by Ann Needle
As the Town works to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities Act, at a Feb. 24 public forum the Planning Dept. unveiled the three areas of Stow it is proposing for that public transportation-friendly, multi-family housing zoning.
One of the parcels is on the Maynard border on the westbound side of Great Road (East Lower Village); another bordering Great and South Acton roads, also near Lower Village (South Red Acre); and the third between Hudson and Great roads (West Stow).
In reviewing the criteria used to select these areas at the Town Building forum, Planning Director Valerie Oorthuys explained that the state mandate to create housing districts in 177 towns that are hosting or neighboring an MBTA station came with Section 3A, signed into law in 2021. The intent is to encourage these towns to build housing that is hopefully more affordable to the commuter that normally cannot afford to purchase a single-family home in places such as Stow, she said.
Stow was designated an “adjacent small town,” given its location next door to the South Acton commuter rail station. As such, Oorthuys reported the Town must allow for a total of 139 units or more. While the units can be spread across town, Oorthuys remarked there must be at least 15 units per acre, and one of these areas must be about 10 acres or more.
Some of the criteria that come with this includes zoning for multifamily units without age restrictions. Also, as this housing is “by right,” developers can bypass the usual permitting process, though these units must conform to local building and health codes, she noted.
But Oorthuys pointed out that the state definition of multi-unit housing stretches from duplexes though cottages and to larger apartment buildings, giving towns a wide berth in design. And she noted that any existing landowners in these districts can adopt the zoning criteria, such as rebuilding their own homes into multi-family units.
From East to South to West
Land Use Planner Michael Slagle offered details on those three MBTA districts residents will vote on, most likely at a September Special Town Meeting. Through questionnaires and previous forums, Slagle said residents offered their preferences for where to offer the housing, and Planning then narrowed the choices using factors such as state-excluded land, such as conservation parcels.
The East Lower Village area borders the westbound side of Great Road, running from the Maynard line to the Lower Village Cemetery. Planning agreed with residents that the placement could help attract much-needed businesses to the area, while offering the Assabet River Rail trail and Assabet Refuge within walking and biking distance, Slagle said. Given it is a developed area, Slagle pointed out that some housing likely would be placed on small parcels between existing buildings.
As with East Lower Village, the South Red Acre area offers access to Lower Village businesses, stretching from Great Road down Red Acre, Slagle reported. The parcels are of various sizes, with Slagle noting it is relatively close to the South Acton train station.
Over near the Villages at Stow, Slagle described the West Stow parcel as an underused area along Great and Hudson roads. However, the area offers easy access along two major roads, features underdeveloped land that would be easy to build on, and might help enliven the area around the planned Masters Academy, he said.
After these explanations, the approximately 50 forum attendees circled the room, responding to questions posted on the walls that centered on placement of the areas and specifics on the types of units that could be built, along with building rules such as heights. Perhaps the most prominent question was which of these three areas residents thought would work best.
While units could be built across all three areas, if voted, the clear answer from forum participants was the East Lower Village parcel, with South Red Acre the runner-up. In both cases commentators overwhelmingly lauded the idea of using this housing to help attract business to town. However, some residents raised traffic concerns around both areas and questioned the potentially tight fit on some parcels in East Stow. West Stow was viewed by some as not within walking distance of many businesses, though the amount of available space for building was viewed as attractive.
A Second Chance for Feedback
Oorthuys emphasized that feedback on these areas is not over, with an online Planning forum set for March 24. Meanwhile, to add feedback on the zoning choices, click on the image below. All of these steps are designed to lead to that September Special Town Meeting, where residents would approve the zoning, Oorthuys said. The state is calling for all MBTA communities to submit their approved plans by Dec. 31, 2025. Oorthuys mentioned that these communities that do not approve the zoning risk losing state funding.
