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Planning board recommends zoning map amendment to make 103 Harding Street wholly BG3/CCOD
Summary
The board voted to recommend that City Council change the zoning map for 103 Harding Street to place the entire parcel in BG3 and extend the Commercial Corridor Overlay District, removing a split-zone condition and enabling future redevelopment under a consistent business overlay.
The Worcester Planning Board on July 23 voted 4–0 to favorably recommend a zoning map amendment that would place the entire 103 Harding Street parcel in the BG3 business district and extend the Commercial Corridor Overlay District (CCOD) over the lot.
Planning Division staff explained the request sought to remedy a split-zone condition that left a corner of the parcel mapped to RG5 (a residential district). The lot is unusually small (about 2,000 square feet), and staff said making it entirely BG3 and adding CCOD coverage would reduce regulatory barriers to future reuse or redevelopment that otherwise would be difficult because of the parcel's size and lot-line geometry.
Staff cautioned that reapplying the CCOD would create a nonconformity for the existing automotive repair use in the short term (the use could continue as a preexisting, nonconforming use but expansions would need special permission). The applicant acknowledged that tradeoff and said the intent was to enable redevelopment options consistent with the CCOD's flexibility for downtown parcels.
Board members said the request made zoning on the parcel consistent and reasonable and voted to forward a favorable recommendation to City Council.
