BREAKING: North Middlesex Calls Special Town Meeting on Sept. 25 — Major Zoning and Housing Decisions on the Table

By The ClearScope Network | @ClearScopeNet

Residents of North Middlesex, Massachusetts will have the opportunity to weigh in on a series of major local planning and zoning decisions during a Special Town Meeting scheduled for:

🗓️ Thursday, September 25, 2025
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 North Middlesex Regional High School Auditorium

The meeting will cover six separate articles that touch on land conservation, housing development, historic preservation, and election transparency.

📄 What’s On the Agenda?

The meeting will feature six articles, several of which are directly tied to the town’s compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, a Massachusetts law requiring cities and towns served by the MBTA to update zoning laws to allow for multi-family housing near transit hubs.

📌 Residents can review key materials in advance:

View the official warrant for the meeting

https://cms3.revize.com/revize/townsend/Town%20Clerk/Warrant%20-%20Special%20Town%20Meeting%209-25-25%20(posted).pdf?t=202509111124510&t=202509111124510

Learn more about the MBTA Communities Act from the Land Use Department

https://www.townsendma.gov/news_detail_T21_R201.php

Summary of Articles:

Article 1 – Proposes transferring care, custody, and control of a parcel on 0 Dudley Road (Map 19, Block 80, Lot 0) from the Select Board to the Conservation Commission.

Article 2 – Proposes the creation of a Multi-Family Overlay District along Fitchburg Road, permitting multi-family housing as of right subject to defined standards for site planning, building scale, landscaping, parking, and related criteria. It also amends the Zoning Bylaw by updating certain definitions and removing occupancy limits. These changes are intended to bring the Town into compliance with the MBTA Communities Zoning Requirement under M.G.L. c. 40A, §3A.

Article 3 – Proposes expanding the new Multi-Family Overlay District to also allow single-family homes to be built by right in the overlay district. It would update related definitions and dimensional standards to reflect this change.

Article 4 – Proposes amending the Historic Districts Bylaw (Chapter 54) to add an enforcement section authorizing the Building Inspector and the Historic District Commission to take legal action to ensure compliance or prevent violations.

Article 5 – Proposes that the Town accept Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 53, Section 18B, which requires the Town to provide and mail explanatory information about ballot questions to each household before an election.

Article 6 – A citizen’s petition proposing amendments to the Zoning Bylaw to prohibit apartment/multifamily buildings on two specified parcels (Map 10, Parcels 52 and 70) and to exclude these parcels from open-space multifamily development provisions.

This Special Town Meeting presents a critical opportunity for residents to help shape the future of housing, land use, and civic policy in North Middlesex. All registered voters are encouraged to attend and participate.

For updates and analysis, follow @ClearScopeNet as we continue to cover the decisions impacting your local community.

COMING UP: Townsend Public Library Hosts Truck-a-Palooza on Sept. 20 - Anyone is invited!

 By The ClearScope Network | @ClearScopeNet

Mark your calendars! The Town of Townsend, Massachusetts is getting ready for Truck-a-Palooza on Saturday, September 20, 2025 - in the Townsend Library Parking Lot!

Trucks of all kinds will be in the library parking lot for you to explore!

• Used Toy Sale

• Pop corn and bake sale

• Petting Zoo

• Vendors and crafters

• 
  

Proceeds go to the Friends of the Townsend Library

Are you interested in joining the craft fair? Please email Laura: ladoell@gmail.com

Do you have a vehicle you'd like to show off? Please email Karen: clem6six@verizon.net 

No Registration Required

North Middlesex’s “Patriot Card” Controversy: A Paywall on Student Involvement?

By The ClearScope Network | @ClearScopeNet

TOWNSEND, MA – When the students of North Middlesex Regional High School (NMRHS) walked into their first few weeks of the 2025-2026 school year, they weren’t greeted with school spirit, excitement, or empowerment. Instead, they were greeted by a strict policy rollout and dozens of new changes that grow more unpopular by the day. 

One of these new requirements, the Activity or "Patriot card" we now know more about thanks to a schoolwide email sent out on September 14, 2025 - which informed students that participation in most school clubs and extracurriculars will now cost them $75, to be paid through the Arbiter Registration system. Dubbed the Activity Card or “Patriot Card,” it’s already sending shockwaves across the student body and faculty alike. And, as students are starting to understand, this fee is not optional for most clubs.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a minor administrative update. This is a policy that threatens to completely reshape the culture of extracurricular life at North Middlesex. 

A Club Culture Under Siege

Historically, extracurricular clubs at NMRHS have been inclusive, enriching spaces that allowed students to explore passions, build leadership skills, and contribute to their community. But with the introduction of the Activity Card, this accessibility is crumbling.

Students who once participated in multiple clubs are now being forced to pick and choose—or drop out altogether. Some club advisors are reportedly dismayed, seeing dwindling interest and membership in what should be the peak of back-to-school engagement.

A few select clubs are exempt from the Activity/Patriot Card requirement, but the overwhelming majority of other clubs are not. Even Student Council, a group that should champion student voice, requires members to pay to participate. Ironically, students on Council, who volunteer their time and effort to represent the school, are now being asked to pay to serve—a move that has already led to resignations from within the group.

Spirit is Sinking

If administration thought this would be a smooth roll-out, they were sorely mistaken. School spirit is plummeting, fast.

Evidence? Just take a look at the recent Senior Week Planning Survey. Sent out to the Class of 2026 on September 4th, the form had received only 15 responses by September 12th. In a class of over one hundred, only a handful of students even bothered to voice their opinions. This isn't apathy—it's disillusionment. Students are disengaging because they no longer feel heard and no longer feel proud of their school in the same way they have in previous years.

This level of student detachment speaks volumes about the administration's failure to involve students in meaningful conversations about the direction of their school.

Arbiter: Pay to Play

As per the emails sent out by administration, all club, activity, and arts registration must now take place via the Arbiter platform. This system—designed for athletic and activity registration—now functions as the school’s paywall for student engagement.

The Bigger Picture

What’s happening at North Middlesex isn’t just about a card or a parking fee. It’s about student voice being ignored, about school leadership pushing forward with top-down policies, and about community stakeholders—students, parents, even staff—being left out of the conversation.

The Patriot Card was never voted on by students. Students were never consulted. Teachers weren’t asked. Parents weren’t informed until after the fact. It’s not a partnership—it’s a decree.

And the result? A school where school spirit is at an all-time low, where students are leaving clubs, where class surveys are ignored, and where Seniors feel more disconnected from their school than ever before.

We Are the ClearScope Network. And We’re Listening.

If administration won’t hear you, we will.

This is why the ClearScope Network exists. To document, to advocate, and to amplify the voices of the students and community members who are being pushed aside.

The students of NMRHS are smart. They’re capable. They care. But they need to be heard—not managed. They need a seat at the table, not a bill at the door.

We stand with students. We stand with teachers. We stand with anyone who believes a public school should not operate like a pay-to-play club. If leadership wants to rebuild school spirit, the first step is simple:

Start listening.

Until then, we’ll be here. Watching. Reporting.