Lexington board approves Marrett Road housing, splits on historic bylaw

Planning Board · Meeting of September 2, 2026

Lexington Planning Board approves Marrett Road apartments, splits 3-1 on historic-preservation rewrite. The board voted unanimously to approve Seaver Properties' major site plan for a multifamily building at 439 Marrett Road under the MBTA Communities bylaw, with 55 conditions including required EV-charging conduit. On a separate Special Residential Development bylaw amendment, Clerk Tina McBride's proposal to require preservation of historic structures and cap site coverage at 28 percent split the board 3-1, with Member Michael Schaumbacher dissenting: "My primary concern is that we haven't tested how these provisions work together on an actual site." Neighbor Mark Schwartz said a prior project delivered "luxury market-rate homes" and an "unenforced tree preservation commitment." Former SRD committee member Betsy Weiss called the draft unready: "That's not the way to do this." The article heads to a Select Board vote on the fall Special Town Meeting warrant.

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• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 3,094 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of September 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.