Opening remarks:
- School Committee liaison Glen Cote noted the March 19 School Committee meeting had discussed geographic enrollment and related matters, and urged “healthy skepticism” regarding Facebook and other social media, saying that “the way these algorithms work is that the most inflammatory stuff rises to the top…”. He recommended the School Committee’s website for current and accurate information.
- Town Manager John Mangiaratti allayed apprehension over job postings by announcing that Building Inspector Ed Mullin has accepted a Town Manager job in New Hampshire and that Council on Aging Director Sharon Mercurio plans to retire.
- Assistant Town Manager Thom Begin called attention to the sample ballot for the upcoming April 28 Town Elections.
- Select Board Chair Dean Charter noted the upcoming recognition of the Faulkner Volunteers of the Year, taking place at 5 p.m. on April 15 at the renovated Parlin house at 17 Woodbury Lane.
- Board Vice-Chair Alissa Nicol mentioned an Acton Warrant Drop-in—a Town Meeting warrant article information session—sponsored by the Acton Area League of Women Voters; at the Memorial Library, Tuesday (Election day), April 28·5:00 – 6:30 pm.
Natural gas pipeline replacement:
At a lengthy May 19, 2025 Select Board hearing on gas line replacement, residents and some Board members objected to engineering details of the replacement plan, and questioned whether the system should be maintained at all. At the present meeting, departing Board member Jim Snyder Grant returned to the issue, citing Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s May 1, 2025 statement and repeating the claim that “the utility avoids [repairs over replacements] when possible because they don’t make as much money on them.”
Introducing a description of a Department of Public Utilities program requiring gas utilities to evaluate proposed replacements with “non-pipeline alternatives”, Mr. Synder-Grant said, “We somehow have to undo this network of pipes.” He described a potential program to identify Acton pipeline segments for removal by contacting residents along those segments with offers of no- or low-cost electrification. However, funding sources for such offers remained uncertain.
Exercise of Right of First Refusal, 46 Taylor Road:
In recent months, the Board has discussed whether to exercise the Town’s priority right to purchase land at 46 Taylor Road, adjacent to the Acton Arboretum. At this meeting, the Board voted to exercise that right and to recommend the purchase to Town Meeting.
Board members reviewed prior arguments. Board clerk David Martin supported the purchase, advocating splitting the parcel into a preserved wooded back portion and making the frontage available for other uses, including active recreation. Mr. Snyder-Grant repeated his earlier opposition, citing the $1.4 million price tag and competing capital needs. Ms. Nicol reiterated her support for the purchase, emphasizing protection of the town’s decades-long investment in the Arboretum. Board member Fran Arsenault endorsed acquisition as a logical expansion of the Arboretum and favored preserving the land as open space. Mr. Charter supported the purchase but argued for limiting use to passive recreation and conservation, thus allowing the possible use of Community Preservation Act open space funds for the purchase. As in previous meetings, residents uniformly and strongly supported acquisition of the land.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) proposal for Insulet:
The Board’s last discussion of a TIF proposal occurred March 18, 2024; at that meeting, a representative from the. Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) presented a graphic illustrating how a TIF “…provides a tax incentive for businesses to invest in projects that benefit the community.” by allowing a time-limited tax break on the added value.
At the present meeting, Mr. Mangiaratti proposed adding a warrant article to authorize a TIF for Insulet—now one of Acton’s largest employers— to support expansion at 35 Nagog Park. He noted that this opportunity had arisen recently, and that details remain under negotiation, but Town Meeting authorization is required in advance. The Board approved placing the article on the warrant, with one abstention.
Town Meeting Warrant articles:
The Board continued its discussion of Town Meeting Warrant articles, making mostly routine endorsements, but devoting substantial discussion to a proposed change affecting affordable housing development in the MBTA overlay district.
Article 2, to receive and accept the Town’s Annual Report, was approved with minor edits. Mr. Snyder-Grant noted a revision to the transportation section developed with the Transportation Advisory Committee. Members also highlighted the unusual advance review of the report, crediting the Town Clerk’s office for assembling it ahead of Town Meeting. The article was recommended.
On Article 3, a placeholder for potential budget transfers, the Board deferred action until specific transfers—such as possible snow and ice overruns—are identified.
Article 4, the town’s municipal operating budget, received routine approval with little discussion, continuing the Board’s standard practice of endorsing the annual spending plan. Article 8, the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District assessment, required no further action, having been approved previously.
