Sarkis Sarkisian, the town's community development director, tells GlobeSt.com that the new bylaw decreases required lot sizes from one unit per acre to one unit per 10,000-sf, allowing for denser development. But, he points out, 50% of the parcel would remain as open space and there needs to be a minimum of 25% "age-qualified housing" in the development in order to qualify for the cluster zoning designation, with a maximum of 55%. At least 10% of both age qualified--which is age 55 and over--and standard housing has to be affordable housing.

"We don't want a whole project to be age qualified but at least a quarter of it should be," notes Sarkisian. He points out that the impetus for the bylaw is due to a proposal of Five Seasons, a developer of country clubs. The company has been pushing for a while to get approval for a senior housing and country club project proposed to be built on an approximately 55-acre parcel near South Main Street.

The bylaw has to be approved by a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting.