Exactly three weeks after getting the big MBTA Communities overlay zoning bylaw passed, the Planning Board discussed their plans for taking on two new sets of zoning changes.
One of them is targeted at making high vacancy industrial areas more welcoming to new businesses. The other is to comply with another by-right multi-unit housing zoning law passed by the state with a tight turnaround.
Here are the highlights from those discussions last week. (Both items are back on the board’s November 4th agenda for more discussion this Monday night.)
A friendlier Industrial Park Zone
At the October 21st meeting, the board discussed the need to work on “zoning amendments” to be more business friendly. Upon questioning, Chair Meme Luttrell explained that this effort is separate from a larger zoning overhaul for Route 9 that the Town is pursuing grant funding to support.
This will be smaller improvements and low hanging fruit the board can deal with in the shorter term. It will mainly target the Industrial Park Zone.
One major focus will be modernizing the list of allowed uses in the zone. New uses could include gyms, fitness studios, and retail businesses. Member Marnie Hoolahan highlighted that the outdated uses in the current bylaw were written in 1993. They include industries like newspaper printing and publishing that aren’t around anymore. She stressed that the board needs to “skate to where the puck will be rather than where it is today.”
Hoolahan said that she reached out to Alan Belniak who pointed her to some resources to look at and ways to group types of businesses. Belniak ran an unsuccessful, last minute write-in campaign against Hoolahan in the spring.
At last week’s meeting, Hoolahan noted that when Belniak lobbied to be on the board, one of his concerns had been the need to update outdated zoning uses. She believed it was important to get the perspectives of him and “his constituents”.
At the recommendation of the Building Commissioner, they will also look at relaxing parking requirements reduce paved spacer required and allow shared parking and banked parking.*
And they will work on changes to move some Special Permit granting authorities to the Planning Board for projects that require Site Plan Review. The purpose of that is to streamline permitting to be the One Stop Shop for new businesses.
Luttrell said that the effort is with collaboration from the Select Board. Luttrell and Town Planner Karina Quinn previously met with Select Board members Al Hamilton and Marguerite Landry and the Building/Zoning Department’s Chris Lund and Lara Davis to talk through some of the issues. (The Select Board’s goal is to help increase the commercial tax base in town.)
Luttrell said her next assignment was to read through the Town’s Zoning Bylaws to find all of the parking codes. She quipped she would get right on that after she drafted the ADU bylaw.
And speaking of that. . .
ADU Bylaw
In August, the legislature passed (and Governor signed) a law that will go in effect this February. Under it, certain zoning restrictions on adding accessory units to single family homes will no longer be enforceable.
Many homeowners will now have the right to add one ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) to their lot without a special/discretionary permit:
ADUs can be within an existing primary residence, like converting a basement into an apartment, attached to a primary residence as a new construction addition, or completely detached, like a cottage or converted detached garage in a backyard.
There are some restrictions for the project that fall under the new law for ADUs:
- Maintain a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the principal dwelling sufficient to meet the requirements of the state building code for safe egress;
- Be either no larger than half the gross floor area of the principal dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller;
- Meet municipal restrictions, including, but not limited to, additional size restrictions and restrictions or prohibitions on short-term rental.
And the Town may choose to “impose reasonable restrictions and requirements” for:
- Site Plan Review
- Title V requirements
- Regulations concerning dimensional setbacks and the bulk and height of structures
- Short-term rentals
While well intentioned, the timing of the law being passed and when it goes into effect means towns across the state have to scramble yet again to quickly change their zoning laws — and at a time when many were still dealing with passing the MBTA zoning laws.
In Southborough’s case, the Planning Board made clear last week that while the changes aren’t radical, the turnaround to meet the Annual Town Meeting will be very challenging. And that will still leave the Town out of compliance for a couple of months.
On the 21st, Planning discussed the state law and its implications with the Zoning Board of Appeals. There were some details that both boards were clear on. But there were that left both boards with questions. Some of the gray areas related to single family homes in zones that aren’t residential, the applicability for group homes, and whether the footage includes stairwells and storage areas.
Planning will continue to seek clarity on some details. Meanwhile, Luttrell will work on a draft to discuss with her board then share with the ZBA for their feedback. Their goal is to be able to open hearings in January to be ready for the April Annual Town Meeting.
Stay tuned for more in the future on that zoning effort. For now, below are some of the high level details from the state that were shared in the meeting:
*I was unfamiliar with “banked parking”. From my internet searches, it appears land-banked parking can require developers to reserve part of a parcel as open space that can be converted to parking if increased demand proves more is needed in the future.
