its existing Open Town Meeting form of government.

This question has been discussed by the Board extensively throughout recent meetings in response to an article at the November 20 Special Town Meeting requesting that a similar question be placed on the Annual Town Election ballot. An article was approved by Town Meeting, however the action was strictly advisory, as a vote at Special Town Meeting is not among the legally permissible vehicles for placing non-binding questions on a local ballot, per Chapter 53 Section 18A of Massachusetts General Law. Further, in the form that it was presented at Special Town Meeting, the proposed ballot question was defective in how it was drafted, per guidance from the State Elections Division.

Throughout previous discussions of this topic, the Select Board consistently expressed a desire to honor the sentiment of voters expressed during the November 20 Special Town Meeting, however a majority of Select Board members expressed a preference to proceed in a manner that avoided setting a precedent of the Board taking action on defective articles. As an alternative to advancing the proposed question to this year’s Town Election ballot, the Board has focused on bringing an article, or a series of articles, to Annual Town Meeting, which would allow for an informed discussion about the topic, and provide greater insight into the community’s preferences on considering changes to town governance.

On January 17, the Board voted 4-1 to place an article on this year’s Annual Town Meeting Warrant, which reads:

To see if the Town will vote to direct that the Select Board place a non-binding advisory question on the 2025 Annual Town Election ballot in conformance with G.L. c. 53 sec. 18A as follows:

Should the Town of Andover continue to use Open Town Meeting as its form of local

government?  Yes/ No

; or take any action related thereto

On the same night, a citizen petition requesting that a similar question be placed on the 2024 Annual Town Election ballot was filed. The Board discussed the petition on Monday and voted to take no action on it, affirming their previously-determined approach of presenting the question to Annual Town Meeting.

Other Notes

• Deputy Town Manager & Town Clerk announced that vote by mail applications have been mailed to all registered voters in Andover. The form allows voters to request mail-in ballots for all elections taking place in 2024, including the March 5 Presidential Primary and the March 26 Annual Town Election.
• Deputy Town Manager noted that the Town received notification that the state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) intends to approve Andover’s Municipal Aggregation Plan, which will enable the launch of Andover Community Power, a voluntary program that will bring more local renewable energy to Andover while also offering stable, competitive pricing. Additional information, including plans for public outreach, will be made available in the coming weeks.

The full meeting can be viewed online through AndoverTV. The Select Board is scheduled to meet next on Monday, February 12.