Planning Board advances zoning amendments, defers data center vote
Boxborough Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend two zoning amendments to the Select Board while deferring a formal vote on a proposed data center moratorium. The Board approved forwarding amendments aligning local zoning with Massachusetts General Law changes regarding entitlements,
Planning Board · Meeting of August 31, 2026
Boxborough Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend two zoning amendments to the Select Board while deferring a formal vote on a proposed data center moratorium. The Board approved forwarding amendments aligning local zoning with Massachusetts General Law changes regarding entitlements, non-conformities, and variances, and separately voted to increase residential density requirements from 13 to 17 units per acre in the MBTA Communities Overlay District while raising minimum affordable housing from 10 percent to 20 percent. The Board refined a proposed data center moratorium that would ban such facilities as principal uses, setting an electrical usage threshold of 5,000 kilowatt-hours, and extended the moratorium period to December 31, 2028, scheduling a continued hearing for September 23 to finalize the measure before voting.
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of August 31, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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