MBTA Communities - Multi-Family Zoning

May 2025 Update - More Coming soon

The Town Planner will be promoting the ongoing work and ways to engage at Annual Town Meeting. We encourage you to attend, and to learn more. On the right-hand side of this page, you'll find more materials and information.

Recommendations to the Planning Board

The 3A Advisory Group encourages everyone to join our February 27th advisory group meeting, via Zoom. At this meeting, the advisory group will prioritize conceptual districts and recommend which districts the planning board should consider. This meeting is the culmination of 6 months worth of work, a successful survey exercise, and a productive public forum. Advisory group members will now weigh the public opinions brought forward, and consider how best to meet the competing interests of the community. 

To join this meeting, please refer to the agenda center, the front page of the Town website, or our agenda/flyer on the right-hand side of this webpage. This meeting will run from 6 PM to 7:30 PM.

Take our Survey!

The 3A Advisory Group invites you to take our survey. This survey is an important tool, for residents, businesses, and everyone to tell us your priorities for this new zoning district. The survey is designed to take 5-10 minutes of your time, and can be taken from your home or on the phone. If you require assistance with this survey, please contact the Town Planner using the contact form on the right of this page. This survey will remain open until 4 PM on Friday January 24th. 

Click Here to take our survey.

Project Description

Thank you for your interest in the MBTA Communities Program, please bookmark this page and check back often for updates. In 2021, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved a modification to MGL Chapter 40A (Zoning Act). This modification adds new provisions under Section 3A – referred to as the MBTA Communities Zoning Law – that requires communities with access to MBTA amenities such as Commuter Rail, Rapid Transit Subway, Ferry or Bus service to provide zoning within ½ mile of a station area. The law applies to all 177 cities and towns (excluding Boston) that have MBTA amenities or are adjacent to cities and towns with MBTA amenities.

Boxborough falls into the category of an Adjacent Small Town, which sets our deadline to adopt the required legislation no later than December of 2025. While these provisions require us to adopt local zoning, residents will still have the ability to design this district, locate it where we want, and provide guidelines to help this district meet Boxborough's existing character. 

The law aims to address Massachusetts’ housing shortage by requiring all MBTA Communities to change zoning regulations around their local transit stations to allow multifamily housing by-right. Because Boxborough does not have its own transit station, we will have complete control over where our district will exist. This program does not guarantee that housing will be produced, but creates the opportunity for future housing growth. 

Stay tuned for future updates as they're made available, and we encourage you to check back frequently for project updates. In the mean time, please check out this video by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, explaining why this law makes sense for Massachusetts: MBTA Multifamily Zoning Law Video

3A Advisory Group

The Boxborough 3A Advisory Group has been formed to support the Planning Board, in collaboration with planning professionals and regional organizations, by providing recommendations to the Planning Board on how Boxborough can best meet the multi-family zoning requirements of the MBTA Communities Act. Our work will be transparent and solicit public engagement, and will generate findings and data to guide our recommendations. The zoning district(s) will allow the housing needs of the community to be better met and align with the rural character of Boxborough. We will support the Planning Board by promoting the district town wide and providing clear education on the proposal for Annual Town Meeting 2025. 

Information on the 3A Advisory Groups meetings will be posted 48 hours in advance, on the Town's Meeting and Agendas page of the website. Recordings of these meeting can be watched here.

Mapping Workshop - Wednesday November 13, 2024 

The Boxborough 3A Advisory group is excited to announce our first mapping workshop. This event will allow the public to learn about the program, guide the selection of district locations, and ask any questions you may have. We encourage all to join us at the Sargent Memorial Library, from 6:30-8:30 PM on Wednesday the 13th. Registration is not required, and all are welcome! 

Missed this event? On this page you can find the results of our mapping exercise. 

Spring 2024 Public Education Session - May 30

In the Spring of 2024, the Office of Land Use and Permitting will host a public education session. This hybrid event at Town Hall will provide the opportunity for residents to learn about the MBTA Communities Program and to ask some of their questions. When a date is announced, it will be shared here, on the front page, and on social media. We encourage all to attend, whether it be in person at Town Hall or virtually via zoom.