Plainville Town Meeting rejects Senior Village zoning change in 56-to-47 vote

PLAINVILLE -- May 21, 2026, Plainville Town Meeting rejected a zoning change that would have stripped size limits from the Senior Village Overlay District, with reconsideration also failing. Article 31, which proposed removing the existing 1,000-square-foot minimum and 2,400-square-foot maximum per dwelling unit, along with a 66-percent first-floor living-space requirement, from Section 500-24 of the town's zoning bylaw, drew 56 votes in favor and 47 opposed, falling short of the two-thirds supermajority required for a zoning amendment under Massachusetts law. A motion for reconsideration was raised immediately after the tally, with the moderator noting the Heather Hill property at stake is "one of the most significant areas for new growth in our town," but a show of cards made clear that vote also failed to reach the two-thirds threshold. One speaker during deliberations argued the overlay district was always intended to produce smaller, accessible housing, saying, "I don't think that anybody came to the Master Plan Committees talking about the need for more McMansions."