Village Overlay Districts map
This map shows zoning throughout Lexington. To satisfy the state's new multi-family zoning requirements, the Planning Board has proposed new zoning districts that include three different height tiers: low-rise, middle-rise and high-rise village overlay districts. The proposed multi-family zoning is labeled on the map as VLO, VMO and VHO areas. The approximately 82 acres Lexington must include to meet the state's requirements represent less than 1% of the Town's total acreage. (Courtesy of Lexington Planner Molly Belanger and GIS Database Administrator Judy Baldasaro)

Hello, Lexington!

Good morning and welcome to this week’s LexObserver news roundup.

Apologies to anyone who had trouble with our Community Conversation event link in last week’s newsletter: Here’s the working link! In case you missed it, this is the key event information, which you can also find on our website:

Community Conversation Feb. 9

How can our education system foster a sense of racial and social justice in our schools and throughout our communities?

This is the first in a series of conversations co-sponsored by the Lexington Lyceum Advocates and LexObserver.

Join our panelists to talk, share, question, listen, and learn! Learn more and buy tickets here.

Feb. 9, 7:00-8:45 p.m.
Lexington Community Center

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Thanks for reading, and here’s this week’s news.

In this issue:

Planning Board votes to bring multi-family zoning proposal designed to comply with new state law to public hearing Feb. 1

Proposed districts fall under three different height tiers; new zoning would include Lexington Center, East Lexington, multiple Bedford Street areas

Over the past few months, the Planning Board has dedicated several public work sessions to developing a proposal that would bring Lexington into compliance with the state’s new transit-oriented multi-family zoning requirements.

Keep reading
by Sophie Culpepper

Letter to the Editor

To submit a letter to the editor, please contact letters@lexobserver.org. Thank you!

Community Submissions

To submit a community announcement, please contact community@lexobserver.org. Thank you!

That’s a wrap for today. Was this roundup useful to you? What do you want to see in this email next week? Let us know, and please ask your friends to sign up and DONATE too! Reach out to sophie@lexobserver.org with tips and questions anytime. As always, you can also check out and share our website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. Thanks so much for reading and have a great weekend!


Nicco Mele, Sophie Culpepper, Erin Sandler-Rathe and the LexObserver Team

Edited by Erin Sandler-Rathe

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