By Sara Withee
(Oct. 26, 2026) – Residents voted to pass all 12 articles on the warrant at this week’s Special Town Meeting, including a temporary moratorium on data centers and amendments to the town’s Inclusionary Housing Bylaw.
The Town Moderator called the meeting to order at 7 pm on Monday in the Ayer Shirley Regional High School Auditorium. A Select Board member made the motion to dissolve the meeting around 8:30 pm.
Article 6, which proposed a tree preservation bylaw, received the most attention. As a general bylaw, this required a simple majority and ultimately passed 54-42. After voice votes on various motions, resident tellers were called on to take hand counts as residents stood up with paper green cards to vote. The tellers reported results to the Town Clerk.
Council on Aging. As Ayer moves closer to a new senior center, residents passed an article to increase the membership of the Council on Aging’s Board of Directors from 5 to 7 residents.
Dog Park. The Ayer Dog Park will be getting a new shade shelter after residents approved the use of Community Preservation Funds.
Crypto Currency Machines (Virtual Currency Kiosks). Residents passed a ban on crypto currency machines, presented by the Deputy Police Chief, who reported residents have lost an estimated $440,000 to anonymous and difficult-to-solve fraud. Westford, Waltham, Ipswich and South Hadley have passed similar bans.
Article 9 asked residents to approve a temporary moratorium on data center development. Residents quickly passed the article, which establishes an 18-month moratorium on data centers through May 1, 2028. The Planning Board will now start researching potential impacts and developing regulations. Ayer joins a number of communities in reviewing data centers.
In passing Article 11, residents adopted changes to the Inclusionary Housing Bylaw. An example of this bylaw at work: a developer recently proposed 32 apartments on Littleton Road, then proposed 3 affordable units.
This article proposed a few changes. A key change: the article lowered the maximum income for proposed rental units in a tiered way. Previously, developers have proposed affordable units at a default 80 percent AMI (Area Median Income) based on the HUD Metro Fair Market Area limit requirements.
With the passage of Article 11, developers will be required to propose the first two affordable units at a maximum 60 percent AMI. After that, affordable units must meet a maximum 50 percent AMI. For perspective, a first-year Ayer firefighter with EMT training earns an estimated $63,582 and would come in over the 50 percent AMI limit for a one-bedroom, but under the 60 percent limit. This comes from a document the Ayer Community & Economic Development Office prepared for the Planning Board’s public hearing in September.
This is meaningful because Ayer falls within the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area. The Area Median Income for Ayer is calculated across a region that includes Boston, Cambridge and communities with higher incomes.
Up until now, affordable units in Ayer could potentially exceed market rates and the amendments will help address that, the town’s Community Development Program Manager said in her Town Meeting presentation.