Planning board recommends historic‑preservation special‑permit zoning amendment to city council

The Gardner City Planning Board on April 16 voted to recommend that the City Council adopt a zoning amendment creating a historic‑preservation special permit that would allow property‑specific relief to encourage rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of designated historic structures.

Attorney Christine Tree, representing petitioner Chair City Church, presented the ordinance change and said the amendment would allow the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to grant relief — including limited use allowances, dimensional variances, parking and signage modifications — to properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) or the Gardner inventory of historic assets. "This petition is ... a zoning amendment. I am presenting it on behalf of the petitioner, Chair City Church, Pastor Dave Fralongo," Tree said during the hearing.

Nut Graf: The amendment is written as an incentive to preserve architectural and cultural features by permitting case‑by‑case exceptions through a special permit rather than creating blanket regulatory restrictions. Proponents said it would make it easier to reuse historic buildings — including the petitioner’s property at 100 Central Street, a former convent that the church plans to adapt for a cafe, meeting rooms and social‑service uses — while giving the…