Lexington Planning Board unanimously backs MBTA zoning overhaul for Special Town Meeting

LEXINGTON -- March 12, 2025, Lexington Planning Board votes 5-0 to send revised MBTA Communities overlay to Special Town Meeting. The board, chaired by Michael Schaumbacher, backed a zoning proposal covering 89.6 acres across four overlay districts and projecting 1,314 units of housing capacity, above the state-required minimum of 1,231, after a working group that included Board Member Charles Hornig and Clerk Melanie Thompson logged 11 hours of negotiations with the article's proponents. Lexington Center's multifamily overlay was stripped from the proposal; the Center Committee voted 6 to 1 to restore it, but proponents rejected a friendly amendment, prompting chair Jerry Michelson to warn that exclusion could make it harder to revisit the issue. The board also unanimously approved a site plan for 345 Militia Drive, an MBTA Communities mixed-use development carrying 73 conditions including a $25,000-per-month Affordable Housing Trust Fund payment triggered if the final 20 percent of residential units are occupied before 55 percent of the commercial space is filled.