Select Board Signs Warrant for 2024 Annual Town Meeting, Continues Review of Warrant Articles, Calls Special Town Meeting to Consider Creation of Multifamily Overlay District

ANDOVER, MA – The Andover Select Board met on Monday, March 18 at the Andover Public School Administrative Offices. The Board voted to sign the warrant for the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, which will begin April 29 at the Collins Center for the Performing Arts at Andover High School. The warrant contains 34 articles, including notable items like the proposed budget for FY2025 and adoption of a new Town Seal. 

Additionally, the Board continued its review of Annual Town Meeting articles and considered twelve articles, including one to consider placing a ballot question on the next Town Election ballot relative to Andover retaining its Open Town Meeting form of government, two articles making minor amendments to the Town’s Zoning Bylaw, and an article that would authorize confirmatory actions related to the Old Town Yard redevelopment.

The Board called and signed the warrant of a Special Town Meeting to occur during the Annual Town Meeting to address time-sensitive articles, notably a zoning amendment to create a Multifamily Overlay District to comply with the MBTA Communities zoning law. The proposed district would be dispersed in three locations: Downtown Andover, Ballardvale, and the River Road corridor. The zoning amendment accommodates multifamily housing development in compliance with the State law while aligning with community preferences and priorities.

Select Board Says Farewell to Chris Huntress and Annie Gilbert
Monday’s meeting marked the final time that the Select Board will convene under its current composition, as two new members will be elected to the Board through the Town Election on March 26 to fill the seats held by Annie Gilbert and Chris Huntress, both of whom are not seeking re-election.

Gilbert and Huntress were both elected to the Select Board, then officially known as the Board of Selectmen, in 2018. Both had extensive records of service to the Andover community prior to their election to the Board. Gilbert previously served as a member of the Andover School Committee for seven years, and as Vice President of the Andover Coalition for Education (ACE). Prior to his election to the Board, Huntress chaired the Andover Youth Center Building Committee and the Andover Lowell Junction Task Force. 

The six-years during which Huntress and Gilbert served on the Select Board was an eventful time for the Town of Andover. During this period, the community experienced the Merrimack Valley gas explosions and the COVID-19 crisis, along with many positives developments ranging from historic investments in Town facilities to the enactment of the Town’s pension obligation bond plan.

Annie Gilbert delivered brief parting remarks, expressing her gratitude to the colleagues she has served alongside over the last six years, Andover residents, and Town staff. 

“One of the really special privileges of serving in this role is the opportunity to work with and learn from such dedicated professionals. For me personally, it has been an exceptional experience.” said Gilbert. “I would like to say to whoever winds up sitting in Chris’ and my seat next week, no matter what your background is, or whatever your professional experience may be, it’s so vitally important to open your mind to what there is to learn from the people whose job it actually is to deliver services to our Town every day.”

Colleagues of the two departing members joined in conveying their appreciation to Gilbert and Huntress for their six years of distinguished service on the Board.

“For the many years they have volunteered to serve here, they’ve both been tireless in their efforts on behalf of the Andover community,” said Chair Melissa Danisch. “I thank you (Annie) and Chris for your longstanding commitment to public service.  

Annual Town Meeting Warrant
The Select Board voted to sign the warrant for the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, finalizing the sequence of articles that will be considered by Andover’s legislative body when it convenes at the Collins Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, April 29 at 7:00 PM.

The final warrant contains 34 articles. Notable items that will be considered by Town Meeting include the $246,682,934 proposed budget for FY2025, and adoption of a new Town Seal.

The full warrant can be viewed online at: andoverma.gov/townmeeting.

All registered voters in the Town of Andover are eligible to attend and vote at Town Meeting. The deadline for Andover residents to register to vote at Town Meeting is Friday, April 19. Voters who are already registered to vote are not required to take additional action.  

Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles
The Select Board continued its review of articles that will appear on the 2024 Annual Town Meeting warrant, considering twelve articles.

Among the articles that the Board voted to recommend approval of was one that will ask Town Meeting to consider placing a ballot question on the next Town Election ballot relative to Andover retaining its Open Town Meeting form of government.

This topic was discussed by the Board extensively earlier this year 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.

As an alternative to advancing the proposed question to this year’s Town Election ballot, the Board has focused on bringing an article which would allow for an informed discussion about the topic, and provide greater insight into the community’s preferences about Town governance.

The Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the article that was developed as a result of this process. If approved by Town Meeting, a “yes or no” question would appear on the 2025 Annual Town Election ballot asking voters if Andover should continue using Open Town Meeting form of government.

