Voters at Littleton’s special Town Meeting Nov. 1 voted to reject an article that would have implemented a new residential zoning district to comply with the state’s controversial MBTA Communities law. Article 19, which required a simple majority, failed to pass with a vote of 125 in favor and 144 opposed. The article would have implemented the “Littleton Station MBTA Communities Multi-family District,” between two parcels at 550 King St. and the area of Foster Street near Littleton’s MBTA commuter rail train station. Planning Board Chair Mark Montanari told Town Meeting voters before the vote that the zoning would have been able to accommodate 750 total housing units, 600 of which would have been on King Street, and 150 on Foster Street. “We would be taking a piece of industrial zoning, which could end up just being another Amazon warehouse or something, and turning into housing,” said Montanari. “The governor told us in no uncertain terms that ‘if you aren’t complying with MBTA Communities, you aren’t going to get any money from us.’ ”Voters were then given the opportunity to speak, with some condemning the law, and others urging fellow voters to comply with the state mandate to avoid losing out on state grant funding. Steve Glines, who lives near the Littleton MBTA station, said rezoning the district and putting in high density housing would “methodically destroy the value” of his property.
https://www.lowellsun.com/2023/11/09/littleton-town-meeting-rejects-mbta-communities-article/