Zoning Recodification Working Group - Feb 1st, 2017

It would be nice if there were a single point of entry for projcts, to direct applications to the commissions they need to seek approval from. In this process, we'd have to make it very clear that the granting of one approval does guarantee the granting of other approvals.

What happens if someone gets a building permit, starts work, and then discovers they need (say) an NOI? Usually, the conservation commission will issue a stop work order for exterior work, until the person can come before the conservation commission. (The conservation commission doesn't deal with interior work, and interior work could proceed during this time.)

The town's GIS department is preparing wetland maps and address lists for the building inspector's office, to help the inspectors know when the conservation commission needs to be consulted. There's a similar GIS effort for historic districts.

There will be zoning warrant articles during this year's town meeting, and some town bylaw articles that affect construction. Two articles are to address mixed-use issues that have come to light during the past year. One article would reduce or eliminate the minimum lot area per dwelling unit requirements. This would prevent mixed use projects from having a small number of large units. The second article would increase or eliminate the maximum square footage regulation for mixed use. A third article deals with driveway slope and driveway configurations.

The ARB will have a hearing on these articles on March 13th.

There are four related articles that would change town bylaws (but not the ZBL). These would add regulations affecting large construction projects, and are based on the residential study group's good neighbor agreement.