Akanksha Goyal - Marblehead Current

22 Sep

Town’s legal spending tops $3.2 million over eight years; schools’ costs nearly quintupled since ’18

Akanksha GoyalEducation, Municipal Matters, Top Stories

The town of Marblehead’s spending on lawyers has varied widely from year to year, with the town and school district collectively spending more than $3.2 million on legal services over the past eight fiscal years, according to an analysis of the town’s ClearGov financial data. Townwide legal expenses totaled about $418,000 in fiscal 2018, fell to roughly $240,000 in fiscal 2021, and then climbed to nearly $780,000 in fiscal 2025. The town spent about $1.8 million on legal services from FY18 through FY25, including regular…

15 Sep

Planning Board grapples with ADU rules in two contentious applications

Akanksha GoyalMunicipal Matters, real estate, Top Stories

Two accessory dwelling unit applications before the Planning Board Sept. 8 highlighted a question the board is still working through: how much discretion does it have over projects the state now requires communities to allow by right? Board members spent nearly three hours weighing concerns about building size, neighborhood character, emergency access and existing zoning restrictions against the state’s protections for qualifying ADUs. The Planning Board discussed two ADU applications at its Sept. 8 meeting. The board had invited Town Counsel Adam Costa to the…

09 Sep

Revised Broughton Road redevelopment plan calls for 50 new senior units

Akanksha GoyalMunicipal Matters, Top Stories

The Marblehead Housing Authority and WinnDevelopment presented a revised plan Tuesday to redevelop Broughton Road, proposing 50 new age-restricted units while preserving all 62 existing family housing units. The revised concept, presented to the Planning Board on Sept. 8, follows months of feedback from residents, abutters, town officials and other stakeholders. The proposal calls for either renovating or demolishing and rebuilding the 62 existing units, along with construction of a three-story building containing 50 new senior units. The rear portion of the site would replace…

08 Sep

New state variance rules give Marblehead ZBA more room to weigh housing

Akanksha GoyalBeacon Hill, Business, Municipal Matters

For decades, Massachusetts property owners seeking zoning variances faced a high bar: They generally had to demonstrate that strict application of local zoning rules created a “substantial hardship” tied to particular characteristics of their property. That changed this summer. A new state law replaced the “substantial hardship” standard with a lower “practical difficulty” standard and gave zoning boards greater discretion in deciding whether to grant variances. The law also requires boards to consider the benefits to the applicant and the public interest, including the interest…

02 Sep

What’s cooking at MPS this year — and when will students get a taste of it?

Akanksha GoyalFood, Marblehead Public Schools, Public safety

There’s a little bit of everything happening in the Marblehead High School culinary classroom: students cooking, experimenting, competing in “Chopped”-style challenges and, around the holidays, baking treats for the staff. Soon, they’ll have some new equipment to work with, too. With students back in class this week , Marblehead Public Schools is awaiting about $65,000 in state Fair Share supplemental funding, announced earlier this year, to help fund vital upgrades to some classrooms and buses. New culinary equipment is headed to Marblehead High School. COURTESY…

01 Sep

Town still working out how new ADU rules work — homeowners feeling uncertainty

Akanksha GoyalMunicipal Matters, real estate, Top Stories

Massachusetts has spent the past two years making it easier for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, but in Marblehead, figuring out how those rules apply to individual projects has proven more complicated. The town has received 12 ADU applications since 2024, according to Community Development and Planning Director Brendan Callahan. Three applications were submitted and approved in 2024, another three were approved in 2025, and four were approved through June 2026. Two remained pending as of June. Town officials are still trying to determine…

28 May

Marblehead’s Modica takes center stage at pro-housing rally on Beacon Hill

Akanksha GoyalPolitics, Top Stories

Under the sweltering sun outside the State House May 27, a large crowd of pro-housing advocates gathered on the front steps of Beacon Hill to urge lawmakers to pass zoning reforms aimed at accelerating housing production across the state. But even at a rally centered on a statewide housing crisis, Marblehead repeatedly found itself at the center of the conversation. And one resident, in particular, had become something of a celebrity. David Modica, whose remarks at Town Meeting in May went viral online, drew some…

19 May

Marblehead teen Oscar Galante appears briefly in court, next hearing set for July

Akanksha GoyalLocal News, Public safety

Marblehead teen Oscar Galante briefly appeared in Lynn Juvenile Court Friday morning for a compliance and election hearing connected to the fatal August 2025 crash that killed 13-year-old Savanah Gatchell. The hearing itself lasted less than a minute before the case was continued to July 17 for further compliance and election proceedings. Galante, who is charged as a youthful offender with motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation, entered the courtroom alongside family members wearing a dark navy suit and coral tie. A couple of supporters…

19 May

If 3A is resolved, what’s next for housing in Marblehead?

Akanksha GoyalMunicipal Matters, Top Stories

Marblehead’s yearslong battle over MBTA Communities Law zoning may finally be winding down, but the debate it ignited over housing in town appears far from settled. At Town Meeting earlier this month, voters approved a new 3A zoning plan intended to bring Marblehead into compliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Law after the town lost roughly $4 million in state grants following the rejection of a previous proposal in a referendum vote last year. But critics questioned whether the new plan — which includes the…

27 Apr

Board of Health advances curbside trash plan, sets fees

Akanksha GoyalHealth, Top Stories

The Board of Health on Monday approved new curbside trash and recycling regulations and a fee structure that could take effect July 1 if a proposed tax override fails. The Board of Health Monday night approved and set new trash fees that will take effect July 1, unless a $2.3 million override is passed in June. The board’s actions come as the town weighs two funding paths for curbside collection: a Proposition 2 1⁄2 override to be decided at Town Meeting and at the ballot…