Wenham Planning Board Defers MBTA 3A Recommendation Until June 9 Town Meeting

WENHAM -- May 6, 2025, Wenham Planning Board defers MBTA 3A recommendation, will vote June 9 just before Special Town Meeting. The board voted 4-1 at its May 6 meeting at Bucher Elementary School to hold its formal recommendation on the town's Section 3A multi-family zoning bylaw amendment until the evening of the June 9 Special Town Meeting, meaning the printed warrant booklet will carry no planning board recommendation. Town counsel David Pasquarello briefed the board on the town's civil lawsuit before Judge Gilday, challenging the unit-count requirements as an unfunded mandate and as arbitrary and capricious as applied to Wenham, with a preliminary injunction motion pending, and a majority of members said a possible pre-June-9 court ruling warranted waiting. Member Daniel Anderson, the lone dissenter, argued all four plausible litigation scenarios favored giving residents a recommendation in print. The board also unanimously elected Anne Weeks as chair, Pasquarello as vice chair, and Scott Schoenberger as clerk, and confirmed grant funding is in place to engage Innis Associates to update the town's subdivision rules and regulations.