Mall Overlay District Height

At a glance

What: Article 15, a change to the regional mall overlay district height limit (currently 35 feet, about the height of the mall parking structures).
Why: the Urban Land Institute project found that an earlier change to heights in the highway business district did not account for the separate overlay cap.
Where it stands: Planning Board favorable (earlier materials); vote at the Special Town Meeting - October 27, 2026.

Paul Dell'Aquila said there is no specific development proposal; the goal is making the mall site more attractive for redevelopment. Eric Richards asked whether this was meant to encourage mixed use.
Related: Inclusionary Zoning and 40B Safe Harbor, Economic Development Strategic Plan.

2026-10-19 - Pre-Town Meeting - Article 15 explained; no questions after.
2026-10-21 - Page created.
2026-09-28 - 2026-09-28 - Select Board: Dell'Aquila explained that the amendment resulted from discussions with the ULI consultant team and was intended to address a conflict between existing business-district height provisions and the Regional Mall Overlay District's 35-foot limitation. Kirrane moved and Rufli seconded a recommendation to approve Article 15, which passed 4-0, with discussion noting wetlands and engineering considerations for portions of the site.
2026-09-23 - 2026-09-23 - Finance Committee: Finance Committee deferred Article 15 to the petitioner.
2026-09-21 - 2026-09-21 - Economic Development Committee: Dell'Aquila reported the Planning Board endorsed the change clarifying the ambiguous height limit in the mall overlay district.
2026-08-20 - Economic Development Committee - Director explained the 35-foot overlay cap conflicting with the 10-story allowance elsewhere; the Planning Board had endorsed the fix (from auto-captions).