Carver Planning Board Picks West Street for State-Mandated MBTA Housing Zone

CARVER -- August 26, 2025, Carver Planning Board selects contaminated West Street parcel for state-mandated multifamily zoning district. Voting 5-0 at their August 26 meeting, the board advanced 30-32 West Street as the site for an MBTA Communities multifamily overlay district requiring zoning for approximately 235 units at 15 dwellings per acre, following a recommendation from consulting firm Barrett Planning to pursue a single location rather than multiple sites. Chair Mary Ellen Williams and several members said openly they chose the 53-acre parcel in part because suspected contamination makes development there financially unlikely, with Williams noting, "We're doing our duty and doing the best we can to comply with the law." Barrett Planning will now draft a zoning by-law keyed to the West Street site, with a public hearing targeted for September 9 at the Carver Police Station and town meeting as the governing deadline for passage. In a separate 4-1 vote, the board approved a special permit for a duplex at 86 High Street, over one member's objection to approving development within a 100-foot wetland buffer zone.