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Town of Lancaster, MA

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Welcome to the Town of Lancaster's official webpage. Here you will find information, news and notices relative to Town business.

This is a public page to share information and intended to be a means of disseminating information.

11/12/2026

What are the expected impacts to the Town’s surrounding infrastructure from the Industrial School Redevelopment?

A project the size of either option available to the Town will certainly have impacts to the Town’s existing infrastructure. What could those impacts be, and what has been studied about those impacts?

The State hired a consultant to perform a high-level analysis of the water, sewerage, and traffic impacts that could be caused by the 386 unit development. In regard to traffic, while additional trips will be generated from the development, because the development creates two new north-south pathways across the property, this will help to direct traffic away from the “Five-Corners” intersection located to the west of the project. The additional traffic would not be expected to negatively impact the operations of adjacent intersections. As specific development plans are created, the developer will be required to study further the traffic network, and determine what, if any, improvements may be needed to mitigate any potential traffic impacts from the development.

Either development scenario will have a private wastewater network constructed, with an onsite groundwater discharge treatment plant. Until future changes are made to the MWRA Clinton Wastewater Treatment Plant, it would not appear that capacity exists at the plant to accept additional flows. As such, all waste water will be handled on site, and the cost to operate and maintain the wastewater will be handled entirely by a private homeowners association. There will be no impact to the operations of the Lancaster Sewer District.

There are two options available to a developer in regard to drinking water. Under the Town’s existing well capacity, the Town’s water system will not be able to provide domestic and fire protection water to the site. A new well will be necessary to support either development type. A well just for the development will need to produce 100,000 gallons per day. A well for the Town and the development will need to produce about 1 million gallons per day, a tenfold difference in flows.

The Town’s Department of Public Works has been studying and working to secure a municipal water source on the DCAMM property for over 15 years, and has invested significant monies to date to perform well exploration and preliminary permitting. Looking throughout the Town for a new well source, this location on the DCAMM property is the only identified, viable source of drinking water available to the Town. A new municipal well is needed to provide redundancy to the existing system, as well as to provide capacity for future Town growth, regardless of whether the DCAMM property is redeveloped. The total cost of a new drinking water well is expected to range between $5.5 and $6.5 million. By contrast, to design and construct a private, 100,000 gallon per day would cost approximately $900,000 for a developer.

If the zoning change is approved, per the Memorandum of Agreement between the Town and State, in order to provide water for the Town’s existing needs and the addition of the new development, the State will provide the Town with the land necessary for the wellhead and its associated protection zone. The State will also require the Developer to contribute $3,000 per unit, or up to $1,158,000, towards the construction of a new municipal drinking water well.

If the zoning amendment is passed, the Town secures a well site that will provide the drinking water for the Town for decades, and receives money equivalent to approximately 20% of the cost of the well construction. If the zoning amendment fails, a developer may choose to simply construct the $900,000, 100,000 gpd well. In that scenario, the Town loses a second, redundant well, and the ability to expand its water supply to meet current and future demands.

To summarize, the project is not expected to result in significant impacts to current traffic volumes at existing intersections. The Sewer District’s wastewater infrastructure will not be used at all. If the zoning amendment is approved, the water system will receive land and money for the construction of a new well that will increase the resiliency of the existing drinking water system and allow it to meet future demands. Without the zoning being approved, there will be no direct impacts to the Town’s water system, but the system will remain unable to provide for growth, and continue to remain reliant on only one water source.

The preliminary traffic report can be found here: https://www.ci.lancaster.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/4692/Lancaster-Redevelopment-Project_Traffic-Study-9-30-25

To see the discussion by Rick Krafve, Chair of the Public Works Board, about the impacts to the water system, follow this link: https://youtu.be/3-OBaEvBsH0

11/12/2026

What are the expected impacts to the existing site from the Industrial School Redevelopment?

This discussion will address the major issues surrounding the existing infrastructure on the property (cemetery and potential unknown graves), historic buildings, and landscape.

The existing site contains buildings listed on the National Historic Register, and also contains open spaces ringed by healthy, older trees. There is an existing cemetery on the property as well.

