Dedham will use a $50,000 state grant to study zoning and land use along the East Street corridor, the town announced Monday, Sept. 14.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) awarded the Planning Assistance Grant to fund the East Street Corridor Plan. The study will cover the southernmost stretch of East Street, from the Endicott Rotary to the Westwood town line.

The goal: figure out which zoning rules along the corridor should stay and which should change.

East Street connects drivers to Route 128/I-95 and two MBTA Commuter Rail stations. The Planning Board plans to hire a consultant team in fall 2026 and appoint a nine-member advisory committee to guide the work. Six of those seats will go to Dedham residents, students, business owners or property owners. The remaining three will be elected officials.

The town said application details for the committee will be posted in the weeks following the Sept. 14 announcement.

The project is modeled on the Bridge Street Corridor Plan, which the Planning Board approved 4-0 in December 2024, with Chair John Bethoney abstaining due to property ownership in the corridor. That earlier study cost $45,000, with $35,000 from the town and $10,000 from a local property owner, according to Planning Board meeting minutes from April 2025.

Planning Director Jeremy Rosenberger pitched the East Street study to the board at that April 2025 meeting as one of three options for state grant funding. He recommended a different project at the time, the Legacy/Elm Street study, but called the Bridge Street process "very successful" and said it "could be replicated for East Street."

Bethoney suggested at the same meeting that developer mitigation contributions could fund the East Street work. The town ultimately secured the $50,000 EEA grant instead.

Once the study wraps up, the Planning Board can endorse the plan and sponsor zoning amendments at a future Town Meeting. The board took that path with Bridge Street, bringing zoning changes to the spring 2025 Town Meeting.

The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2027. Residents interested in serving on the advisory committee can contact the Dedham Planning Department at (781) 751-9240.