Dover Select Board Votes Unanimously to Advance MBTA Zoning Bylaw to Town Meeting

DOVER — July 24, 2025 — Dover's Select Board voted 3-0 to advance a multifamily zoning overlay district to a September 29 special town meeting, the decisive vote on the town's MBTA Communities Act compliance. The proposed bylaw would create a new section 185-50 establishing a multifamily overlay district at County Court, formally Tisdale Drive, covering 9.957 acres and allowing up to 102 housing units by right while keeping all Dover local regulations — septic, water, setbacks — fully enforceable. Board Chair Robin Hunter stressed the vote is about law, not preference: "We have looked at the pros and cons of making the recommendation to the town to accept this law." Town Planner Melissa, 10 days into her role after serving as director of planning and community development in Braintree, presented the draft bylaw and a pre-adoption state review that cleared the County Court site. Board members warned that non-compliance puts roughly $1 million per year in grants at risk, including a $15 million Center Street Bridge project, and noted Milton spent close to $1 million in legal fees fighting the same law before being ordered to comply anyway. The vote requires a simple majority at town meeting, not the two-thirds threshold typical for zoning changes.