Under either development scenario, the State is retaining control of the known cemetery property. It is not being given over to a developer, nor will it be disturbed. The Approval Not Required (ANR) subdivision plan that has been recorded by the State shows this area being protected.

What happens if unmarked graves are found during construction? In the event this occurs, there are specific notifications and procedures that will be required through the Massachusetts Historical Commission that will have to be followed by a developer, working in close cooperation with DCAMM. Each potential grave, if any, would be addressed on an individual basis.

Under the By-Right (288) unit scenario, a developer will be free to clear cut the area and level the ground as they see fit. That would be the quickest and easiest way to prepare the site for construction. Further, there will be few economic incentives for attempting to rehabilitate most, if not all, the historic buildings on the site. The by-right scenario only allows for residential construction. There will be little economic benefit realized from rehabilitating these properties if they will only be housing. Federal Register protections do not prevent historic buildings from being demolished, and creates a highly regulated process to avoid that result. But if a building cannot be economically rehabilitated, ultimately they can be demolished.

With the zoning change and the MOA, a developer will have to follow the existing topography and protect many of the attractive, mature trees and vegetation on the property. Further, based on that adaptive zoning use allowed by the different zoning sub-districts, there may be an ability to extend the economic life of the building. If affordable units are proposed for these buildings, then historic renovation grants may also be available for the rehabilitation of some of the historic buildings.

Through numerous meetings, the Lancaster community has expressed a desire to retain the things that make this property special. Unfortunately, in the development world, those special things come at a cost, and the State has calculated that a project will not be profitable in the by-right scenario, if the setting and nature of the property have to be preserved.

Adam Baacke and Chris Dempsey discuss the reasons for the higher unit counts need to protect the site aesthetics and historic structures in this video: https://youtu.be/To8suDr1ZWc?t=1202

11/12/2026

📣 Lancaster, see you at Special Town Meeting!

Join your neighbors on Monday, November 16, to hear the discussion, ask questions, and have a say in decisions that affect our town. Registered Lancaster voters can vote on the articles up for consideration.

📅 Monday, November 16, 2026
🕖 Meeting begins at 7:00 PM · Doors open at 6:30 PM
📍 Mary Rowlandson Elementary School Auditorium
103 Hollywood Drive, Lancaster, MA

Save the date, share this post with a neighbor, and make your voice heard. We’ll see you Monday!

For the complete Town Meeting Handbook which includes the certified warrant articles and summary, Article 1 exhibits, and the Planning Board & Finance Committee reports, click the link below:

https://www.ci.lancaster.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/4769/STM-11-16-26-Town-Meeting-Handbook-Final

11/12/2026

In the discussions about the Industrial School for Girls (DCAMM) redevelopment, the illustration of what the 386 unit development allowed by the zoning changes has been shown quite a bit. But if the zoning is not approved, what might the by-right, up to 288 unit development look like?

The first image has been prepared by DCAMM's consultant, Speck Dempsey, and is their estimate of how a typical developer, unconcerned with walkability or community preferences, would lay out the streets and lots to maximize profit and the number of homes permitted by-right. Speck Dempsey has provided the following description of this plan:

"The plan shows 285 units. The great majority of the units are detached, single-family houses but there is a small portion of rowhouses along Old Common Road. The plan is organized based on our estimates of how a typical developer, unconcerned with walkability or community preferences, would lay out the streets and lots to maximize profit and the number of homes permitted by-right.

As-of-Right development under the Affordable Homes Act must still follow some requirements of the underlying zoning. As we have discussed, this will likely cause the developer to treat the entire parcel as one "lot" to maximize the development opportunity. So, this plan is responsive to the underlying zoning in the following ways:

Lot size: Lancaster's zoning requires a lot size of two acres in a Residential District. Because the developer will keep this as one lot, the As-of-Right plan meets this requirement.

Frontages and setbacks: The underlying zoning requires 225 feet of lot frontage, 35 feet min front setback, and 20 feet min side/rear setbacks. We have applied these over the entire lot/perimeter of the site.

Building height: The underlying zoning caps height at 32 feet. All buildings in this plan are 32 feet or less.

Important points to note:
We added rowhouses fronting Old Common Road. This goes against our planning effort of placing large lot “traditional homes” on Old Common Road to reflect the character of existing homes across the street.

