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Williamstown Planning Board OKs Zoning Change Proposals
By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
02:53AM / Friday, October 06, 2017
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Planning Board member Ann McCallum and Town Planner Andrew Groff review materials at Tuesday's meeting.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board on Tuesday agreed to five proposed zoning bylaw amendments to bring to November's special town meeting.
 
Some of the changes are technical "houskeeping" to existing language. One amendment makes regulations in a recently created district resemble those in other parts of town, and another increases the opportunity for multifamily housing.
 
The most discussion on Tuesday revolved around the article on multifamily housing, which would create a regulatory path for new multifamily dwellings in three zones: Limited Business, Planned Business and Southern Gateway.
 
It also would loosen the rules around "mixed use development," by allowing dwelling units above the first floor of a nonresidential use (i.e. commercial development) by right in the town's Planned Business district. Currently, such development is allowed by right in several parts of town but requires approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals in Planned Business, a district that covers the north end of Simonds Road (Route 7) and Main Street (Route 2) around the Colonial Plaza shopping plaza.
 
The expansion of opportunities for multifamily dwellings — which would still require permitting under some conditions — is tied to the work the Planning Board has been doing with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
 
Last winter, the Planning Board launched a major outreach effort to gather community input about whether and how to increase housing options in the town.
 
The board is hoping the town will go along with the idea of allowing greater housing density in some parts of town while, for now, leaving the rules unchanged in the residential districts.
 
The bylaw amendment drafted by Town Planner Andrew Groff includes a prohibition against unenclosed stairs on a street-facing side of a building and a requirement that "[v]isibility of parking from public ways should be minimized."
 
Going into Tuesday's meeting, the draft amendment included a third provision: "The surrounding neighborhood context shall be considered as an important design factor and should be respected in development of the overall project design."
 
But the members of the Planning Board decided to nix that requirement.
 
"I'm a little concerned … that this is moving us in the direction of having a sort of aesthetic veto on the part of the boards," Chris Winters said of the provision.
 
Amy Jeschawitz said she sympathized with Winters' concern but initially argued that the the "neighborhood context" provision would make the proposal more palatable to town meeting voters.
 
"I worry that not having something like that could be the hindrance," Jeschawitz said. "I agree with you, but I also want to see us be able to move forward."
 
Susan Puddester agreed.
 
"I think we just want to make [the bylaw] as appealing to people as possible," she said. "As we think about a multifamily dwelling we want it to be something that fits the neighborhood as opposed to an industrial structure."
 
Planner Ann McCallum said she thought the aesthetic provision is unnecessary in a business zone but might be appropriate if and when proposals are made for residential districts.
 
The uncertainty such aesthetic requirements create for developers was a concern for Chairman Chris Kapiloff.
 
"If you were looking at Williamstown as one of six potential places to invest and this was a hurdle you had to get over, this might mean Williamstown wouldn't be considered," Kapiloff said. "I don't think that's a business-friendly or investor-friendly add-on.
 
"With the [Zoning Board of Appeals] granting the special permit, I like the idea of the ZBA having concrete things to measure, and let's let the elected officials deal with the the popularity things. I don't think we want an appointed board judging a design aspect. … As elected officials, we can be removed every 12 months."
 
Winters continued his case by arguing that such a "neighborhood context" requirement arbitrarily would freeze the town's architecture at a moment in time.
 
"Imagine if zoning like this was passed in 1880 or earlier, and all the houses in the neighborhood were log cabins, and someone came along with stick-built housing," Winters said. "That was out of character."
 
Two of the proposed bylaw amendments the Planning Board endorsed deal with the overlay district created for Cable Mills housing project on Water Street. One bylaw will increase the size of the district to include properties on Water Street that are surrounded by the development.
 
"Cable Mills has purchased one of these [parcels], and as they look to Phase 3, they may do more of that," Groff said. "Why not expand the district to include the little 'donut hole.'? It increases the value for the people who currently own those parcels."
 
The second proposed amendment dealing with Cable Mills would change the cap on dwelling units from one based on a ratio of one dwelling to 3,500 square feet of property to a ratio of gross floor area to the lot area.
 
The change would allow increased density, allowing a maximum density similar to that in the nearby Spring Street neighborhood and promote housing in the walkable Water Street commercial district, Groff explained.
 
The final amendment that the Planning Board is recommending to town meeting deals with the town's Southern Gateway District on Cold Spring Road (Route 7).
 
When that district was created a few years ago, the use table put in place allowed hotels or motels in the district "by right," i.e. without having to go to the ZBA. Groff discovered the error and noted that the town does not allow unfettered development of hotels or motels in any other part of town. In Planned Business, for example, development over a certain square footage sends the applicant to the ZBA, as was the case for two recent Main Street hotel proposals.
 
The planners batted around a couple of square footage standards for the Southern Gateway District and finally settled on the idea of keeping it consistent with the 20,000-square foot threshold currently in place for Village Business and Planned Business.
 
"People in 10 or 20 years won't have to remember why we did something if it's all consistent," Winters pointed out.
 
The board charged Groff with revising the proposed bylaw amendments as the panel discussed and distributing them for review by the planners by Oct. 10. Kapiloff gave his colleagues until Oct. 13 to request he call a special meeting of the Planning Board to review the amendments again prior to their consideration by the Board of Selectmen, which will be asked on Oct. 23 to put them on the special town meeting warrant.
 
The Planning Board penciled in a Wednesday, Nov. 8, for the mandatory public hearing on the proposed bylaw changes. The special town meeting is planned for Nov. 14.
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