Dartmouth boards press back against Ballot Question 7

Select Board · Meeting of September 14, 2026

Dartmouth boards warn a November ballot question would gut local zoning control. Assistant Planning Director Ross Cuddy told a joint Select Board-Planning Board session that Question 7 would legalize 5,000-square-foot house lots on any parcel with water and sewer, with one member estimating roughly 1,000 new lots could follow. Select Board member Shawn D.

McDonald said backers, including the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and Greater Boston Real Estate Board, have raised $1.7 million with "opposition, zero." Chair Heidi Silva Brooks said "when I flush, I don't want to have to think about it again," citing strained infrastructure, and pledged a public forum before November. The board also unanimously appointed Krystal Amaral and Ava Cafasso to the Russell's Mills Historic District Commission, Alexie Rudman to the Conservation Commission, welcomed new HR Director Carol-Ann Mello, and confirmed the EPA's $28 million Bliss Corner cleanup settlement is officially closed at a $50,000 cost to the town.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,906 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.