Rehoboth to Vote on Multi-Family Overlay District

Voters at the November 4 Fall Town Meeting will be asked to amend the zoning bylaws to create a Multi-Family Overlay District.

The meeting will begin at 7 pm in the Museum Building at Francis Farm, 27 Francis Farm Road.

The warrant article reads in part:  “The purpose of the Multi-family Overlay District (MOD) is to allow multi-family housing as of right in accordance with Section 3A of the Zoning Act (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A). This zoning provides for as of right multi-family housing to accomplish the following purposes: 1. To provide additional housing options for the Town of Rehoboth. 2. To provide transit-oriented housing and compatibility among allowed uses.

This MOD is an overlay district having a land area of approximately 20.25 acres in size that is superimposed over the underlying zoning district and is shown on the Town of Rehoboth Zoning Map.”

The purpose of the Multi-Family Overlay District is to:

• a: Promote the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging a diversity of housing opportunities for people of different income levels;
•  b. Provide for a full range of housing choices for households of all incomes, ages, and sizes;
• c. Increase the production of affordable housing units to meet existing and anticipated housing needs; and
• d. Work to overcome economic segregation, allowing Rehoboth to be a community of opportunity in which low- and moderate-income households have the ability to advance economically.

Another warrant article calls for the use of $60,000 from the Historic Preservation Reserve of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) to fund various individual projects on the two museum buildings at Francis Farm. These include roof replacements, exterior repairs, and the installation of new fencing.

The full warrant can be accessed on the town website: https://www.rehobothma.gov.