A citizen petition known as Article 2 passed with approximately 94 percent support during Town Meeting’s special session last night. After Moderator Deborah Brown revealed that vote, Town Meeting members and attendees broke out in a long and spirited applause.
The motion, which was originated by Lexington resident Carol Sacerdote, calls for the town to scale back the amount of land designated for multifamily dwellings under Article 34, which the Town passed in 2023 in response to the state’s MBTA Communities Act.
At the time, Lexington was lauded for being the first to comply with the state’s new zoning law and exceeding its requirements. The state’s housing secretary called Lexington the “poster child” for the law, which is intended to help alleviate the state’s housing crisis.
Article 2 decreases the amount of land designated for multifamily dwellings from 227 acres to approximately 90. Among other areas, the motion calls for removing Lexington Center from the multifamily overlay districts. The motion allows for the ten projects already in the town’s pipeline to continue, which collectively could bring approximately 1,100 new multifamily dwellings to town.
Source: Town Meeting votes to scale back multifamily zoning – The Lexington Observer
