Officials preview free cash and zoning articles

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 15, 2026

Chelmsford officials previewed the Town Meeting warrant at an information session, with no votes taken. Town Manager Alex McGee outlined free cash requests including $800,000 for roads and sidewalks, $350,000 for town office restrooms and $150,000 for common walkways, plus $844,352 for the stabilization fund. He described two Community Preservation requests, $150,000 for 79 Groton Road and $460,000 for senior housing at 255 Princeton Street.

Chris LaVallee presented zoning changes, including data center limits that would prohibit medium and large facilities. A proposed black plastic container ban would start January 1, 2028. Planning Board Vice Chair Joel Luna said Riverneck rezoning is "just shifting what opportunities they have."

In the full story:

• Purpose of the session
• Article 1 and the free cash framework
• Cemetery, sewer and housekeeping articles
• Roads and buildings (Articles 7 to 9)
• Trees, Freeman Lake and stabilization (Articles 10 to 12)
• Clerk stipend and veterans exemption (Articles 13 and 14)
• Community Preservation housing (Articles 15 and 16)
• Black plastic container ban (Article 17)
• Parks and recreation study committee (Article 18)
• Planning and zoning articles
• Moderator's remarks
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,443 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.