Dighton Open Space Committee Backs Higher Conservation Requirements, Density Bonuses

DIGHTON — June 4, 2025 — Dighton's Open Space Committee heard a draft overhaul of the town's conservation subdivision bylaw and signaled support for raising the open space minimum and adding a developer density bonus. Michelle Tinger, assistant director of environmental planning at SRPEDD, presented a redlined draft produced under a state fiscal year 2023 planning assistance grant, noting that Dighton's current bylaw sets a 20 percent open space minimum — below the regional best-practice range of 40 to 50 percent — and permits up to 25 percent of that open space to consist of wetlands, a provision the draft would eliminate. The draft also includes a point-based density bonus system modeled on Rochester's bylaw, under which developers could earn up to roughly 30 percent additional units by preserving more open space, including affordable housing, or meeting infrastructure criteria. Committee Chairperson Jonathan Gale noted the town's Chapter 40B affordable housing percentage may have fallen below 4 percent, and member Leonard Hall pointed to strained water infrastructure in South Dighton as a constraint on large-scale development. SRPEDD's deadline for all board and committee feedback is June 30, with a presentation to the Conservation Commission expected between June 20 and June 26.