Norton Planning Board Targets Four Zoning Bylaw Changes for October Town Meeting

NORTON -- June 16, 2026, Norton Planning Board eyes four zoning bylaw changes for October 19 Town Meeting. The board spent the bulk of its June 16 meeting workshopping a slate of potential fall warrant articles, including a fiscal impact analysis requirement for site plan review, drafted by former member Eric Norris of 27 West Hodges Street, that would allow the board to require developers to quantify effects on municipal services, schools, and the tax base, with applicants funding both the analysis and any peer review. Three additional items are under consideration: a noise bylaw tracking the state's 10-decibel-above-background standard to give local enforcement authority to the town's health inspector, updated special permit criteria derived from a prior bylaw revision effort, and a dimensional change in industrial zones raising the maximum building height from 50 to 75 feet with lot coverage potentially increasing from 33 to 75 percent, subject to a special permit. A data center bylaw modeled on Mansfield's recently passed ordinance, now before the state Attorney General, was set aside until the state's posture on local data center regulation becomes clear. The board is also seeking a new member, with at least two candidates expressing interest ahead of an expected Select Board appointment within two weeks.