Norton Select Board puts village center core zoning repeal on May town meeting ballot

Select Board · Meeting of February 12, 2026

Norton Select Board places village center core zoning repeal on May 18 town meeting warrant, unanimously and 4-0. The board voted 4 to 0 Thursday to put an article allowing voters to repeal or amend the village center core overlay — which permits four-story structures within a half-mile of the town common — on the annual town meeting warrant, with article language amended to read "repeal or amendment" after debate with Planning Board member Eric Norris, who warned against outright repeal. The board separately approved ballot language for an April 11 Proposition 2.5 debt exclusion for the Norton Middle School roof, which Superintendent Jennifer O'Neill said carries a 55.63 percent Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursement contingent on a February 28 MSBA vote, with the roof having leaked since 1998.

Snow and ice spending has already reached $178,303 against an $80,000 budget. The town manager reported a new owner at 47 Elm Street is pursuing an EPA cleanup grant, and in-house attorneys were directed to draft a letter demanding Gatra reimburse the Blue Apple bus company for $0 received of its full-year 2025 federal reimbursement.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.