This is a decidedly unwalkable plan, and this is evident in everything from the driveways in the front of the houses (snout houses), to the lack of street trees, to wider streets — leading to higher traffic speeds. It is uninspiring and lacks any sort of character a neighborhood should have, especially one in Lancaster.

The historic buildings, specimen trees, hedgerows, and existing site topography are not preserved.

Besides the rowhouses, each house is about 3,000 square feet (4+ bedrooms) on two stories. Each garage parks two cars. There is space for two more cars in the driveway."

While this image is just one prediction of what could happen if the zoning amendment is not approved, it is useful for give one an understanding of the two choice facing the Town.

One of these types of development will happen on this property. The Town gets to choose its preference by their vote on Article 1 of the Special Town Meeting on Monday, November 16.

11/12/2026

What does “control” mean over the DCAMM Redevelopment Project?

This is the second informational post regarding the upcoming Town Meeting decision on approving zoning amendments for the State Industrial School for Girls property on Old Common Road. There are two processes through which the Town may exercise control over what occurs on this property.

The first process is the recently approved Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that has been signed by the Select Board and DCAMM. The MOA provides a set of terms that the Town and the State agree to implement.

For the Town, basically the MOA commits the Town to: 1) attempting to adopt new zoning amendments that allow for the 386-unit development; 2) to adopting and implementing new subdivision rules and regulations to allow for the type of development described in the State’s illustrative and regulating plans, and; 3) constructing the long desired municipal drinking water well on the DCAMM property.

For the State (DCAMM), the MOA requires the State to: 1) issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) that seeks responses for a 386 unit alternative development plan, in addition to the 288 unit by-right plan allowed by the Affordable Homes Act (AHA); 2) require potential developers to follow Lancaster’s Wetlands Protection and Stormwater Bylaws; 3) construct affordable housing units (those affordable to people making 80% of the regional median income) that are at least 7% of the total units, and preferably 17% of the total units; 4) require the Town to review the proposal submissions and financial analysis of each submission, and allow the Town to tell the State what is it’s preferred development proposal; 5) for developers to meet the performance standards of the revised zoning, and illustrative and regulating plans; 6) to provide an absolute limit of 386 units of housing, regardless of any Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that could be built; 7) provide to the Town the land necessary for a new municipal drinking water well as well as payments of $3,000 per unit, up to approximately $1.2 million, for the construction of a new well, and; 8) require the selected developer to enter into a binding contract with the Town, which allows the Town to enforce the MOA terms.

The second process is the proposed zoning amendments. This zoning amendment creates specific rules for the development of the property. These include what types of housing can be built and where they can be built. It also allows for commercial/retail spaces to be built, which cannot be done under the by-right AHA rules. The zoning and subdivision regulations that follow will dictate how the development retains the character of the site, and allow for the re-use of the more significant buildings. The zoning requires a walkable neighborhood to be created, similar to those found in a number of Massachusetts downtowns.

The above is not a complete list of all the controls that are enabled by the Town’s implementation of the zoning amendment. But it does demonstrate the level of input, control, and protection that the Town receives through the implementation of the MOA and the zoning change.

If the zoning is not changed, then the basic AHA rules are the only thing that governs this site. The AHA allows a developer to build up to 288-units of housing. That housing can be built in any configuration that the developer chooses, and the developer has complete control over the disturbance to the property’s landscape and vegetation. The developer will be under no obligation to provide any affordable housing units, which will most likely lead to the Town falling behind on its legally mandated number of affordable housing units to reach “Safe Harbor” from 40B developments. The developer only has to follow State level wetlands protection regulations, which are less strict than the Town’s. The Town’s zoning code will not apply at all to the property. The developer will not have to use Town water, and will be able to build its own private drinking water well on the site, which will prevent the Town from expanding its water system onto the site. Quite significantly, there would be no limits on potential ADUs, which the State allows 1 per property. This could drastically increase the number of units and bedrooms allowed on the site, beyond the 288, with an absolute maximum of 576 units.

While the Town did not have control over the enaction of the AHA and State Land for Homes initiative at the State House, it does now have control over what happens to Industrial School property here in Lancaster. The zoning amendments proposed in Article 1 of the Special Town Meeting, in conjunction with the signed MOA, provide the Town control over what happens on this property and what the potential impacts are to the Town.

