Boxborough Opens MBTA Communities Zoning Process With Informational Public Forum

BOXBOROUGH — May 30, 2024 — Boxborough launches its MBTA Communities zoning engagement process with a public information session. Town Planner Alec opened the May 30 forum — the first in a planned 2024 Summer Forum Series — by disclosing a $30,000 Metropolitan Area Planning Council technical assistance grant and announcing that the town faces a December 31, 2025, deadline to adopt a compliant multifamily zoning district. Lily Link, MBTA Communities Engagement Manager at Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), presented virtually, telling attendees she has worked with 65 communities on the law and that, as an "adjacent small town" with no MBTA station, Boxborough has broad flexibility on where to place its district. Residents pressed Link on school enrollment impacts — she cited a MAPC study of 101 eastern Massachusetts communities finding no negative enrollment effects from multifamily production between 2011 and 2021 — and on affordability, where Link acknowledged that deed-restricted units can still rent for $2,400 per month due to how federal area median income is calculated. Two hands-on community mapping sessions are planned for July and September.