Three main parcels fall into this district: 150 acres off Hudson Rd., 115 acres off Boxborough Rd. and 60 acres off White Pond Rd. Karen Kelleher, planning coordinator for the town, tells GlobeSt.com that the first two areas are currently zoned for industrial use while the third is zoned for commercial. "The property owners have that option," she says, "but if they want to build a residential development it will have to be senior housing.

"There was an outcry from the seniors in town for this type of housing," she points out, adding that a large percentage of the town's residents are seniors and "that percentage is the fastest-growing segment in the town." She notes that Stow has lost several seniors to other towns because they were looking for this type of housing.

The town's affordable housing is at 5.5%, and Kelleher says that this bylaw will help the town not fall behind on its affordable housing requirement. State law requires towns to have 10% affordable housing--otherwise developers building residential developments with 25% affordable housing can bypass local zoning laws. The new bylaw requires 10% affordable housing with at least 5% on site.

"Affordable housing is an issue in Stow," says Kelleher. She says that a developer has been very interested in the Hudson St. property and without this new bylaw the developer would have applied for a comprehensive permit, enabling him to bypass local zoning laws. "The town would like to do an affordable-housing project where it has control over the project," she says.