Discussion of Article 10, appropriating Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds, emphasized the committee’s internal consensus. Although initial deliberations included a range of viewpoints, all funding recommendations ultimately received unanimous CPC support. CPC liaison, Mr. Charter noted that a final review of presentation materials was still pending, but no substantive changes to the funding proposals were expected. The Board voted to recommend the article.
A more substantive discussion arose for Article 16, authorizing negotiation of the aforementioned Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with Insulet Corporation for investment in its Nagog Park facility. While acknowledging that specific terms remain under negotiation, Board members expressed cautious support, and Ms. Nicol noted that a prior TIF agreement with Insulet had benefited the town. Despite some unease about incomplete details, the Board voted in favor, with one abstention.
The Board then took up a newly added Article 17, establishing a Nagog Park Innovation Overlay District. Closely tied to the TIF proposal, the zoning change is intended to support research and manufacturing uses by allowing greater flexibility. Mr. Snyder-Grant praised outreach to nearby residents, resulting in adjustments to provide additional buffering, as evidence of a responsive planning process. The article was unanimously recommended.
Article 18, which proposes modest zoning updates to support economic development, was described as a set of targeted changes developed jointly by the planning and economic development offices to remove outdated barriers for small businesses, and was approved. Article 19, addressing nonconforming residential lots, would ease current restrictions requiring Zoning Board of Appeals approval for certain property expansions, and was also recommended. Article 21, a technical amendment to the accessory dwelling unit bylaw, removing language flagged by the Attorney General, was approved without debate and is expected to appear on the consent calendar. Article 40, adopting a state statute to enable the town to appoint a municipal hearing officer and enforce fines such as fire code violations, was likewise approved.
Article 20—proposing to increase affordability requirements in the town’s MBTA overlay district—prompted an extended and, at times, divided discussion. Introducing the article, Town Manager John Mangiaratti explained that the proposal stems from a state-required economic feasibility analysis conducted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC). Under state law governing MBTA communities, municipalities may only increase affordability mandates beyond baseline thresholds if supported by such a study. The MAPC analysis concluded that higher affordability requirements could be feasible under typical conditions in Acton.
Board members, however, questioned both the timing and practical implications of the change. Some expressed hesitation about acting in the absence of a recommendation from the Planning Board, which had debated the measure but ultimately declined to take a position. Others argued the Select Board should independently weigh in, noting that no development applications have yet been submitted under the existing overlay zoning. Mr. Martin warned that increasing requirements now could risk “the choice between some affordable units or none,” suggesting that stricter rules might deter projects altogether.
That concern was echoed by Acton resident Ian Schenkman, one of the owners of the Dover Heights Apartments property at 117 Central Street, which he described as the only site in the overlay district with realistic development potential. Mr. Schenkman told the Board he is actively pursuing engineering and feasibility work toward a possible housing project on the property, but cautioned that the proposed bylaw change could jeopardize those plans.
“The question the board needs to ask itself tonight is simple,” Mr. Schenkman said. “Will this article help the town achieve its housing goals or prevent them? … It will prevent them.” He emphasized that no permits have yet been filed under the overlay and argued that “making it more difficult will [not] suddenly produce more projects.” In his view, most parcels in the district are unlikely to redevelop due to ownership patterns, site constraints, or land values, leaving his property as “likely the only viable site”.
Mr. Schenkman also challenged the applicability of the MAPC study, noting that it evaluated town-wide conditions rather than site-specific realities. He described significant constraints at Dover Heights, including steep topography, the need for on-site wastewater treatment, and higher-than-average development costs. “Without enough margin to absorb risk … projects don’t get financed, and they don’t get built,” he said, concluding that the proposed increase in affordability requirements would “likely make our project unfeasible” and result in “no housing at all.”
The Board ultimately voted to recommend that Town Meeting “take no action” on Article 20, which would effectively pass over the article without a vote, while preserving the option to revisit the issue.
Briefly noted:
The Board approved both an Arbor Day proclamation and a letter of support for legislation that would restrict the use of second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides. The Board did not object to an application to install a Keno monitor at Acton Gulf at 289 Main Street.
Hearings:
A site plan special permit proposal to combine the properties at 471 Great Road and 465 to 469 Great Road was again continued, to April 27, 2026. Mr. Martin explained the delay was due to pending state approval of a curb cut.
Approval of an application of NStar Electric Company DBA (doing business as) Eversource Energy for the installation of 16 poles on Quarry Road was continued to April 27, pending review by Town Engineering staff.
The ongoing saga of hearings for Primrose Schools Franchising Company’s application for a site plan special permit at 457 Mass. Ave was continued to May 18, 2026.
Tom Beals is the Acton Exchange Select Board beat reporter.
