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The first night of Winchester Town Meeting kicked off with the passage of the long-awaited and complex Main Street Mixed-use District (MSMD) zoning bylaw.
Town Meeting quickly dispensed with the acceptance of reports by town officials, boards, committees and commissions to address the long-anticipated Article 7 to change zoning in the area running from Skillings Road to the Woburn line, known as North Main Street.
The change addresses Winchester’s 2030 Master Plan, adopted in 2019, which calls for mixed use residential in the area, as well as higher building heights and a variety of businesses on current parcels.
MSMD plans have been in the works since 2021, following a Massachusetts Area Planning Council study which made 15 recommendations that included site flexibility, an increased number of stories, side parking access, improved safe walking conditions and defined design.
In 2022, the town hired Form + Place, Inc., which has been working with the Planning Board ever since on zoning changes and design guidelines.
Town Meeting members on Nov. 7 had minor questions on parking in the MSMD, such as the possibility of underground parking. Town Planner Taylor Herman said the town would look at all its parking options and work with developers to find the best fit for projects.
Town Meeting member Chris Nixon asked for an amendment to tweak language referring to wiring for electric vehicles as “EV ready.” The amendment passed easily on a voice vote.
Additionally, Planning Board member Diab Jerius also asked to include an amendment for a missing phrase in the measure, which was also passed.
Town Meeting also quickly passed a measure to include 898 and 910 Main St. as historic sites in the bylaw. The amendment also passed on a voice vote.
In the end, Article 7 easily passed through Town Meeting, with 130 votes in the affirmative, 11 in the negative and four abstentions. With a 2/3 vote required for the zoning bylaw, only 94 votes had been required for its passage.
Ledges articles withdrawn
Questions raised by both the Select Board and Planning Board over a request by The Ledges to have the town give its permission via Article 5 to rezone a 20,000-square foot piece of land owned by the 40-ish-year-old condominium complex on Wainwright Street so it can be developed as a single-family home (Article 6) caused both to be withdrawn.
Town Moderator Heather Von Mering said both articles will probably appear on the Spring Town Meeting 2025 warrant.
Members of both town boards had raised questions regarding the “public benefit” when it came to The Ledges articles.
Select Board Chair Michelle Prior said she had wrestled with the request.
“There’s no affordable housing coming out of it,” Prior said, during the Select Board meeting . “There’s no public purpose, but we’re asking Town Meeting to approve something for the benefit of very few even though a 100 bucks a month isn’t nothing.”
Planning Board members expressed the same concerns during a public hearing in late October, pushing off its vote until before the Nov. 7 Town Meeting.
“The [original Zoning Board of Appeals] decision was made in good faith and I am compelled to abide by that,” Brian Vernaglia said, of The Ledges articles at that time. “I could be swayed if there was any affordable housing, but I don’t think it’s for the public good.”
The original ZBA decision allowed for The Ledges to be built, with a provision to cap the development at 110 units.
Town Meeting will meet again on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m., with the Specialized Energy Code (Article 9) expected to be first on the agenda followed by capital planning requests.
