New issue every Monday. Get it by email
Issue No. 9 · Week of November 9
Beverly Meeting Digest
Covering November 2 to November 8, 2026 · Independent, not a City of Beverly publication
The developer behind the Boulder Lane proposal showed a 200-unit plan, built in a band between wetlands, and it would need approvals from three city boards. Beverly voted with the state on eight of nine ballot questions. The finance director leaves for Ipswich, and the Council holds the last required hearing on its data center pause tonight.
What happened November 2 to November 8
Boulder Lane: the developer's plan is 200 units, and it would need approvals from three city boards
The developer's slides for the Mayor's community meeting · Thursday, November 5 · Centerville Elementary
Waverly Development, the developer behind the 55-and-older proposal off Boulder Lane in Centerville, in Ward 6, showed residents a plan for 200 units on the 26-acre parcel at 128 Boulder Lane, in its slides for the Mayor's November 5 community meeting. That is fewer than the 250 to 300 units first reported. Nothing has been filed with the city.
First reported in Issue 8: the proposal and the land.
What the plan shows
- 40 townhomes for buyers 55 and older, 2½ stories, on the side nearest Kennel Hill Drive.
- A 160-unit assisted living and memory care building, four stories, at the Route 128 end.
- 268 parking spaces and one driveway, out to Boulder Lane by Route 128. No road to Kennel Hill Drive.
Why the buildings sit where they do
Wetlands run through the west and middle of the parcel and along its east edge, by the Wenham line. Beverly's wetland rules keep most buildings at least 50 feet from a wetland. Near a vernal pool the limit is 100 feet, and even clearing land is not allowed.
A vernal pool is a small pond that dries out in summer, where salamanders and wood frogs breed.
What it would need
The slides list four approvals, each from a city board after a public hearing.
- A use variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for the assisted living and memory care building. The land's zoning is mainly for offices, research and light industry. With a special permit it also allows two related uses, 55-and-older housing and a state-licensed nursing home, but it does not list assisted living.
- A special permit from the Zoning Board for the townhomes, under the 55-and-older use the zoning does list, which it calls “subsidized elderly housing.” Its definition requires at least 15% of the units to be permanently affordable. The slides say “a share of homes” would be.
- An order of conditions from the Conservation Commission for work near the wetlands.
- Site plan review by the Planning Board, plus a special permit, because the whole parcel sits in a district that protects the drinking water supply for Beverly and Salem.
A use variance lets an owner use land in a way its zoning does not allow. To grant one, the Zoning Board has to find that something about this particular piece of land, such as its shape or slopes, makes it a hardship to use as zoned. Four of the board's five members must agree (zoning § 300-92). More below, in How it works: special permits and variances.
The slides say an earlier plan, from January, fit the zoning: two five-story buildings closer to the neighborhood. They say this one was redesigned “based on feedback from the City.”
Where it stands
Residents at the meeting opposed the project, The Salem News reported. Nothing has been filed yet. If plans are filed, each approval above comes with a public hearing, where residents can speak.
How Beverly voted on the three ballot questions closest to home
The city's unofficial results and the Associated Press count
About 19,200 residents voted on November 3, 62% of those registered, the most in a midterm here since at least 2010 (unofficial results). Beverly voted with the state on eight of the nine questions. These three touch the city most directly. All nine are below.
Question 7
Single-family homes on smaller lots
Failed statewide. Most Beverly voters supported it, the one question where Beverly and the state split.
Share voting yes. The line marks 50%.
Nothing changes in Beverly: its zoning stays as it is. Today the smallest lot allowed for a new single-family home is 6,000 to 90,000 square feet (about two acres), depending on the district (zoning). The question would have allowed one on any lot of at least 5,000 square feet with 50 feet along the street, as long as it connects to public water and sewer lines rather than a well and septic system. City zoning could not have required a bigger lot (voter guide). The Associated Press called it Friday with 99% counted, CBS Boston reported.
Question 8
Repeal retail marijuana sales
Failed statewide, and most Beverly voters opposed it too.
Share voting yes. The line marks 50%.
Nothing changes in Beverly. Marijuana shops stay open, and so does the city's 3% local tax on their sales (state tax records). A yes vote would have ended retail sales, and the taxes on them, from 2028 (voter guide).
Question 6
Nature for All conservation fund
Passed statewide, and most Beverly voters supported it.
Share voting yes. The line marks 50%.
From July 2027, part of the state sales tax on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf goes to a fund for conservation and parks, set each year in the state budget. Cities and towns can apply for the money.
More: all nine questions, Beverly next to the state
1. Public records law covers the Legislature and GovernorPassed statewide
2. Public defender staff may unionizePassed statewide
3. Top-two primaries for state officesFailed statewide
4. Election Day voter registrationPassed statewide
5. State revenue limit and rebateFailed statewide
6. Nature for All conservation fundPassed statewide
7. Single-family homes on smaller lotsFailed statewide
8. Repeal retail marijuana salesFailed statewide
9. Keep the 2024 gun lawPassed statewide
Share voting yes. The line marks 50%. State figures are from the Associated Press count.
Every figure here is unofficial. The City Clerk's post-election tabulation is November 16, and the state certifies results in early December.
The city's finance director leaves for Ipswich
The Local News, and tonight's Council agenda · Order #283
Bryant Ayles, Beverly's Finance Director and Treasurer since January 2014, starts November 16 as Ipswich's first deputy town manager and finance director, The Local News reported.
The Council takes up a resolution honoring him tonight. It credits him with the borrowing plan that paid for the Middle School, the police station, City Hall and the McPherson Youth Center, and with two increases in the city's bond rating (Council agenda).
