Public Access to the Merrimack

Conservation Commission Approves Plan for Merrimack River Boat Ramp

The Merrimack River is a defining feature of Andover’s geography and natural landscape. The river establishes the Town’s northern boundary between Tewksbury and Lawrence, creating more than five miles of river frontage through Andover along its southern banks. Despite having one of the longest shorelines of any community that the Merrimack flows through, no public access point exists along the five-mile stretch, limiting opportunities for residents to enjoy this unique resource.

Establishing public access and unlocking new recreational opportunities along the Merrimack has been an aspiration of the Town and open space advocates for decades. Now, through a concerted effort initiated in recent years, a plan has been developed to create a boat ramp, seasonal docks, and parking on the Merrimack, accessible from a public drive at 53 River Road. The long anticipated project reached an important milestone as the Conservation Commission voted to approve the plan at its March 21 meeting.

March for Meals

Town Officials Join Meals on Wheels Delivery Team to Highlight Program's Success

Each March, Andover Elder Services joins a nationwide network of community-based programs that deliver Meals on Wheels to homebound senior residents in recognizing March for Meals. The month-long awareness effort seeks to highlight the program’s success in addressing isolation and hunger among seniors, and to expand local participation in the program among both volunteers and meal recipients.

The Meals on Wheels program run by Andover Elder Services is among the most active in the region, preparing and packaging more than eighty meals per day from the Robb Center’s commercial kitchen. In 2022, more than 25,000 meals were delivered to 174 participating homebound seniors across Andover. The program is powered by a dedicated group of volunteers who support the Robb Center’s staff, including 24 volunteer drivers who logged more than 20,000 miles reaching seniors in the one-year span.

On March 21, Town of Andover officials got a hands-on look at the program’s impact, joining forces with seasoned Meals on Wheels volunteers to complete delivery routes across the community.

Climate Action & Sustainability Plan Survey
Town Seeks Input from Community on Climate &

Sustainability Priorities

Director of Sustainability Joyce Losick-Yang has announced the release of a Climate Action & Sustainability Plan survey, intended to gather input from students, businesses, renters and homeowners to around the community’s climate and sustainability priorities.

Results from the survey will inform the development of the Town of Andover’s first Climate Action and Sustainability Plan. The plan will identify and prioritize actions to achieve long-term and interim emissions reduction goals that align with the State’s Clean Energy and Climate Plan, which seeks to incrementally reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. It is intended that the plan will also incorporate climate resilience best practices, and ensure diversity, equity and inclusion in all proposed climate actions.

The survey is available online at the link below, and takes about ten minutes to complete. Responses must be submitted by Wednesday, April 5.

Town Hosts Workshop Outlining Recodification Process

The Town of Andover’s Zoning Bylaw is a comprehensive document that regulates development and growth across the community. Adopted by Town Meeting, the document is a fundamental tool in ensuring that development occurs in a way that is consistent with the community’s goals and objectives. The Zoning Bylaw divides the Town into residential, commercial, and industrial districts, and establishes guidelines for each, serving as a critical guide for land use decisions made by the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Periodically, a wholesale review and reorganization of the document becomes necessary to ensure that it remains clear, easy-to-follow, and effective in managing growth in the community. This process, known as recodification, last took place in Andover in 2001.

Much has changed in the more than two decades since, including significant amendments to the Bylaw, like the creation of the Historic Mill Overlay District, prompting the need for a recodification. For the past year and a half, the Division of Planning and Economic Development has undertaken a thorough review and restructuring of the document, and will be asking residents to approve a recodified Zoning Bylaw at this year’s Annual Town Meeting.

The Andover Select Board has signed the warrant for the 2023 Annual Town Meeting, finalizing the material that will be considered at this year's meeting. Town Meeting will begin on May 1 at 7:00 PM, and will be held at the J. Everett Collins Center for the Performing Arts at Andover High School, 100 Shawsheen Road.

All registered voters are eligible to attend and vote at Town Meeting. The deadline to register for this year's Town Meeting is April 21, 2023.

More information about warrant articles and participating in the Annual Town Meeting will be publicized here in the Bartlet Street Dispatch, on the Town's social media channels, and on Andoverma.gov in the coming weeks. The Finance Committee Report, detailing all warrant articles and the recommendations of pertinent Town boards and Committees will be sent to all households in Andover in late April.

Andover Police Department Welcomes Four New Officers

Four new members of the Andover Police Department were officially welcomed on Wednesday, March 22 as Officer John Beal, Officer Rhiannon Ormsby, Officer Rachael Mini, and Officer Matthew Belluche were sworn in at Town Offices. The new officers graduated from the Police Academy earlier this month, and are currently participating in field training alongside senior officers.