Milton Select and Planning Boards Align on Housing Plan, LaVerey Acquisition, and Zoning Cleanup

MILTON — June 23, 2026 — Milton Select and Planning Boards align on housing compliance, LaVerey acquisition, and zoning overhaul. In a joint session Tuesday, the two boards reviewed a housing production plan on track for a November submission — critical because Milton's current plan has expired, leaving the town without safe harbor against Chapter 40B applications — and discussed a potential contingent bid on the 51,000-square-foot LaVerey College campus on Canton Avenue, which is actively being marketed through a broker. School Committee Chair Mark Lorion and Superintendent John Phelan told the select board that a pre-K and kindergarten program at the site "would be the best option," relieving overcrowding at all four elementary schools and freeing high school space for the central administration, though Phelan acknowledged it would not address middle school capacity pressures. Town Clerk Sue Godwin warned that placing a fire station debt exclusion question on the November state ballot — facing nine existing statewide questions and a potential three-page ballot — risks voter drop-off, particularly among an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 vote-by-mail applicants, and that a dedicated special election would cost at least $40,000. The board also voted 3-0 to approve an energy credit agreement with Rewild LLC subject to town counsel sign-off, and approved amendments to the Milton means-tested property tax exemption legislation unanimously before entering executive session to discuss LaVerey acquisition strategy.