Town Meeting splits: 4 zoning articles pass, 2 fail

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 22, 2026

Chelmsford's Fall Town Meeting approved new contractor yard and data center zoning rules but rejected two Riverneck Road area rezonings. Representatives passed Article 21 creating tiered contractor/service business definitions 84-40 with three abstentions, Article 22 moving affordable housing payment-in-lieu figures into Planning Board regulations 96-27, and Article 23 establishing a four-tier data center classification system 118-6. A Precinct 9 representative argued Article 22 improperly shifted "taxing authority" to the Planning Board, a claim Town Counsel John Eichmann rejected, saying the board "has no taxation rights." Article 24, rezoning the Pine Tree Market strip mall area to CBLT, passed 95-24.

But Article 25, rezoning industrial Riverneck Road parcels, failed to reach the required two-thirds threshold, drawing only 34 in favor against 81 opposed. Article 26, covering the Monmouth Street and Apollo Drive area, also failed, 69-47. Community Development Director Evan Belansky said the town has collected just under $1 million in affordable-housing payments since 2015.

In the full story:

• Article 21: Contractor and service business definitions
• Article 22: Affordable housing payment-in-lieu procedures
• Article 23: Data center zoning
• Article 24: 210 Boston Road rezoning
• Articles 25 and 26: Riverneck Road and Apollo Drive rezoning
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,861 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.