Select Board backs shared-parking zoning change aimed at reducing impervious surface

The Select Board voted unanimously to support Article 31, a zoning change that would add shared-parking provisions to the site plan regulations (section 174-12). Planning Board chair Mimi Littrell explained the measure is intended to allow compatible uses to share parking so developers do not have to build separate parking fields for each use, reducing impervious surface and stormwater impacts.

Littrell said the change modifies the site plan bylaw rather than creating a special permit, and that language to enable shared parking had been suggested by the Town Counsel. Planning Board and Select Board members discussed operational details of the proposed provision: a 500-foot maximum distance between a use and the shared parking, a 15‑day notification requirement if an approved shared-parking arrangement is discontinued, and the possibility that an agreement between separate legal entities would require contracts to be executed and recorded.

Select Board member Andrew raised questions about drafting clarity — whether the warrant text should present the change as an added paragraph rather than reprinting the whole section — and pushed for simpler warrant language so voters could more easily understand the amendment. Planning Board representatives agreed to streamline the warrant text.

After discussion the board moved to support Article 31 limited to the new shared-parking paragraph; the roll-call vote was recorded as 5–0 in favor. The board and Planning Board signaled they would continue to refine the warrant language before town meeting.

Why it matters: The bylaw change is intended to offer a planning tool to reduce pavement and stormwater impacts while allowing flexibility for mixed uses in commercial areas. The measure is procedural (a zoning text change) but can yield development and environmental effects if adopted at town meeting.