Maynard and Acton residents gathered around large posters depicting their shared Powder Mill Road Corridor on the evening of November 15 at a public Open House in the Maynard Elks Lodge. The Corridor is the section of Route 62 from Stop and Shop in Acton to the intersection with Route 27 in Maynard. One third of the Corridor lies within Acton, the rest within Maynard. The Planning Boards of both towns hosted the event, with support from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Maynard Planning Director Bill Nemser noted that most of the Powder Mill Corridor consists of private property. “One way or the other, the owners are going to develop it. The Corridor Initiative provides an opportunity for those who will be affected to help shape what that development looks like and how the community can derive the most benefit from this activity.”
Participants received handouts that described the Powder Mill Road Corridor Initiative, a collaboration between the two towns to create a long-term community-oriented strategy for the corridor, to guide future growth. The initiative aims to make Powder Mill Road a more welcoming place for people to live, visit, and spend time, by creating an overlay zoning district that supports walkable, mixed-use developments, advances Acton’s Complete Streets program, and expands access to the Assabet River.
Acton’s Planning Director, Kristen Guichard, said that the Corridor’s riverside location is significant. “The Assabet River is an incredible resource and asset to both towns. This zoning proposal is a unique opportunity to align more compatible uses and development along the river to foster both ecological improvement and economic growth.”
Visitors strolled through three stations. At the first station, they learned about zoning and saw the proposed vision that was developed based on the previous year’s work by the two planning boards, planning departments, and participants in previous community outreach, including focus groups and forums. The other two stations detailed the proposed zoning plans for Maynard and Acton, separately. Town staff members answered questions and explained the zoning maps and design recommendations. They asked for input from the visitors, in conversation and through giant poster-sized questionnaires.
The proposed zoning overlay districts for each town consist of subdistricts of various qualities based on the peculiarities of the location along the Powder Mill corridor. For each subdistrict, the plan lists allowable uses, both by right and with a special permit–such uses as multifamily, childcare, nursing home, retail, restaurants, and offices—and key dimensional standards such as lot size, height, number of stories, and setbacks from the edges of the property.
About forty participants signed in, but the crowd appeared to be somewhat larger over the course of the evening. Healthful snacks were available, purchased at the nearby Assabet Food Co-op. The Food Co-op donated Escarole Bean Soup as well.
Guichard appreciated the ability to meet with residents face-to-face. “Most of the public engagement for Phase 1 was conducted virtually, given the timing of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we were very grateful to Maynard for hosting the in-person open house where both communities were able to physically come together on the corridor to share input on the recommended zoning proposals.”
The Powder Mill Corridor Plan created in Phase 1 was published in 2022.
The next step in the Powder Mill Road Corridor Initiative will be for Acton and Maynard to bring draft zoning articles to their respective planning boards for a public hearing prior to spring 2024 Town Meetings where each community can consider zoning amendments that would make the Overlay Zoning Districts a reality.
Franny Osman is a member of the South Acton Vision and Plan Advisory Group.