Other notable articles that the Select Board voted to recommend Town Meeting’s approval of included two articles that would authorize amendments to the Town’s Zoning Bylaw. One of these articles addresses "prior non-conformance" to clarify how historic structures can be preserved or expanded following amendments to zoning bylaws that might otherwise limit or forbid such structures or uses if they were newly built today. The other zoning bylaw amendment seeks to update the Town’s off-street parking requirements to account for electric vehicle charging stations, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, designated snow storage areas, and improved lighting and landscaping, among other factors.

The Select Board also voted to recommend approval of an article that would authorize a series of confirmatory actions related to the Old Town Yard site, as required by the Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) between the Town and Minco Development. These actions relate to the discontinuance of portions of Lewis Street and Buxton Court as public ways, certain confirmatory takings, and accepting the previously relocated Buxton Court as a public way. The actions would not change the terms of the LDA or the development proposal currently before the Planning Board

All recommendations issued by the Select Board on warrant articles will be detailed in the Finance Committee Report, which will be mailed to all households in Andover in April and presented during Town Meeting.  

Special Town Meeting
The Select Board voted to call and sign the warrant for a Special Town Meeting that will occur during the Annual Town Meeting. This procedure is used by the Town on occasion to enable Town Meeting’s review of time-sensitive articles that are not finalized in time to be included on the Annual Town Meeting warrant. 

In this case, adoption of a zoning amendment to create a Multifamily Overlay District (MOD) that complies with the state’s MBTA Communities zoning law is the main impetus for the Special Town Meeting. The Annual Town Meeting warrant closed in January at a point when the zoning amendment was still being shaped by public input during reviews by the MBTA Communities Working Group and the Planning Board. 

The Special Town Meeting will start on Tuesday, April 30 – the second night of Town Meeting – at 7:00 PM. Remaining articles on the Annual Town Meeting not acted during the first night of Town Meeting will be taken up thereafter. 

In addition to the zoning article, the Special Town Meeting warrant will contain one additional article seeking authorization for Greater Lawrence Technical School to acquire land at the Lawrence Airport to support the School’s aviation program.  

MBTA Communities
Director of Planning and Land Use Paul Materazzo provided an overview of the Zoning Bylaw amendment creating a Multifamily Overlay District to comply with the MBTA Communities zoning law that voters will be asked to approve during the Special Town Meeting. 

The MBTA Communities zoning was enacted in 2021 and seeks to address the state’s housing shortage by requiring municipalities served by the MBTA to create a zoning district where multifamily housing is permitted as of right. For communities served by the commuter rail, including Andover, the district must allow a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre and must cover at least 50 acres. 

A compliant district must have a minimum zoning capacity equal to 15 percent of the community’s existing housing stock. In Andover, this results in a minimum capacity of 2,031 units. Importantly, the law does not require communities to build a set number of housing units. Communities are only required to create a district that would allow the development of multifamily housing by right.

As detailed during Materazzo’s presentation, the Planning Division has led an intensive public engagement process spanning nearly two years to ensure that implementation of the law in Andover aligns with the preferences and priorities of the community. More than 50 public forums, meetings, and other community engagement events focused MBTA Communities have taken place during this period.

The Town also formed an MBTA Communities Working Group in June to support public outreach and to help identify strategies for achieving compliance with the law.

The Multifamily Overlay District that Town Meeting will be asked to consider in April proposes dispersing the location of Andover’s compliant zone across three locations: Downtown Andover, Ballardvale, and the River Road corridor. The portion of the zone around the Downtown commuter rail station would have a capacity of 1,234 units. The Downtown and Ballardvale portions of the district are both proposed to be located within half a mile of Andover’s commuter rail stations, while the River Road portion is further away from either transit station, but in close proximity to many large employers.

Communities that do not adopt compliant multifamily zoning before the end of 2024 will be subject to a loss of access to State grants and aid. Further, the Attorney General may sue non-compliant communities.

The Select Board voted unanimously to recommend Town Meeting’s approval of the article that would create the Multifamily Overlay District and achieve compliance with MBTA Communities zoning law. 

More information and details about the proposed Multifamily Overlay District is available online at: andoverma.gov/MBTAcommunity.   

Other Notes

• During the announcement portion of the meeting, Town Manager Andrew Flanagan noted that a joint meeting of the School Committee and the Permanent Town Building Advisory Committee will be held on Wednesday, March 20 to discuss next steps in the interim renovation project at Andover High School.
• The Select Board considered a request for bond authorization from Greater Lawrence Technical School related to the School’s acquisition of the former Elks Lodge in South Lawrence. The acquisition will allow GLTS to expand its successful medical programming. In order to fund this expansion, GLTS is seeking a $4 million bond from communities served by the School. This assessment would be proportionate to the number of students that attend the school from each community. In Andover, this results in an annual commitment of $15,000, which the Board voted to authorize. 

 The full meeting can be viewed online through AndoverTV. The Board is scheduled to meet next on Monday, April 1.