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Town officials are exploring Tedesco Country Club as a potential site for MBTA Communities Act compliance, modeling the golf course as part of a renewed effort to meet state multifamily zoning rules while minimizing the likelihood of development.
Select Board Chair Dan Fox told the Independent that the town is evaluating multiple parcels, with Tedesco emerging as a strategic option that could meet state requirements without triggering the neighborhood impacts that fueled some but not all of the opposition to Marblehead’s previous zoning plan.
“The likelihood of it getting developed is very low,” Fox said. “However, if it did get developed, it would be in an area that would reduce traffic and would be more in character with that part of town.”
The approach reflects a careful political calculation as town leaders work to restore eligibility for millions of dollars in state grants. Voters repealed the prior compliance plan 3,642-3,297 in a July 8 referendum.
That plan had designated 58.4 acres across three districts: 29.8 acres at Tioga Way, 20.6 acres along Pleasant Street and eight acres off Broughton Road. Opposition centered on Pleasant Street and Tioga Way, with residents citing concerns about traffic, density and neighborhood character. Broughton Road generated little controversy.
The MBTA Communities Act requires 177 transit-served communities to zone for multifamily housing. Attorney General Andrea Campbell has warned that enforcement lawsuits will begin in January 2026 for noncompliant municipalities.
In a phone interview with the Independent, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer acknowledged the strategy during discussions with Barrett Planning Group, the consultant hired to model compliance alternatives.
“If there’s a way to be compliant that minimizes any impact, that would be favorable to some,” Kezer said, noting that Tedesco’s private ownership makes actual development unlikely.
In Marblehead, property records show Tedesco Country Club owns 30.6 acres at 154 Tedesco St., assessed at $14.5 million for fiscal 2025. The club also owns a 0.6-acre park lot at 151 Tedesco St., valued at $771,900.
Founded in 1900 and incorporated three years later, the country club occupies about eight parcels totaling roughly 175 acres — 32 in Marblehead and 143 in Swampscott. Its 18-hole course and practice facilities cover 152 acres that extend across both towns.
Fox emphasized that Tedesco is one of several sites under review and that any final proposal must include other districts to meet the state requirement that Marblehead zone land capable of supporting 897 multifamily units.
“Tedesco alone is not big enough,” Fox said. “You still have to use one of the other districts.”
Fox said town officials have already given Tedesco Country Club a courtesy heads-up that its property is being reviewed as part of the MBTA Communities compliance modeling.
“Just to give them a heads up that we are looking at their property,” Fox said, adding that the club was informed only that the land was among several parcels under evaluation. The Independent has reached out to Tedesco Country Club for comment more than once and will update this story if the club responds.
Planning Board Chair Robert Schaeffner has said Broughton Road will likely remain in any revised plan, describing it as “noncontroversial.” The board is exploring alternatives to Pleasant Street and Tioga Way, the two districts that drew the most opposition.
The new effort follows the state’s rejection of Marblehead’s exemption request in September. Housing Secretary Edward Augustus wrote that “there are no exceptions or exemptions from the MBTA Communities Law.”
Noncompliance has already blocked the town from competing for discretionary grants, including $735,000 for a seawall study, $867,000 for a rail trail design and nearly $1 million for an Abbot Hall museum conversion. The Council on Aging also lost vehicle replacement and medical transportation grants.
On Oct. 14, the Planning Board voted unanimously to appoint member Marc Liebman as liaison for the compliance effort, coordinating between Barrett Planning Group, town officials and residents.
“We’re trying to develop a plan that works and meets all the needs of compliance without really stimulating the pinch points that bother people,” said Liebman at the October meeting. “We’re leading this, whereas the last time it was a planner doing this without any input from the board.”
Schaeffner said the board still supports its original plan, which Town Meeting approved in May before the referendum overturned it.
“We fully stand behind what the other plan did, because we don’t think it would affect the town negatively,” he said. “We’re looking at alternative plans because we think the best thing is for the town to conform to 3A, right, because of the benefits that we get for that financially.”
By modeling a site such as Tedesco — where some officials say redevelopment is improbable — officials hope to satisfy state compliance requirements while addressing voter concerns about traffic and neighborhood character.
Fox cautioned that details remain preliminary and that the town is still determining which parcel combinations would best meet state rules and public expectations.
“At this point, this one seems the most feasible,” Fox said of Tedesco, noting that officials are “running models on a couple other places” as well.
Fox said the town expects to clarify its approach within two weeks as Barrett Planning Group completes initial modeling and officials continue outreach.
“Our plan is to make sure that we can comply with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities guidelines,” Fox said. “We’re just running the numbers and making sure with our consultant."
