BFJ told the subcommittee it had completed an annotated review of the town’s zoning regulations with approximately 250 line-item comments and a companion summary of issues for the subcommittee to consider.

Legal and statutory updates: BFJ flagged multiple recent state public acts and statutory changes that may affect local code wording and compliance. The consultants recommended the subcommittee meet with the town attorney to confirm interpretation of changes and to ensure the rewrite follows statutory requirements. Consultants specifically referenced several public acts in their slide deck as items to review with counsel.

Technical topics BFJ and commissioners highlighted for deeper review include:
- Site-plan and special-permit triggers: reduce unnecessary triggers and clarify criteria so routine change-of-use or low-impact projects can be handled administratively when appropriate.
- Accessory structures and residential standards: re-evaluate thresholds that currently require special permits (for example, accessory buildings over a fixed square footage), and consider maximum sizes or scaled approaches.
- Dimensional rules and nonconforming lots: explore approaches (for instance, allowing legally created pre-existing lots to use prior setbacks) to reduce the number of ZBA variance requests that arise from historical lot patterns.
- Impervious surface versus open-space minimums: BFJ and staff discussed pros and cons of an impervious-surface cap versus a required minimum landscaped/open area, and flagged stormwater/drainage controls and thresholds for soil disturbance for engineer review.
- Parking standards: BFJ suggested evaluating existing parking requirements against Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) guidance and noted statewide debates over minimum parking standards; commissioners asked BFJ to keep the approach neutral pending state-level outcomes.
- Affordable housing and inclusionary zoning: re-assess the town’s inclusionary provisions for effectiveness and consider the statutory options that allow municipalities to expand tools (including use of inclusionary funds for acquisition where authorized by state statute).
- Noise and recreation features: commissioners flagged sports courts (including pickleball) and outdoor recreation noise as growing sources of neighbor complaints and asked BFJ to locate potential noise/time-of-use controls or other mitigation options.

Deliverables and schedule: BFJ presented a diagnostic report cross-referencing POCD recommendations to zoning-code sections, a summary of recent PNZ and ZBA application types and volumes (used to prioritize sections), and a proposed deliverables list. The team agreed to circulate updated materials in the next two weeks, and commissioners asked for a two-week comment window so the consultants can incorporate feedback before the Oct. 23 workshop.

Why it matters: These technical choices (site-plan triggers, impervious/open-space, parking minimums, accessory-structure thresholds, and noise controls) affect what property owners may build administratively versus what requires commission review, and they shape neighborhood outcomes such as runoff, tree loss, parking pressure and quality-of-life impacts from outdoor activities.

Ending: BFJ will prepare revised materials, consult with the town attorney on statutory items, and incorporate commissioner edits for the Oct. 23 workshop. The subcommittee agreed to provide feedback within two weeks of receiving updated deliverables.