To hear what levels of control are available to the Town, you can view the discussions with David Carr of the Select Board and Frank Streeter of the Planning Board. They can be viewed here:

David Carr: https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=2171

Frank Streeter: https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=2710

11/10/2026

This is the first of five informational discussions regarding the upcoming Special Town Meeting vote regarding zoning changes to allow for the re-development of the Industrial School for Girls (DCAMM) property on Old Common Road.

The linked video is a compilation of interviews conducted with the various State and Local officials involved with the issues being discussed with Articles 1 and 4 of the upcoming Special Town Meeting. https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?si=WBMphp6ySEZALRXQ

A Special Town Meeting will be held starting at 7PM on Monday, November 16, at the auditorium of the Mary Rowlandson Elementary School. There are 13 articles on the warrant; Articles 1 and 4 deal specifically with the redevelopment of the DCAMM property. Article 1 is a vote to approve zoning amendments to create the Lancaster School Zoning District, and allow for the potential development of no more than 386 housing units on the DCAMM property. Article 4 is a vote to approve the borrowing of $450,000 by the Water Enterprise Fund to complete the permitting and design for a new 1 million gallon per day drinking water well for the Town, on the DCAMM property.

Under the Affordable Home Act (AHA) and State Land for Homes Initiative, the State has released a Request for Proposals seeking the re-development of 72 acres of surplus land at the Industrial School property. A maximum of 288 units of housing can be built under the “by-right” AHA regulations, and such construction can be built without following Lancaster land regulations, such as the affordable housing requirements or the local Wetlands Protection Bylaw. Any type of housing can be built under the by-right housing, but the most realistic and easiest type of development would be single family homes with 3 to 5 bedrooms each, yielding a potential total of 1,100 to 1,200 bedrooms. Further, there would be no controls on the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) in this arrangement. As State Law allows for 1 ADU per lot, there could be the potential, depending on the arrangement of buildings, that each unit could also receive an additional ADU. While it is doubtful that every one of the 288 units could site a ADU, if the worst case scenario did occur, the potential total number of units rises to 576 units (288 units with 288 ADUs). Additionally, no commercial or retail spaces could be built in this project, as this use is not allowed by-right under the ADA.

However, the AHA does allow the Town and the State to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and for the Town to adopt zoning that allows the property to be developed so as to allow more units in total, but provides the Town with far greater control over the type of the development. Article 1 would create zoning that could allow no more than 386 units of housing, which is expected to generate 800-900 total bedrooms. Based on the zoning restrictions created by Article 1, as well as the MOA, ADU construction would be severely limited to specific sub-districts of the new zoning district, and the MOA will also constrain a future developer from building more than 386 units, no matter how they are configured.

The next post will discuss in more detail the controls put in place by the MOA and the proposed zoning amendments.

For those wanting to watch the video in smaller pieces, you may follow these links:
1) DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke and Chris Dempsey of Speck Dempsey: https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?si=WBMphp6ySEZALRXQ

2) Select Board Member David Carr
https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=2170

3) Planning Board Chair Frank Streeter
https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=2709

4) Board of Public Works Chair Rick Krafve
https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=3822

5) Finance Committee Chair Roy Rezac
https://youtu.be/TBlXyTlb-fI?list=PL2jc5fA2LZPribYCItBRcvi4OrZ2S2_bs&t=4239

11/10/2026

The Lancaster Town Offices will be closed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in observance of Veterans Day.

To the Veterans who call Lancaster home and to Veterans everywhere, thank you for your service and for the sacrifices you and your families have made.

11/10/2026

What's Next for Lancaster? DCAMM Informational Discussions with Town Officials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBlXyTlb-fI

11/10/2026

The Town of Lancaster is hiring!
The Town of Lancaster is looking to hire a full-time Council on Aging Director. The full job description can be viewed online: https://www.ci.lancaster.ma.us/602/Employment-Opportunities

11/09/2026

Town Of Lancaster
November 3, 2026 State Election Final Totals

https://www.ci.lancaster.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/4747/November-3-2026-State-Election-FINAL-Totals

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Lancaster, MA
01523

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