Rehoboth's Nov. 17 town meeting weighs tripling the Community Preservation surcharge and banning data centers

REHOBOTH Rehoboth town meeting voters will decide Nov. 17 whether to triple the town's Community Preservation surcharge and ban data centers in every zoning district, and the last day to register is Saturday.

The special town meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17, has 13 articles, according to the town moderator's walk-through at the Board of Selectmen's Nov. 2 meeting, recorded by Rehoboth TV. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Heritage Meeting Hall, the former museum at the Francis Farm complex, officials told the board, with check-in opening at 6 p.m. The warrant was not on the town's Town Meeting Warrants page when we checked Thursday morning, so the dollar figures below come from the Finance Committee's Oct. 22 meeting, also on Rehoboth TV, and could change. We have asked the town for the warrant.

The surcharge is the article that would reach every tax bill. The two zoning articles can be acted on only if at least 75 people are in the hall, the moderator said, so a thin crowd late in the evening could stop them. Most of the spending articles draw on $3.29 million in free cash the state certified Sept. 17, a total officials told the Finance Committee is unusually high and will not come every year.

What the surcharge would cost

Article 9 would raise the surcharge from 1% to 3% of the property tax bill, and it passes town meeting by a simple majority, the moderator said. Members of the Community Preservation Committee explained the request on Rehoboth TV's "Rehoboth After Dark" program, posted Nov. 4. The 1% rate dates to 2009 and brings in about $300,000 a year, one member said on the program, along with a small state match. The committee also hopes to adopt a $100,000 exemption, so the first $100,000 of a property's value would not count toward the surcharge.

The state reports the average single-family home in Rehoboth was valued at $610,445 in fiscal 2026, with a tax bill of $6,623 at $10.85 per $1,000. On that home, a 3% surcharge with the $100,000 exemption would come to about $166 a year, or about $42 a quarter, by SC360's calculation. Without the exemption, 3% of that bill would be about $199, and a 1% surcharge with no exemption would be about $66. We are asking the town to confirm how the current surcharge is figured.

Town meeting is only the first step. Under the state Community Preservation Act, a change in the surcharge has to be approved by town meeting and then accepted by voters, with the question going on the ballot at the next regular town or state election. Residents with low incomes and seniors with low or moderate incomes can apply for exemptions if the town adopts them, the law says, and committee members said on the program that people facing a hardship could apply.

Why the committee wants it

Towns at 1% sit at the bottom when the state hands out its Community Preservation match, committee members said on the program, and moving to 3% would put Rehoboth in the top tier. The match could reach 50%, they said, though it depends on what the Legislature provides each year and is not guaranteed. During the Nov. 2 selectmen's meeting, one official said the higher rate would triple what the town brings in and give the state the option to add up to 50%.

The money has paid for repairs at the Hornbine School, preservation of town records going back to 1643, and development rights on farmland, committee members said. They said they have not been able to recommend some parcels offered to the town because they lacked the funds, and that land prices keep rising while the rate has stayed the same since 2009.

The data center ban

Article 10 would add a definition of a data center to the zoning bylaw and list data centers as a prohibited use in all of the town's zoning districts, according to the Planning Board's legal notice. A building would count as a data center when more than 25% of its floor area holds server racks and related equipment, or when the board finds that housing servers is its main purpose. It needs a two-thirds vote with at least 75 people present, the moderator said.

The Planning Board closed its public hearing on Oct. 28 and voted to send the bylaw to town meeting, with members answering aye in a roll call, according to the Rehoboth TV recording. No draft had been posted when we first reported the hearing in October. Speakers at the hearing focused on water, saying most of the town relies on wells drilled into bedrock, and on the load a data center would put on the power lines. One member said he knew of no one proposing a data center in Rehoboth and that it was better to be prepared. Board members told residents their vote changes nothing by itself: the bylaw takes effect only if town meeting adopts it.

