Planning Board recommends MBTA Communities overlay for May Town Meeting

SUDBURY — March 27, 2024 — Sudbury Planning Board sends MBTA Communities overlay and two companion articles to May Town Meeting. The board voted unanimously, with four of five members present, to recommend favorably a Section 4700C multifamily overlay covering roughly 52.6 acres at Meadow Walk and Coldbrook Crossing — zoning for about 789 units by right at 15 units per acre — plus an exemption from the inclusionary housing bylaw and a shift of site plan review appeals from the Zoning Board of Appeals to court. Director of Planning Adam told the board noncompliance would jeopardize Housing Choice, MassWorks, and roughly $8 million in Bruce Freeman Rail Trail funding. "We don't have the state come and sue us is a number one in my book," he said. The bylaw caps overlay affordability at 10 percent, the state maximum without an economic feasibility analysis. Select Board Chair Janie Dretler urged clearer messaging on the affordability provision and safe-harbor status under Chapter 40B.