Manchester by-the-Sea Special Town Meeting voted to accept the MBTA zoning plan after vigorous debate on both sides Monday night at the Manchester Essex High School.
Nearly 900 residents attended the Town Meeting, with most in the gymnasium but a couple hundred in the auditorium. People in the auditorium were able to listen to the discussion in the gymnasium and their comments and questions were broadcast to the gymnasium.
The final vote on the MBTA zoning article was 636 in favor, 214 against, and 7 abstained.
Planning Board and MBTA Zoning Task Force member Sue Philbrick explained the state law, its requirements and the Task Force’s reasoning in choosing the areas to be re-zoned.
“We wanted to comply with the law in a way that preserved the character of the town and preserved the character of each of our neighborhoods,” said Philbrick. “We also ... wanted to minimize the change (on the town) and that means zoning over areas that are already developed, already containing multi-family housing and containing small lots.”
She added that they avoided downtown to preserve the business district and the historic district.
Finance Board member Sarah Mellish said a fiscal impact study found that additional revenue the town would receive would cover any additional costs facing the town from any new units that would be built due to the MBTA zoning. The study looked at both the predicted 134 new units over 20 years and the maximum the new zoning would allow of 352 new units.
For those concerned about overcrowding in the schools, Mellish said the zoning would add two to five new students a year and that there were currently 172 fewer students in Manchester schools than in 2020. She added that there are 80 school choices in Manchester schools this year.
Christine Delisio of 6 Lincoln Ave., a former Planning Board member, urged Town Meeting, “to pause, step back and reflect on why a more deliberate approach is the right step forward.”
She said there were several key reasons for not supporting the new zoning, including Milton’s case against the zoning currently in the state Judicial Court. She said other communities, including Hamilton and Wenham, are also waiting until the Milton case was decided. In addition, she said there were many unanswered questions about the zoning law that needed to be resolved.
Other speakers also urged Town Meeting to pause on passing the MBTA zoning, including Robert Coyne of 115 Beach St., and Christopher Gates, who called the MBTA zoning “governance through extortion.”
Mary Foley of 1 Pulaski Drive and a Planning Board member said her concerns were the negative impact the MBTA zoning would have “in the number of cars, traffic and on-street parking, the increase in water and sewer usage, the increase in population and housing units, the increases to our schools, local hospitals and highways.”
Town Administrator Greg Federspiel explained that the Milton case “does not challenge the legality of the law.” He said the Milton case only questioned whether that town was a rapid transit community or not, and therefore would not impact Manchester.
Those speaking in favor of the MBTA zoning often pointed out that the town would be “breaking the law,” as Isabella Bates said, if the MBTA zoning was not approved.
John Feuerbach of the Affordable Housing Trust said the AHT was supporting the measure because it would allow for “a greater variety of housing in defined areas in town that could benefit town workers, grown children, young
families looking to place roots and seniors looking to downsize.”
He added that the housing grants that would be cut off if the town did not comply with the law are what “makes affordable housing feasible.”
Sandy Bodmer-Turner of the MBTA Zoning Task Force said a study of the housing grants the town would receive between 2024 and 2026 added up to $6.5 million, or about $2.2 million a year. Other grants the town would be in danger of losing if the measure didn’t pass would add up to $3.2 million. She added that 87 communities in the state had already accepted the MBTA zoning.
Gary Gilbert of 11 Magnolia Ave. praised the Task Force for its work and that very few lots will be developed from this plan. Eden Davies of 23 Blynman Circle said, “change is inevitable” and rejecting the measure would open up the town to “lawsuits, significant fines and legal fees and a loss of control in the design process.” As a supporter of the library, she said the loss of grants for needed library upgrades would be short-sighted.
After more than 1½ hours of debate, residents called to move the question to a vote. That request passed by a vote of 778 in favor and 83 opposed.
After not having any trouble with the remote voting system all evening, it acted up on the final vote. After three attempts where votes in the auditorium were not being counted, the system was restarted and worked correctly for the final vote.
On the other articles:
Town Meeting approved the purchase of 30-acres of land between Colburn Road and the Gloucester border. The $250,000 would come from the Community Preservation Fund.
Town Meeting agreed to replace Article 23 of the town’s general bylaws with new language for stormwater management. The vote was 698 for, 76 against, and 51 abstained.
Town Meeting approved $14,581 to pay for consulting services related to the ZBA’s denial of the 40B project off School Street. The measure needed a 9/10 vote in favor to pass and received 96.4 percent of the vote – 793 for, 29 against.
Finally, Town Moderator Alan Wilson announced, after 30 years in the post, he would not seek re-election in the spring. He said he was making the announcement now to allow time for new candidates to come forward.
“It’s always better to retire too early, than too late,” said Wilson, who said he would be 78 in the spring.
Town Meeting gave Wilson a loud and sustained standing ovation.
