In Case You Missed It: Community Development Board
Written by: Heather Plunkett, Resident & Board Member (original post date 11/18/25)
Overview of the Community Development Board directly from the official City of Methuen Website:
The Community Development Board’s primary jurisdiction is defined in M.G.L. Ch 40A and 41. Generally, Chapter 40A relates to zoning and Chapter 41 relates to the subdivision of land. Under the city’s local zoning ordinances, the Community Development Board is responsible for all projects requiring site plan approval. The Board is the special permit granting authority for the majority of special permits, with the Zoning Board of Appeals being responsible for the remainder. The Board is the primary local Board responsible for land use planning and conducts public hearings for proposed zoning amendments.
Recap of the meeting held on Wednesday, November 12th, 2025.
https://www.instagram.com/insidemethuen/You can watch the meeting here.
https://methuentv.cablecast.tv/internetchannel/show/7643?site=2In case you missed it, the Community Development Board had a joint session with the City Council on Wednesday, November 12th, to hear a proposal on rezoning 5 to 6 parcels of land from Residential to Business Highway. The parcels in question are located on 121 through 133 Pleasant Valley Street and the structures on these parcels are single family homes. The homes are situated across the street from The Loop, which is zoned for commercial use, and this zoning use was the basis of the proposal.
Taking a full view of these parcels, it’s important to note that behind these homes sits a residential neighborhood located on Chippy Lane. During this presentation, we were able to hear from the homeowners directly involved in the rezoning, where their homes would be purchased and razed for commercial use, and from some who live on Chippy Lane, who feel this rezoning would significantly impact their neighborhood.
The homeowners on Pleasant Valley Street spoke of the noise, the dust, dirt and litter, the lack of privacy and the danger of traffic being so close to the front of their homes. The homeowners on Chippy Lane spoke of the traffic, how difficult it is now to get in and out of their neighborhood and how changing the zoning would make an already difficult issue significantly worse. They also fear increased noise, light pollution, and losing open space to commercial use. All sides have very legitimate concerns.
The role of the Community Development Board in this joint mtg and after hearing the presentation, is to make a recommendation to the City Council on whether to allow the change to Business Highway or keep it as Residential. The board members in attendance voted 4-1 to recommend keeping it as Residential.
As a sitting board member, I voted to keep it as residential and while I can’t (and won’t) speak to the reasoning of the other board members, I’m happy to share mine!
Methuen has two perpetual battles on our hands: the annual budget and a housing shortage. We need to make decisions with both battles in mind, not only for today, but for 5, 10, 20 years from now. Because this rezoning proposal was based on a hypothetical, meaning, they didn’t have a specific commercial use to present, (it could be a restaurant, it could be a bank, it could be a warehouse or it could be a car wash) I did not feel comfortable recommending a rezone. Couple that with the need for more housing, how could I recommend giving up residential space that’s already in limited supply?
This was my reasoning to recommend keeping it residential.
Ultimately, this decision sits in the hands of the City Council and if you have an opinion on this in any way, I encourage you to attend the City Council meetings to speak or send an email to your district councilor or one of the At Large councilors and let your opinion be known.
Remember, they are there to do what’s best for Methuen on your behalf, be sure to let them know how you want to be represented on this decision.
Community Development Board meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month starting at 6:30 pm, primarily via Zoom. The meetings can be viewed live on MCTV’s government channel or at a later time through MCTV’s On Demand Government channel