OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Town Hall Annex
19 Moore Street
Belmont, Massachusetts 02478-0900
617-489-8229, fax; 617-489-9156
BELMONT PLANNING BOARD TOWN MEETING REPORT
ON PROPOSED ZONING AMENDMENTS
LB II & LB III SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS
AND
INCLUSIONARY ZONING BY-LAW
For the 2003 Annual Town Meeting
Pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 40A, Section 5, the Belmont Planning Board held two public hearing on proposed zoning amendments. The first public hearing was held on November 26, 2002, in Conference Room #3, Town Hall, and the second was held on March 25, 2003, in the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Hall. Sitting for the Board were Joseph Barrell, Chair, James Heigham, Clerk, Deborah Emello, Karl Haglund, and Andrew McClurg. At the conclusion of the public hearings, the Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend full approval of the proposed amendments. The reasoning for their decisions follows:
LBII & LBIII SIDE YARD SETBACK AMENDMENTS:
The Proposal:
The proposed zoning amendments would reduce the side-yard setback for two non-residential buildings within the LB II and LB III zoning districts from twenty (20) feet to zero (0) feet. As a result, the side-yard setbacks between two non-residential buildings would be eliminated. The proposed amendment would not change the minimum setback requirement of twenty (20) feet, (or the building height), for non-residential buildings that abut residential districts.
The Reasoning:
During discussion of the potential redevelopment of the former Volkswagen dealership on Trapelo Road, a problem was identified with the LBIII side yard setback requirement. In the unique circumstance when two new, non-residential buildings are located adjacent to one another, the required setback becomes 40 feet, 20 feet for each building. This provision creates an incredibly large gap between the buildings that breaks up the streetscape, detracts from the continuity of the stores and creates a “mall like” appearance, which is detrimental to enhancing a pedestrian streetscape. These negative impacts were probably not foreseen by its original authors and contradict current planning dogma.
INCLUSIONARY ZONING BY-LAW:
Substantially Different:
Before the Planning Board could act on the proposed Inclusionary Zoning By-Law, it had to determine that the current proposal was substantially different than the previous petition that was defeated at the 2002 Annual Town Meeting. It did so by a unanimous vote.
Roger Colton, Chairman of the Fair Housing Committee, explained the differences between the proposed By-Law and the previous proposal. Within the Inclusionary By-Law, all sections relating to nonresidential development and increasing intensity and densities of such development have been eliminated from the current proposal. As a result, the By-Law now applies to all three commercial zoning districts, where previously it applied to only LBI districts. ~ ~
The Proposal:
The proposed Inclusionary Zoning By-Law and Implementation amendments establish thresholds and procedures on when and how affordable housing units must be provided in a residential development. More specifically, the proposal consists of two parts: part 1 creates a new Section 6.10, entitled “Inclusionary Housing By-Law”, which is the basic Inclusionary Zoning By-Law; part 2 consists of amendments to the existing Zoning By-Law in order to implement the Inclusionary Zoning By-Law. This includes amendments to Sections: 3.3 “Schedule of Uses”, 6.3 “Public Building and School Conversion”, 6.5 “Cluster Development”, and 7.4.2 “Special Permits”.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The Planning Board did not receive any public comments on the proposed amendments.
VOTE ON PROPOSED AMENDMENTS:
Following the close of the public hearings, the Planning Board deliberated on the proposed amendments. The Board unanimously voted (5-0) to recommend full approval of the LBII and LBIII side yard setback and the Inclusionary Zoning and Implementation Amendments
Belmont Planning Board
Joseph Barrell, Chair
James Heigham, Clerk
Deborah Emello
Karl Haglund
Andrew McClurg
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