3-5 Militia Drive was one of the 11 under-review or approved housing projects that won't be affected by Lexington's rollback of its MBTA zoning districts. Another tranche of properties with preliminary development proposals will be protected by a "zoning freeze." Image courtesy of The Architectural Team
Property owners scrambled to preserve their rights to develop multifamily housing in Lexington as the town approached a vote to scale back development opportunities.
Since discussions about the zoning rollback started, owners of 15 properties have filed preliminary subdivision plans protecting their rights to develop under the current zoning for up to eight years, Lexington Planning Board Chair Michael Schanbacher said at a special town meeting this week. The properties could theoretically be developed with up to 4,474 housing units, according to sponsors of the citizen petition to roll back the zoning, but it’s not clear if any of the 15 have concrete development proposals so far.
On Monday, town meeting voted to reduce new multifamily zoning districts prompted by the MBTA Communities law from the original 227 acres to 90. Sponsors of the changes said the unexpectedly strong response from housing developers will drive up municipal spending and demand for services.
But the updated zoning still allows 6,885 units to potentially be built, town officials estimate, once these 15 properties’ theoretical zoning capacities are added in. More than 12,000 units would have been possible under the original plan approved in 2023.
Voters also backed reductions in density, rolling back building heights from 6 stories to 4.
Extensive debate centered on whether to remove Lexington Center from the multifamily zoning districts.
“Of all the places to put mixed-use, transit-oriented mixed-use development in Lexington, this is the number one place. Taking it out of here and leaving it in other places makes no sense at all to me,” Planning Board member Charles Hornig said.
But voters rejected an amendment that would have retained Lexington Center in the multifamily zoning overlay.
The changes don’t limit projects already approved or proposed.
Developers have submitted 10 applications since 2023 containing nearly 1,100 housing units, and the Planning Board has approved six projects totaling 907 units. This month, the Planning Board approved a 292-unit project including a pair of 5- and 6-story buildings and a 6-story parking garage on Militia Drive by Cambridge-based SGL Development.
Another four applications are under review, totaling 109 units.
The busy pace of development prompted a citizen petition to roll back the scope of the acreage and new limits on density, approved this week by a special town meeting. The Planning Board supported the changes, while reiterating its support of additional multifamily zoning.
Image courtesy of the town of Lexington
“This body and town meeting has continually worked to control the size of single-family homes, arguing passionately the town does not need more 6,000-square-foot mansions,” Schanbacher said.
Over the past two months, the board worked with citizen sponsors of the petition on amendments “that would slow and reduce production of new housing units without stopping housing production entirely or causing unintended consequences,” according to a Planning Board memo. “The current proposal largely maintains four districts that are centrally located, in walkable locations to various retail and other services, and along the MBTA 62 and 76 bus routes and the Minuteman Bikeway.”
Several development projects already approved or under review also can move forward: 88-93 Bedford St., 231 Bedford St., 185 and 187-189 Bedford St., 5-7 Piper Road, 331 Concord Ave., 7 Hartwell Ave., 17 Hartwell Ave., 217-219, 229, 233, and 241 Massachusetts Avenue and 3, 4 and 5 Militia Drive.
Under additional changes, future projects will only be able to cover 28 percent of their lots, including parking, and have a maximum floor-area ratio of 0.48. Density will be capped at 20 units per acre for all-residential projects and 25 units per acre for mixed-use buildings.
Height snow is capped at 40 feet or 3 stories for residential buildings and 50 feet or 4 stories for mixed-use ones.