Next. The city has posted the job, as Director of Municipal Finance, at $160,000 to $180,000 a year (job posting). The Deficit Reduction Committee gets a city finance update on November 12.
Tonight at the Council: the data center hearing and a recycling drop-off
City Council · Monday, November 9 · 7:00pm · Middle School library
- The data center pause, 7:30pm. The Council's public hearing on the Mayor's proposed pause on data center applications (Order #250). State law requires two hearings on a zoning change. The Planning Board held the first and recommended the pause 7-0. Tonight's is the second, and after it the Council can take its final vote. Adopting the pause takes six of the nine councilors. Issue 8: the Planning Board's vote
- A drop-off for hard-to-recycle items. The Mayor asks the Council to accept a $100,000 state grant (Order #286) to turn the yard waste site at 16 Standley St into a staffed drop-off for things like textiles, scrap metal, bulky plastics, Styrofoam and small electronics, open at least three days a week. The Mayor's letter does not say whether the site would keep taking yard waste, and gives no opening date (p. 21).
- The Varian site cleanup. The contractor's November update (Order #300) says heating the ground under Building 3 has removed more than 12,000 pounds of chemicals, with treatment of the bedrock next, early in 2027 (p. 84). Issue 4: the last public update
Go deeperAgenda and packet
Also met, no video posted: the Parking and Traffic Commission and the Open Space and Recreation Committee (November 4), and the Design Review Board and the License Board (November 5). The commission and the Design Review Board both had 37 Enon St on their agendas; their reports go to the Planning Board, which takes the project up again November 17. Cancelled: the November 4 School Committee meeting and the November 5 Waste Reduction Committee. Parks and Recreation moved to November 12. Agendas
Special permits and variances
The Boulder Lane plan would need two kinds of approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Here is how each works.
- A special permit is for a use the zoning already lists for that district, but only case by case. The board grants it after a public hearing if it finds, among other things, that the site suits the use, that it will not cause undue traffic or a nuisance, and that city services are adequate. It can attach conditions (§ 300-91).
- A variance relaxes a rule, such as a height limit or a setback, where something peculiar to the land, such as its shape or slopes, makes the rule a hardship. The board grants only the minimum needed, and only if it will not harm the neighborhood (§ 300-92).
- A use variance allows a use the zoning does not list for that district at all. State law lets each city decide whether to allow these (c. 40A § 10). Beverly's zoning has allowed them since 1992 in every district except residential ones.
- Votes and appeals. On a five-member board, a special permit or a variance takes four votes (c. 40A § 15). A neighbor or anyone else harmed by a decision can appeal it to court within 20 days of its filing with the City Clerk (§ 17).
Coming up through November 23
- Nov 9Airport CommissionTonight, 6:00pm at the airport, 50 L.P. Henderson Rd, and online. A report on noise complaints since October 13, updates on the Airport Road parcel and tree removal on airport land, and a proposed mission statement for a vote.
+ calendar
- Nov 9City CouncilTonight, 7:00pm in the Middle School library, 502 Cabot St. On the agenda: the data center hearing at 7:30pm, the recycling drop-off grant, the Varian cleanup update and more.
+ calendar
- Nov 11Veterans DayTrash and recycling run one day late for the rest of the week.
- Nov 12Deficit Reduction Committee6:30pm, online (Google Meet). On the agenda: questions from the October 20 presentation, a city finance and forecast update, and next steps for a resident survey or focus groups.
+ calendar
- Nov 12Parks and Recreation Commission7:00pm at the Senior Center, 90 Colon St, moved from November 5. Updates on Community Preservation projects and this round's applications.
+ calendar
- Nov 16Post-election tabulation8:00am at the City Clerk's office, temporary City Hall, 175 Cabot St.
- Mid-NovThe city's Flock contract expiresPer the Mayor on October 19. No renewal decision had been announced.
- Nov 17Financial Forecast Committee6:30pm in the Police Station community room, 175 Elliott St. A presentation on proposed city revenues and spending.
+ calendar
- Nov 17Planning Board: 37 Enon St and Waring SchoolExpected at 7:00pm in the Middle School library; the agenda is not posted yet. The 37 Enon St hearing continues with the traffic study, then a public hearing on Waring School's plan for 38 Standley St.
- Nov 18School Committee: policy votesSubcommittees at 6:00pm, then the Committee of the Whole at 7:15pm, in the Middle School library. Second reading of the policies on powered e-bikes and scooters and on school trips abroad. The Clean Energy Advisory Committee also meets this day.
+ calendar
- Nov 19Community Preservation Committee6:00pm in the Police Station community room, 175 Elliott St. This round's pre-applications, and updates on Lynch Park and the Central Cemetery tomb house.
+ calendar
- Nov 23City Council: National Grid hearingsPublic hearings on National Grid's petitions for underground lines on Woodbury Street, 7:30pm, and Dane Street, 7:40pm.
+ calendar
Airport Commission notice (p. 1)Deficit committee notice (p. 1)Parks and Recreation notice (p. 1)Tabulation notice (p. 1)Community Preservation notice (p. 1)Agendas
Correction
- Issue 8 gave the location of the November 4 Parking and Traffic Commission meeting as 195 Cabot St. The commission's amended agenda puts the temporary City Hall at 175 Cabot St.
Get the digest by email
One short email on Mondays: each story's headline, a sentence on what happened, and a link to the full issue. Free, and every email has an unsubscribe link.
Sent through Kit, an email service. Your address is used for the digest and nothing else.
Free to reuse, adapt or republish, no permission needed (CC0). A link back is appreciated, and please keep the links to recordings and documents. Feeds: every issue · every story.