Lunenburg Planning Board Drafts Four Zoning Bylaws Aimed at Affordable Housing and Business Permitting

Planning Board · Meeting of July 20, 2026

Lunenburg Planning Board begins drafting four zoning bylaw changes targeting affordable housing and business permitting. Meeting in an off-cycle working session July 20, the board worked through draft language on minor site plan review, inclusionary housing, cluster housing, and senior housing, aiming to have finished bylaws ready for a spring 2027 town meeting. The chair, who said Lunenburg sits at 8.2 percent affordable housing against the state's 10 percent Chapter 40B threshold, reversed his earlier opposition to a payment-in-lieu option for inclusionary housing, saying experts at a recent regional forum convinced him that small communities produce "zero" affordable units from inclusionary bylaws alone and that payment funds could instead be used to acquire tax-delinquent properties for town-sponsored affordable housing projects.

On cluster housing, the board agreed informally to drop the minimum parcel trigger from 25 acres to 10 acres — a threshold the chair called "always a killer" — and to define the 40-foot perimeter buffer as a non-disturbance zone. The board's next working session is scheduled for August 10.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,025 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.