Table of Contents
Get our free local reporting delivered straight to your inbox. No noise, no spam — just clear, independent coverage of Marblehead. Sign up for our once-a-week newsletter.
Facing a state lawsuit and the ineligibility of millions in grant funding, Marblehead voters will take up MBTA zoning for the fourth time in three years when the annual Town Meeting convenes May 4 at Marblehead High School.
The 40-article warrant released Feb. 26 is dominated by the zoning fight, but it also includes a proposed ban on cryptocurrency ATMs amid a statewide fraud crisis, significant mooring fee increases, citizen petitions challenging local governance and a resolution affirming the town’s commitment to the Constitution on the nation’s 250th birthday.
The stakes could hardly be higher. Attorney General Andrea Campbell sued Marblehead and eight other noncompliant communities Jan. 30, arguing the towns violated a 2021 law requiring municipalities served by MBTA transit to zone for multifamily housing. Marblehead’s path to this point has been unusually turbulent: Town Meeting approved a compliant overlay in May 2025 by a vote of 951-759, only to see residents overturn it two months later in a citizen-initiated referendum, 3,642-3,297 — the first successful use of the town’s 1954 Special Act allowing voters to challenge certain town meeting decisions.
That rejection left Marblehead ineligible for competitive state grants potentially worth millions and placed it among a dwindling group of holdouts as 165 of the 177 communities covered by the law achieved compliance. A statewide ballot question seeking to repeal the MBTA Communities Act entirely could also appear before voters in November 2026, adding another layer of uncertainty.
Zoning proposal redesigned
Article 4 asks voters to amend the zoning bylaw and map by creating a 3A Multifamily Overlay District with two subdistricts — one along Broughton Road incorporating existing Marblehead Housing Authority properties and another near Tedesco Country Club. The revised plan differs from the rejected 2025 version, which had spanned three areas including Pleasant Street and Tioga Way.
Multifamily development projects would be permitted in both subdistricts through a plan approval process, while mixed-use projects would be allowed only in the Tedesco subdistrict. New buildings would be capped at 35 feet. The Broughton Road subdistrict would allow up to 19 units per acre on lots as small as 7,460 square feet; the Tedesco subdistrict would permit up to 25 units per acre with a minimum lot size of 27,460 square feet.
The article includes strict design standards requiring gable roofs with a 9-by-12 pitch, clapboard siding, double-hung windows and native landscaping — provisions aimed at preserving the town’s visual character. Developments with more than six units would need to set aside at least 10 percent as affordable for households earning no more than 80 percent of area median income.
The state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities flagged six technical issues with an earlier draft of the plan in January, including concerns about discretionary parking requirements and design rules that could conflict with the law’s mandate that multifamily housing be allowed as of right. The Planning Board would serve as the approving authority, and no construction could begin until the attorney general grants final approval.
Article 5 proposes separate changes to the accessory dwelling unit bylaw, allowing ADUs in or attached to any principal dwelling — not just single-family homes — and capping them at 900 square feet or half the principal dwelling’s gross floor area. A new two-bedroom limit would be added, short-term rentals of fewer than 31 days would be banned in both units, and parking requirements would be relaxed near transit stations.
Crypto ATMs targeted amid fraud surge
Article 33 seeks to ban cryptocurrency ATMs throughout Marblehead, joining Waltham, Gloucester and other Massachusetts communities that have outlawed the machines as fraud losses skyrocket. The FBI received nearly 11,000 crypto ATM fraud complaints in 2024 — a 99 percent increase from 2023 — representing about $247 million in losses nationwide.
The Select Board-sponsored measure cites concerns raised by the Marblehead Police Department. Existing machines would have to be removed within 60 days of the bylaw taking effect. Violators would face fines of $300 per day, per device. The proposal comes as the state attorney general separately sued Bitcoin Depot, one of the nation’s largest crypto kiosk operators, earlier this month, alleging the company facilitated more than $10 million in scams targeting Massachusetts consumers.
Select Board Chair Dan Fox said last fall that officials wanted to take a preventive approach, and state Rep. Jenny Armini, a Marblehead Democrat, has backed statewide regulation of the kiosks.
Fees, budgets and schools
Boaters face higher costs under Article 32. Mooring permit fees for Marblehead Harbor, Little Harbor and Dolibers Cove would rise from $10 to $12 per foot. Other anchorage locations would climb from $9 to $11 per foot. Commercial fishermen would see their discounted rate jump from $5 to $7 per foot, and float permits would nearly double from $6.50 to $12 per lineal foot.
Several articles address the fiscal year 2027 budget beginning July 1. Article 23 covers departmental operating expenses, while Articles 28 and 29 seek supplemental school and general government appropriations contingent on passage of a Proposition 2½ override. Article 30 would rescind roughly $1.6 million in unused borrowing authority from a 2019 Gerry Elementary School construction project.
The school system figures prominently, with articles targeting renovations and capital repairs at Brown, Glover, Village and Veterans Middle schools as well as Marblehead High School and the Eveleth School building. Separate articles address technology upgrades, other school capital needs and water distribution improvements funded through a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority interest-free loan.
Governance battles
A set of citizen petitions sponsored by William Kuker would limit municipal employment contracts to one calendar year, restore one-year elected terms for the Select Board starting in 2027 and repeal a 2024 town meeting vote that created the Department of Planning and Community Development.
Articles 34 and 35 present dueling approaches to the Public Works Committee. The Select Board would dissolve it entirely; the committee itself proposes restructuring with updated membership and a streamlined mission focused on coordination, public input and recommendations on town meeting articles involving public infrastructure.
Article 31 would add three personal days for administrative employees and accelerate the timeline for earning a fifth week of vacation. Article 19 funds a collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters Local 2043.
A nod to the town’s revolutionary roots
Rounding out the warrant, Article 40 asks voters to adopt a resolution honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary by affirming the town’s commitment to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The measure, sponsored by Kate Borten, Lynn Nadeau and others, invokes Marblehead’s tradition of resisting authoritarian rule and references the Spirit of ‘76 painting displayed in Abbot Hall and the town’s Committee of Grievances established in 1772.
BEFORE YOU GO … Our reporting remains free and open to all. It is sustained by readers who choose to support it — by contributing so that routine, document-based local reporting continues without paywalls or promotional framing. Right now, 101 readers support The Marblehead Independent with monthly or annual contributions. Click here to become an Independent member.
