Carver Planning Board Rejects 839-Unit MBTA Zoning Model, Orders Redesign

CARVER -- September 23, 2025, Carver Planning Board orders MBTA zoning redesign after consultants reveal 839-unit modeling error. The board's public hearing on proposed Article 4-13, the MBTA Communities Multifamily Overlay District at 30-32 West Street, hit a major obstacle Tuesday when Barrett Planning's modeler reported the current district boundary produces a zone capacity of 839 housing units, more than three times the 235-unit minimum required under MGL Chapter 40A, Section 3A. Town Planner Tom Bott called the figure "not acceptable," and the board directed consultants to produce a revised sub-district map separating developable land from a rear open-space zone, constrained by cranberry bogs and a 100-foot wetland buffer. The board also voted 0-5 to deny a special permit for a duplex at 167 Center Street, with members citing fire department driveway and sprinkler requirements, neighborhood enforcement concerns, and the potential for three dwelling units on a lot barely above the 60,000-square-foot single-family minimum. A revised MBTA bylaw must clear a continued hearing September 30 before heading to a Special Town Meeting on October 7.