Save The Lower East Village

Our Mission

To represent the views of residents and abutters of the Lower East Village, Stow, MA, who are having the MBTA 3A Housing Zone thrust upon them without being heard. While the residents recognize the need for the town to create a multi-residential housing zone, we feel strongly that there are many other options to place a new zone in Stow--without potentially displacing dozens of residents--and that the Planning Board did not properly consider these other sites, and refuse to do so currently.

The Planning Board has Mislead the Residents of LEV and Minimized Their Input

Most LEV residents are just finding out their neighborhood was chosen for the MBTA “3A” Zone, after the Planning Board made their decision

The LEV residents were not consulted and no impact studies were done
The Planning Board refused to allow residents of the new Zone to systematically attest to their consent or lack thereof
LEV residents are still being told this is a draft site even though the Planning Board made their decision in February, 2025

During December, 2024, only members of town elected and advisory board committees were polled on 8 potential sites

Only 15 responded (less than 0.2% of Stow’s population, hardly representative)
The top 3 sites were chosen from the list of 8 based on this survey

Failure to Appropriately Recognize Alternate sites

Of the initial, eight candidate sites nominated in October, 2025, none included abandoned commercial areas, many of which would have been good candidates for a 3A Zone

The town maintains they would like to preserve these for potential businesses in the future
At the same time, they claim they are not viable 3A sites because they’re environmentally damaged–then these wouldn’t be suitable for businesses either
There are abandoned, open space areas too, like the abandoned golf course near the LEV
The Conservation Commissioner of Stow recommended one of these areas to prevent potential displacement and overdevelopment in the LEV

Nearby Towns Have Not Chosen Existing Residential Zones for the 3A MBTA Zones

Towns like Harvard, Acton, Maynard, and Wayland have almost entirely placed these zones in unused commercial areas

Traffic and Safety are Already Concerns in the LEV

It is difficult to turn on to Great Rd. from Red Acre or Pompositticut
It is dangerous to walk on Great Rd. in this neighborhood
Traffic and safety would worsen with 139 units on this small block, which currently has 11 units

The Planning Board Assures Us Nothing Will Change…

And that residents don’t have to do anything, but individual residents are helpless if they’re neighbors sell their property to developers
That current existing regulations might prevent overdevelopment, but regulations are lax under Site Plan Approval, and developers can sue to get their way