Frequently Asked Questions

North Andover is considered an "MBTA Adjacent Community" due to its location directly next to the communities of Andover, Haverhill, and Lawrence, which are all served by the MBTA's Commuter Rail. In order to comply with the State law, North Andover must create a zoning district that adheres to the following requirements:

• Minimum of 50 acres or 1.5% of developable land, whichever is less (see note)
  • North Andover's district will comply with the 50-acre minimum
• Must allow for a minimum of 15 units per acre
• Must have a capacity for multifamily units equal to either 10% of the community's entire housing stock, or equal to the unit capacity in the district given the 15 units/acre requirement, whichever is greater (See note)
  • (See note) North Andover's housing stock is 11,914, which is drawn from the 2020 U.S. Census. The Town is required to zone for (not produce) a minimum of 1,191 units, which is 10% of North Andover's housing stock.
• District should have reasonable access to a transit station

Note: It is important to emphasize that the State law is a zoning mandate and not a production mandate. In other words, the Town is required to create a zoning district that adheres to the above parameters but is not required to ensure that new multi-family units are actually produced. It is incumbent upon private property owners and/or developers to put forward proposals to develop multi-family housing projects within any future MBTA Communities compliant zoning district. Those proposals will require plan review and approval by the Town's Planning Board and will be required to adhere to any other applicable local approval processes (i.e. Conservation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, etc.).

After publicly engaging and conferring with the Select Board and Planning Board, Town staff in partnership with regional planning agency the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC), is proposing to locate a compliant MBTA Communities zoning district in two locations:

1. 1600 Osgood Street (Osgood Landing)
2. 350 Winthrop Street ("Market Basket Plaza" / North Andover Mall)

To learn more about why these locations were identified, scroll down to the "Outreach and Public Engagement Section". You may view the various recordings of public meetings that informed the decision to focus on these areas, which goes into more detail.

To learn more about why these locations were identified, view the "Outreach and Public Engagement Section". You may view the various recordings of public meetings that informed the decision to focus on these areas, which goes into more detail.

As an MBTA Adjacent Community, North Andover is required to comply with this State law by the end of calendar year 2024, which means that the Town is targeting the approval of a Zoning Bylaw amendment to achieve compliance at Annual Town Meeting 2024 (May 2024).

On March 15, 2023, Massachusetts' Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued an Advisory concerning the enforcement of the requirements imposed on cities and towns by Chapter 40A, Section 3A. The Attorney General's Advisory states "All MBTA Communities must comply with the Law." In addition, the Advisory cautions that "Communities that fail to comply with the Law may be subject to civil enforcement action" and, "Communities that fail to comply with the Law's requirements also risk liability under federal and state fair housing laws. The Law requires that MBTA Communities "shall have" a compliant zoning district and does not provide any mechanism by which a town or city may opt out of this requirement."

As has been widely publicized, Attorney General Campbell in late February of 2024 filed a lawsuit against the Town of Milton for failure to comply with the MBTA Communities Law.

The law requires that an MBTA community shall have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right, and that meets other criteria set forth in the statute. Failure to comply with the law results in a loss of eligibility for the community, for certain funding programs.*

*In recent years, the Town of North Andover has been awarded over $6.3 million from some of these programs, in order to fully or partially fund priority projects, such as:

• MassWorks Infrastructure grants in 2017 and 2019, totaling $5 million for creation of new sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure along Route 125 in front of the Princeton North Andover development, and for installation of new sewer service along Route 125, from Sutton Street to the Haverhill line, as well as additional improvements.
  • Just last year (October 2023), the Town was awarded another MassWorks Grant, totaling $1,240,000 to reconstruct and improve the intersection of Route 124 (Osgood Street) and Great Pond Road.
• Housing Choice Action Grants totaling over $140,000 for planning projects related to rezoning downtown and reusing the former senior center behind Town Hall.

The State has already begun to enforce this penalty as it announced in late February of 2024 that it revoked a $140,800 grant that it had previously awarded to the Town of Milton due to the Town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law.

The 15 units per acre standard is less dense than most multi-family developments in North Andover. For context:

• 90 Sutton Street is 29 units per acre
• 149 Main Street (former Santander Bank property) was recently approved by the Planning Board as a 38-unit-per-acre project
• Avalon Bay (High Street) is 18 units per acre
• Princeton Properties (Route 125) is 21 units per acre

The proposed Zoning Bylaw amendment would govern an overlay district over Osgood Landing (1600 Osgood Street) and North Andover Mall ("Market Basket Plaza" - 350 Winthrop Avenue).

Osgood Landing (1600 Osgood Street) is approximately 58 acres and North Andover Mall (350 Winthrop Avenue) is approximately 35 acres, for a total of approximately 93 acres.

The locations of the MBTA Multi-Family Overlay District were selected based on a number of factors and after both broad public engagement and public engagement with the Select Board and Planning Board. Osgood Landing is larger than the required 50 acres, but Town stakeholders thought it prudent not to concentrate as-of-right multi-family zoning at one location in town. Also, the Town does not have the ability to zone only a portion of the selected parcels for the purposes of complying with the State's zoning mandate, because the State's model that gauges compliance will only accept whole parcels.

Several factors were considered, but chief among them were:

Acreage / developable land (the Town is required to provide a compliant district of at least 50 acres)

Because North Andover is an "Adjacent Community" it is required to have a minimum multi-family unit capacity within its MBTA Communities compliant zoning district that equals at least 10% of its total housing stock as of the 2020 U.S. Census, which is 11,914. Therefore, North Andover must provide zoning that can accommodate at least 1,191 units of as-of-right multi-family housing.

The Town's proposed MBTA Multi-Family Overlay District Bylaw defines an "As-Of-Right Project" as: A Development Project of townhouse(s) and/or multi-family residential homes; and possibly other allowable nonresidential Use(s)..., but without recourse to a special permit, variance, zoning amendment, waiver, or other discretionary zoning approval. All As-Of-Right Projects must contain an allowable residential component.

No.  Because the proposed Zoning Bylaw amendment is an overlay district, all underlying zoning would remain in place.  Therefore, any existing uses (office/commercial, retail, supermarket, etc.) would still be allowed. 

Yes. District Compliance is achieved when an MBTA community adopts a multi-family zoning district that meets all the requirements of the compliance guidelines and is certified by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). The deadline for North Andover to submit a compliance application to EOHLC is December 31, 2024. That is why the Town is bringing forward a Zoning Bylaw amendment that it intends to be compliant with the State's guidelines for MBTA Communities at Annual Town Meeting on May 14, 2024.

As an MBTA Adjacent Community, North Andover is required to comply with this State law by the end of calendar year 2024. The State has made it clear that it will enforce the MBTA Communities Law: On March 15, 2023, Massachusetts' Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued an Advisory concerning the enforcement of the requirements imposed on cities and towns by Chapter 40A, Section 3A. The Attorney General's Advisory states "All MBTA Communities must comply with the Law." In addition, the Advisory cautions that "Communities that fail to comply with the Law may be subject to civil enforcement action" and, "Communities that fail to comply with the Law's requirements also risk liability under federal and state fair housing laws. The Law requires that MBTA Communities "shall have" a compliant zoning district and does not provide any mechanism by which a town or city may opt out of this requirement."

As has been widely publicized, Attorney General Campbell in late February of 2024 filed a lawsuit against the Town of Milton for failure to comply with the MBTA Communities Law.

The State has also made it clear that failure to comply with the law will result in a loss of eligibility for the community, for certain funding programs. In recent years, the Town of North Andover has been awarded over $6.3 million from some of these programs, in order to fully or partially fund priority projects, such as:

1. MassWorks Infrastructure grants in 2017 and 2019, totaling $5 million for the creation of new sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure along Route 125 in front of the Princeton North Andover development, and for the installation of new sewer service along Route 125, from Sutton Street to the Haverhill line, as well as additional improvements.
   1. Just last year (October 2023), the Town was awarded another MassWorks Grant, totaling $1,240,000 to reconstruct and improve the intersection of Route 124 (Osgood Street) and Great Pond Road.
2. Housing Choice Action Grants totaling over $140,000 for planning projects related to rezoning downtown and reusing the former senior center behind Town Hall.

The State has already begun to enforce this penalty as it announced in late February of 2024 that it revoked a $140,800 grant that it had previously awarded to the Town of Milton due to the Town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law.

Yes. Town Staff began working with its consultant, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC), in 2022 in order to develop an approach to how the Town could comply with the State's MBTA Communities Zoning mandate. Since that time, there have been at least 16 public meetings in which MBTA Communities / Section 3A Compliance has been discussed. See the "Outreach and Public Engagement" section to learn more about the Town's approach to seeking public input for this effort. Additionally, you may view recordings of public meetings/hearings on this topic and materials that were presented at those meetings.

Do you have additional questions? Please email the Planning Director Jean Enright or call 978-688-9535.