MFCC at a Glance

The Planning Board has extensively studied and promoted what they refer to as their multi-family conservation cluster plan, or MFCC.

This plan calls for creating 32 or more rezoning overlays throughout town on land already developed. These properties could theoretically be redeveloped into small clusters of 3 units or more.

The top 3 photos below are from the Loomis Street MBTA development in Bedford.

Zoning overlay of areas currently
under consideration &
the risk of increased density .

The MBTA law allows up to 15 units to be constructed by right, which means the town’s zoning cannot impose a more restrictive limit. The Planning Board’s MFCC plan assumes that Title V will allow them to limit the number of units to three. However, the law does not permit them to do so with zoning bylaws, and there are ways to develop for more density with newer septic technologies that are already available. Also, if a public wastewater treatment facility was constructed, there would be nothing to constrain the development of 15 housing units on an acre.

Bad for Preservation

The cluster plan insidiously seeks to sow density housing projects all over the town, blighting pastoral vistas and historical properties.

Bad for Sustainability

Unlike new housing, a cluster development fills up landfills

with demolition debris.

Bad for Abutters

If you are next to a cluster, you’re looking at 15 new neighbors

right on your doorstep with no added buffer

Bad for Health & Safety

The cluster plan increases population in neighborhoods that were never designed for high density leading to water shortages, septic failures

and road safety issues.

Bad for Your Taxes

Clusters are really bad, because they remove empty-nester homes from the tax base that subsidize households with school age kids.