Article 9 was approved, authorizing the town to spend $2.42 million in Community Preservation Act funds to acquire 18.8 acres of land at Zero Main Street for conservation. The purchase prevents the construction of a 10-lot subdivision that would have required over 2,000 truckloads of fill and a wetland crossing. An amendment introduced by Planning Board Vice Chair Katie O'Donnell to strike an "affordable housing" component from the purchase was successful, meaning the land will be kept entirely for open space.

Motion: The open space committee and the community preservation committee move that the town vote... to appropriate the sum of $2,420,000 to enable the town to acquire a certain parcel of land known as Zero Main Street... said land to be managed by the Marshfield Conservation Commission.

Vote: Passed by 2/3 Majority

Supporters of the purchase argued that protecting the land creates a contiguous 158-acre wildlife corridor and forest. Some residents, however, questioned spending millions to stop a relatively small number of single-family homes, while others lamented the removal of the affordable housing possibility. The article ultimately secured the necessary two-thirds majority to proceed with the acquisition.