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Politics & Government

Planning Board Reviews 2011 Warrant Articles

Articles discussed included Open Space Residential Development, Flexible Mixed Use Development and Senior Residential Development.

The Westwood Planning Board discussed revising several warrant articles that will be brought to this year’s Town Meeting in May, including Open Space Development, Flexible Mixed Use Overlay and Senior Residential Development.

Much of the conversation during Wednesday night’s meeting was about language used within the articles. The Planning Board needs to have the wording up to standard of showing to the public four weeks prior to a March 15 public hearing regarding the articles.

The first article discussed Wednesday night referred to Open Space Development. The article is to see if the town will vote to approve amendments related to Special Residential Developing. Current sections regarding flexible development, 50 percent density bonus, and Major Residential Development would be replaced with Open Space Residential Development.

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According to Town Project Manager Glenn Garber, over the course of the past two years, the Planning Board has been seriously pursuing a bylaw regarding Open Space Residential Development, which he said is a more advanced form of cluster development.

“This is more advanced and about preserving open space,” said Garber.

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The secondary issue, Garber said, is that there has been a lot of examination of issues related to the allowed types of housing; last year the Board went through several drafts. Town houses were allowed "as of right" but were then taken out. Garber said that it has been a difficult issue for the public and Board to pin down, in terms of public acceptability.

“The Board has now decided to add attached housing back in, but regulate with a higher level of regulation with a special permit,” said Garber. “It gives the board discretion to accept, or outright reject if a project will have a negative impact.”

The minimum number of acres per parcel was also discussed, with numbers bouncing around between three and five. Dimensions and requirements were also discussed, specifically regarding setback and yard requirements for attached and zero lot line housing.

Planning Board Chair Steven Rafsky said that while there still may be discrepancies in the language, he believes the Board is on the right track. Overall, Town Planner Nora Lougnane and Rafsky agreed that the OSRD is intended to be more favorable for development of parcels, as well as preserve open land.

“Our goal is to keep pristine land pristine,” said Rafsky.

Flexible Mixed Use Overlay Districts were also discussed Wednesday night. Presented at the meeting was a draft created on February 4, which included three Flexible Mixed Use Overlay Districts: The University Avenue Business District, Southwest Park, and the Glacier/Everett Business District.

Garber explained that much of the zoning in the major concentrations of larger scale economic development is obsolete. He said that it doesn’t reflect or properly regulate development for the 21st century.

One thing that this will do, Garber said, is act as a strong incentive for developers by making the permitting less extensive than the prior. It will be regulated by special permit and will provide an “extremely high degree of protection for the community.”

“The board has tremendous discretion to protect the town and neighborhoods,” said Garber. “The flexibility really gives the developers a broad canvas to paint on, but will be under the close watch of the Planning Board.”

Rafsky said that the main issue is that he doesn’t want things to become so flexible that there will be a potential negative impact to any surrounding communities due to a project.

He added that certain areas would probably be more accepting to having higher buildings and development, but he doesn’t want any project to encroach on surrounding residential areas or negatively impact the community in any way. Loughnane said that the plan is set up so this will not happen.

“This will not allow for an offensive project,” said Loughnane.

The Board also briefly discussed Senior Residential Development. Initially, Loughnane said that the Board looked at rewriting the entire bylaw. However, upon review, Board members decided to tweak certain numbers.

Loughnane said that a major problem with the current bylaw lacks a clear vision regarding what the town wants from an SRD provision. She noted that the 16 dwelling units per acre maximum is impossible and should be dropped in number. In an analysis presented by Loughnane, it was noted that this number of dwelling units per acre may be too high for any scenario.

Another area of concern was with front setback reduction and building separation. The analysis noted that the front setback reduction to 20 feet is acceptable, but the minimum building separation between detached structures of 30 feet or the height of the taller building, could probably be reduced to 20 feet.

She said that the number could be even lower and she said it will be reviewed on a project by project basis.

A public hearing will be held regarding the warrant article on March 15. 

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