HANOVER - December 8 - Hanover residents voted to adopt a Multi-Family Overlay District at Hanover Crossing on Monday night, bringing the town into compliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Act just weeks before a December 31 deadline that threatened state funding and local control over zoning decisions.
The Full Story
The special town meeting, held at Hanover High School, moved swiftly through a five-article warrant dominated by the MBTA zoning question that has lingered over the community for nearly four years. With all legal challenges to the state mandate now exhausted, town officials presented voters with a stark choice: approve the locally-crafted zoning bylaw or risk having a court-appointed special master impose one without community input.
Planning Board Chair MaryAnn Brugnoli laid out the stakes in her presentation, noting the town had first brought the article to town meeting in May 2024, then again in May 2025, each time asking for referral back while legal challenges played out across the Commonwealth. Those challenges, including the Milton case and an unfunded mandate claim, have now been resolved in the state’s favor.
“Under the guidance issued by the Attorney General’s Office, communities that are not in compliance by January 1st, 2026—and as of today, we are not—those communities will face consequences,” Brugnoli told the assembly. “Consequences which we believe will be detrimental to Hanover.”
The proposed bylaw creates a 71-acre overlay district at a single location—1775 Washington Street at Hanover Crossing—allowing multi-family housing at a density of 15 units per acre. The district would permit residential buildings up to three stories with 60 percent minimum open space, and require that 10 percent of units in developments of 10 or more be affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of area median income.
Brugnoli emphasized the planning board’s strategic approach. “The proposed bylaw is carefully crafted to concentrate multi-family zoning in an area that best fits Hanover’s infrastructure and planning goals,” she said. “It meets the state’s requirement while minimizing disruption to established neighborhoods.”
The Advisory Committee delivered an unusually forceful recommendation in favor of approval, walking through the potential consequences of rejection: loss of state grants, legal costs from Attorney General enforcement action, and most critically, the appointment of a special master who could impose zoning across multiple sites without local input.
“There is no viable path in which Hanover can avoid a zoning bylaw that allows multifamily development as required by the MBTA Act,”Advisory Committee Chair Emmanuel Dockter relayed in its recommendation. “Either town meeting approves this proposed bylaw or a special master will create one.”
Select Board Chair Rhonda Nyman echoed the support while acknowledging community frustration with the state mandate. “We recognize that housing costs in the greater Boston area, including both rents and home prices, have far outpaced the means of many residents,” she said. “At the same time, we share the concerns expressed locally and statewide that the MBTA Communities Act is an imperfect and overly uniform approach to addressing these challenges.”
The vote itself took town officials by surprise with its speed. After presentations from the Planning Board, Advisory Committee, and Select Board, moderator Doug Thomson called for the question. No residents rose to speak, and the motion carried on a voice vote with audible opposition but clear majority support. Brugnoli admitted she had been “so shocked at that, how quickly that vote took place” that she momentarily stumbled over her motion for the companion Article 2.
That second article, a technical amendment adding the new overlay district to Section 10.00 of the zoning bylaws, also passed without discussion.
Contingency Funding Rendered Moot
With Articles 1 and 2 approved, the meeting quickly dispatched Article 3, which would have appropriated up to $275,000 from free cash to cover legal costs and potential loss of state aid if the zoning articles had failed. The Advisory Committee moved to take no action, a motion that carried unanimously.
Financial Housekeeping Approved
Article 4 passed unanimously, closing out prior appropriations and rescinding borrowing authorizations for completed projects across the general fund, water enterprise, and Community Preservation Act accounts. The measure returns approximately $131,000 to general fund free cash, $85,000 to water enterprise retained earnings, $22,000 to bond premium receipts reserved, and $438,000 to CPA accounts.
The Select Board highlighted a new policy to bring such close-out requests to annual town meeting each year, providing clearer financial pictures during budget season.
Recall Bylaw Withdrawn for Further Work
The meeting’s final article, a citizen petition to create a recall process for elected officials, was withdrawn by its sponsor before any substantive debate. Petitioner Walter Dixon of Hanover Street moved to pass over the article, stating he had reached an understanding with the Select Board and Town Counsel to work together on a revised version.
Dixon said he was withdrawing the article “with the clear expectation” that he, the Select Board, and Town Counsel would “work together over the coming months to prepare a revised recall article with the goal of having a publicly available draft by April 1st, 2026, for potential consideration at the May 2026 annual town meeting.”
The Advisory Committee had recommended against the article in its current form, noting that Town Counsel had raised concerns about whether the Attorney General would approve the bylaw as written. A similar recall bylaw was considered and decisively rejected at the 2004 Annual Town Meeting.
Bylaw Review Committee member John Geary briefly stated the committee’s support for passing over, prompting resident David Ladd to raise a point of order noting the committee’s role is to assist in developing bylaws, not to make recommendations to town meeting. The motion to pass over carried on a voice vote with some opposition.
Why It Matters
Monday’s vote removes the threat of state intervention in Hanover’s zoning decisions and preserves the town’s full eligibility for state grants, Chapter 70 school funding, and Chapter 90 road funding. By acting before the January 1, 2026 deadline, voters ensured the town—not a court-appointed special master—will control where and how multi-family housing may be developed. The single-site approach at Hanover Crossing limits the overlay district to an area already oriented toward commercial development, rather than risking state-imposed zoning across multiple residential neighborhoods.
Meeting Minutes
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: Waive reading of the articles. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous voice vote. (Timestamp: 4:47)
Motion: Adopt Article 1 as printed (Multi-Family Overlay District - MBTA Zoning). Outcome: Approved. Vote: Majority voice vote (simple majority required for housing-related zoning). (Timestamp: 17:14)
Motion: Adopt Article 2 as printed (Amend Section 10.00 for MFOD reference). Outcome: Approved. Vote: Majority voice vote. (Timestamp: 19:27)
Motion: Take no action on Article 3 ($275,000 contingency appropriation). Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous voice vote. (Timestamp: 20:33)
Motion: Adopt Article 4 as printed (Close out prior appropriations). Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous voice vote. (Timestamp: 22:12)
Motion: Pass over Article 5 and take no further action (Recall of Elected Officials). Outcome: Approved. Vote: Majority voice vote. (Timestamp: 25:56)
Motion: Dissolve special town meeting. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous voice vote. (Timestamp: 26:00)
Public Comment
Notably for a town meeting, no members of the public spoke during the meeting, apart from Dixon withdrawing his citizens petition. All five articles proceeded directly to votes following prepared presentations from town officials and boards.
What’s Next
The MBTA zoning bylaw takes effect upon filing with the state, bringing Hanover into compliance before the December 31, 2025 deadline. The recall bylaw petition will be reworked collaboratively between the petitioner and town officials, with a goal of having a publicly available draft by April 1, 2026 for potential consideration at the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting. The close-out of prior appropriations will return funds to free cash and retained earnings accounts in time for the FY2027 budget process.