Duxbury Proposes Minimal-Impact Zoning Plan to Comply with MBTA Communities Act
Town focuses on existing multifamily sites to meet state requirements while minimizing new development potential
DUXBURY - June 4 - Duxbury officials are proposing a strategic zoning plan to comply with the state's MBTA Communities Act while minimizing the potential for new housing development in town.
The plan, presented at a recent information session by the MBTA Communities Working Group, targets two areas that already contain dense housing developments: the Village at Duxbury and Island Creek Residences.
"We heard you," said Brian Glennon, Select Board chair and Working Group member, referring to residents' rejection of a previous compliance plan last fall. "We're trying to thread the needle where we comply with the letter of the law, thereby allowing us to maintain our eligibility for all those grants, but also do so in a way where it's unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely that dense development will be built anywhere in the town."
The MBTA Communities Act, signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker in 2021, requires 177 communities in eastern Massachusetts to update their zoning bylaws to allow multifamily housing in designated areas.
For Duxbury, the law mandates identifying at least 50 acres where property owners would have the right to build multifamily housing at a density of 15 units per acre.
The town's proposed compliance strategy designates 50.1 acres across two sub-districts: the MCOD-Kingstown (Village at Duxbury) at 20.65 acres and MCOD-Tremont (Island Creek Residences and First Baptist Church land) at 29.47 acres.
"These are the two densest areas in town that we have developed with existing multi-family housing," explained Steve Gandt, chair of the working group. "If we were looking to minimize the possibility that there was going to be development, this is really the best we can do."
The plan zones the Village at Duxbury at 12 units per acre, which matches its current density, making additional development unlikely. Island Creek is zoned at 19 units per acre in the proposal, compared to its current approximate density of 12 units per acre.
Gandt notes that while this creates some theoretical opportunity for additional units at Island Creek, practical limitations make significant new development difficult.
"There would be a tremendous number of complexities that they'd have to go through in order to add new units here," Gandt said, citing waste treatment capacity issues and complex land ownership arrangements at Island Creek.
The working group emphasizes that the town is not required to build or finance any housing under the law – it simply needs to make multifamily housing legally permissible in the designated areas.
Duxbury previously rejected a different compliance plan at a town meeting last fall by a 9-to-1 margin. That plan included the Bongi's Turkey Farm site, which could have accommodated immediate new housing development.
Since that vote, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in January 2025 that the MBTA Communities Act is constitutional and enforceable, eliminating the option for towns to simply opt out.
"What we learned in December, which was after town meeting, is that we don't have the option of saying no," Glennon explained. "The Supreme Court ruled the following month that actually no is not an answer."
Non-compliance would make Duxbury ineligible for at least 17 state grant programs. Officials estimate the town received over $2 million in grants in 2023-2024 that would be at risk, with another $1-2 million in pending applications.
"If we don't pass it, you know, if we don't choose our own zoning locations, the possibility is the state could do this for us," Gandt warned. "The Attorney General could file a suit against the town to compel us to comply with the law."
Duxbury continues to pursue legal action challenging the law as an unfunded mandate, but officials are proceeding with compliance planning in case the lawsuit fails.
Several residents at the information session expressed concerns about potential development despite the working group's assurances.
"We all know if we do the zoning, it will be built," one resident stated. "If you can find a dollar there, and there is a dollar there, somebody can make money off of knocking down, freshening up, quick thing, put more in."
The proposed bylaw would require that 10% of any new units developed under the overlay be affordable housing, with a local preference for Duxbury residents and municipal employees in the lottery for those units.
The bylaw could potentially be increased to require up to 20% affordable units if a feasibility study demonstrates economic viability.
Duxbury's special town meeting to vote on the proposed zoning plan is scheduled for June 16 at 6 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center. The town must pass a compliant zoning plan by mid-July to avoid legal consequences.
"Please come early and sign in," Gandt urged residents. "The town of Dracut, they just voted on theirs. They rejected it on Monday. They had people lined up down the street to get in. Their special town meeting started an hour and a half late because people were still checking in."
If the town's lawsuit against the state succeeds after the zoning is approved, officials note they could repeal the bylaw at a future town meeting, though that would require a two-thirds majority vote rather than the simple majority needed to approve it.