The accessory apartment rule

Article 8 is also a zoning amendment that needs a two-thirds vote and 75 people present. A town official told selectmen Nov. 2 that it is the ADU bylaw and that the Planning Board would take it up Nov. 4. The only zoning hearing on the board's Nov. 4 agenda would bar selling an accessory dwelling unit apart from the main house. The notice's text reads: "No ADU shall be separated in ownership from the principal dwelling by condominium conversion, cooperative creation or any other form of separate equity interest. The principal dwelling and the ADU shall not be sold separately." We have not seen a record of what the board did at that hearing and are asking the town. Its recording was not yet on demand from Rehoboth TV on Thursday.

PFAS testing near two fire stations

The largest item in Article 2 is $300,000 for PFAS cleanup, part of $360,300 in budget changes the Finance Committee backed Oct. 22. A town official told the committee that monitoring wells were dug at the North and South fire stations and that 39 homes within 500 feet of them are being tested, with the town supplying bottled water until the results are known. The $300,000 is the estimate if all 39 test above the limit, she said, and she would lower the request if a consultant's number comes in less.

The town has put $500,000 into a separate PFAS stabilization fund, and she advised against touching it, saying she expects the state to tighten its limit and the testing to spread to more homes. She said Rehoboth has found no outside money because the programs are aimed at public water systems, and the town's homes are on private wells. She said she has raised it with the offices of state Sen. Kelly Dooner and state Rep. Steven Howitt, and with U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss's office.

Two fire trucks

Article 3 would finance two fire vehicles for $1,199,738, with a first payment of $300,000 from the capital stabilization fund, under the motion the Finance Committee passed Oct. 22 with one member voting no. Fire Chief Graves told the committee the main engine at Station 3 was pulled from service for frame rot, leaving a 1998 reserve engine on the front line. Bulldog of Westport can deliver both trucks in three to four months for less than one engine from other builders, which quoted about $1.3 million and three years, he said. Committee members debated paying more up front, and finance staff advised keeping free cash in reserve, noting a later town meeting could pay the note off early.

The rest of the warrant

Articles at the Rehoboth special town meeting, as the moderator and officials described them Oct. 22 and Nov. 2 (the posted warrant may differ; amounts are from the Finance Committee Oct. 22)

Article	What it does	Vote needed	Money and source
1	Pays prior year bills	Nine-tenths	$2,057.65, free cash
2	Adjusts this year's budget: PFAS remediation, highway and building maintenance contracts, roadside trees, a fire chief vacation payout	Majority	$360,300, free cash
3	Two fire vehicles	Two-thirds	$1,199,738 financed; first payment $300,000, capital stabilization
4	Main computer server, 26 desktop computers, police dispatch console	Majority	$130,500, free cash
5	Lets the town sign a 10-year police body-worn camera and video storage contract	Majority	Police budget
6, 7	Veterans property tax exemptions under the state HERO Act	Majority	Not stated
8	Zoning: accessory apartment ownership	Two-thirds, 75 present	None stated
9	Community Preservation surcharge	Majority, then ballot	Surcharge on tax bills
10	Zoning: data center ban	Two-thirds, 75 present	None stated
11	Raises the Park Commission's yearly spending cap from $15,000 to $40,000; no taxpayer money, officials said	Majority	Existing $46,000 revolving fund
12	New revolving account for the fire training center, paid by outside agencies' fees and donations	Two-thirds	Fees, donations
13	Home rule petition letting a firefighter serve to age 70 with a yearly physical	Majority	None stated

The Finance Committee voted to recommend Articles 1 through 5 on Oct. 22 and left the others without a recommendation, and it plans to meet again Nov. 17. One of the town's two police dispatch consoles is down, officials said. State Sen. Kelly Dooner would carry Article 13 to the Legislature if town meeting approves it, officials said.

What happens next

Saturday, Nov. 7, is the last day to register to vote at the meeting, according to the town clerk's calendar. Selectmen meet again Monday, Nov. 16, at Francis Hall, the night before town meeting. Questions about registration go to the town clerk at TownClerk@RehobothMA.gov. We will add the warrant and any changed amounts when the town provides them.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.