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Commission proposes stormwater and low‑impact development language for POCD referral and coastal zoning edits
Summary
Commissioners recommended adding stormwater management, reduced impervious surfaces and low‑impact development language to a POCD affordable housing referral and suggested redline edits to zoning articles to strengthen coastal protections and public access.
During the Application Review Committee report and subsequent full‑commission discussion on April 23, commissioners recommended targeted wording additions to a Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) affordable housing referral and to proposed zoning text amendments affecting waterfront sites.
Commissioner John (application review committee), and Commissioner Joseph Pinto (Doctor Pinto) highlighted two POCD sites—municipal surface parking lots adjacent to a riverfront park and commercial area—and recommended inserting language that requires sustainable site design, reductions in impervious surface, stormwater management strategies, and protections to prevent pollutant discharge into the nearby river and harbor. The suggested insertion reads, in summary, that future redevelopment should include municipal parking to meet needs and sustainable site design that reduces impervious surfaces, incorporates stormwater management strategies, prevents pollutant discharge into the river, and supports long‑term climate adaptation.
Separately, the commission reviewed proposed zoning text edits to Articles 4, 6, 8 and 9. The Application Review Committee drafted redline additions the commission supported, including: retaining a minimum 25‑foot setback from the coastal jurisdiction line for new construction while adding explicit limits and public‑access priorities; permitting exceptions only when water‑dependent uses or adaptive reuse preserve public access and water quality; requiring coastal site plan review that aligns development with the harbor management plan; and adding language that waterfront redevelopment should employ modern drainage infrastructure and low‑impact development techniques.
Members acknowledged the referral's timeline: the planning and zoning commission tentatively scheduled review for June. Commissioners decided to circulate the suggested language to colleagues before the next harbor commission meeting and to forward the Application Review Committee's redline text (which the full commission later accepted) to planning staff.
