This article is part of a series looking at key warrant articles leading up to the Town Meeting on May 6. Check out the Current’s 2024 Town Meeting Guide HERE.
The Select Board engaged in a lengthy discussion about the controversial MBTA Communities Act and its mandated multifamily zoning, which Town Meeting voters will accept or reject on Monday.
The conversation, initiated by Chair Erin Noonan, focused on whether the board should vote on the zoning article, which they decided not to do.
Marblehead is affected by the MBTA Communities Act due to its proximity to communities with MBTA commuter rail stations. This mandates zoning changes to accommodate multifamily housing.
— Tioga Way: 29.8 acres designated for 483 housing units at 17.3 units per acre.
— Pleasant Street: 20.6 acres designated for 295 units at 14.3 units per acre.
— Broughton Road: 8 acres designated for 119 units at 14.9 units per acre.
The proposed districts collectively cover 58.4 acres and allow an average density of 15.9 dwellings per acre, surpassing the state’s requirement to rezone at least 27 acres.
Select Board member Jim Nye expressed strong reservations about the MBTA zoning requirements, calling them “extortion” by the state.
“The state has really put towns and cities in a difficult position on this,” Nye said. “On the one hand, they don’t identify what funding they’re going to withhold for non-compliance.”
He added, “They could withhold all state funding. It’s really a gamble.”
Nye acknowledged that the town might not have a viable alternative to compliance.
“It would be ideal if our Town Meeting was in the fall because at that point, you’ll see the fallout of Milton, Marshfield and Acton,” he said. “Those towns are going to have an expense litigating this against the state. They may come out that it is unconstitutional, and then it all falls apart for everybody, which is great. But it’s really unfair for the state to be putting towns in this position.”
A stark division among residents — with significant concerns about the impact on local resources, increased population density and potential changes to the town’s character — exists on the matter. Issues such as increased traffic and strain on utilities were major points of contention.
Resident Claudette Mason accused the board of providing conflicting information and changing the narrative around the required minimum number of zoned units between meetings.
“I think there’s a huge disconnect with everybody, because you all keep changing the narrative,” she said.
The resident also expressed doubts about the town’s ability to provide a full accounting of past state grant funding that the stare could potentially withhold.
“The [Finance Committee] couldn’t even tell you guys that one the last meeting,” Mason noted.
Rather than complying with what she deemed a state “blackmail” tactic, Mason advocated exploring alternative funding mechanisms like municipal bonds to fund projects.
“Why not ask the town about doing a municipal bond to bring money in?” Mason argued. “There are other options than relying on being blackmailed by the state.”
Select Board members echoed Nye’s concerns while emphasizing the potential financial consequences of non-compliance.
Member Moses Grader acknowledged the state’s rationale behind the MBTA Communities Act but expressed reservations about its implementation.
“I would support the passage of this, even though it has some palpably overbearing requirements,” Grader said. “But again, it is just a zoning change, and we’ll just keep a close eye on that to make sure the mandate doesn’t expand.”
Select Board member Bret Murray reluctantly supported the zoning changes, emphasizing the importance of staying in compliance with state requirements.
“I’d rather fight from within, continue to get our state grants, keep this town going,” Murray said. “And then, if it changed, I’d be the first person to make the motion that we change our laws back.”
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer provided context on the state’s perspective regarding the housing crisis and its potential impact on the Massachusetts economy.
“From the state perspective, it is a crisis that they are trying to address. And that’s the need for more housing, more supply,” Kezer said. “The advantage for Marblehead over a lot of other communities is the current density. There are not a lot of buildable properties, and the areas that were zoned already have multifamily units in them.”
Noonan expressed support for the Planning Board’s efforts to craft a zoning proposal that aligns with Marblehead’s unique character.
“The most mainstream feeling is that when it first came down, it felt very much like a one-size-fits-all situation for a coastal, inland island, shipyard peninsula town that is very built-out,” Noonan said. “But again, the process was really thorough, and the Planning Board and our town planner did an excellent job of taking advantage of areas that were already ripe for redevelopment, where redevelopment will be, frankly, a real improvement to existing situations.”
