Rehoboth Approves Multi-Family Overlay District

Voters at the June 2 Spring Town Meeting approved a zoning bylaw change which will create a Multi-Family Overlay District.

The vote was 194 in favor, with 81 in opposition.

Town officials, including Selectman Lenny Mills, encouraged the attendees to approve the bylaw change.

“This, tonight, in front of you, is the area where (the MFOD) has to go,” Mills explained. “Keep your brain and your focus on the goal. Do you want this downside left to the commonwealth? And how will they treat us? You see how they’re treating us now. I’m scared because I, as a businessman, wouldn’t leave that to chance. I wouldn’t leave (the state) to pick (the location) and I would not leave it to them to come in and tell us how big it’s going to be and how many units (we will have).”

Robert Materne, Chairman of the Conservation Commission, said he was familiar with the 20 acre property, noting only eight acres were “buildable.”

“Any project that’s going to go here will probably be a 40B,” Materne noted. “Although Planning has no say with 40Bs, there are two state agencies that do. One of them is the Board of Health. The other one is the Conservation Commission. 40Bs have to follow all the regulations of the Wellness Protection Act and the Rivers Protection Act. They keep saying there’s 200 units, 16 units per acre. I can’t see where you’re going to get more than 150 at most on this property. Because of the wetlands, because of the river and where it’s located, it’s definitely the best choice to go for. We really do need the money that the state gives us.”

The Governor’s office has warned that communities which choose not to comply with the MBTA Communities Law will lose funding from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29; the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of chapter 23A, or the HousingWorks infrastructure program established in section 27½ of chapter 23B.

Voters also approved $15,073,790 to fund town government for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1. This year’s budget represents a 5 percent increase over FY26. Most of the increase is due to election costs and early voting, addition of cyber security software, pension, health insurance costs.

$24,312,073 was approved to pay the assessments of the Dighton/Rehoboth Regional School System.

“We are seeing something that is increasingly rare across Massachusetts,” Superintendent Bill Runey told the attendees. “Enrollment growth. While many districts continue to experience declining enrollment, Dighton-Rehoboth’s enrollment has increased district wide and our high school enrollment is growing as well.”

The amount of $1,373,571 was approved for Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical High School. The assessment was based on enrollment of 56 Rehoboth students enrolled, compared to FY’26 of 47.

Other articles which were approved:

Appropriate $1, 080, 826 for Capital Improvement Projects, including vehicle purchases: Ford F350 for the Highway Department - $68,300, Bucket Truck- Forestry - $239,000, Two SUV Patrol Vehicles - Police Department - $150,616. Equipment - Fire Department Turn Out Gear - $262,500, I-Pads on Fire Trucks - $12,000.

Raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds a sum of $100,000 for the purpose of increasing PFAS Remediation budget line for FY2026.

Vote to establish a special purpose stabilization account for PFAS remediation and fund by raising and appropriating or transfer from available funds the sum of $500,000.

Raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds $300,000 for the remediation of PFAS for fiscal year 2027.

Appropriate $70,000, for the purposes of partnering with a consultant, pursue engineering studies, and execution of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Senior Housing, by the Rehoboth Housing Authority for the redevelopment of the Anawan School property located at 51 Bay State Road.

 Appropriate $339,036 from the PEG Access and Cable Fund for the purpose of supporting cable access services for the Town of Rehoboth.