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Plymouth planning board reviews zoning ballot items and launches housing chapter work
Summary
At its March 6 meeting, the Plymouth Planning Board reviewed a citizen-petitioned amendment and four planning-board zoning amendments that will appear on the March ballot, discussed wetlands and state law constraints, and began planning work for a state-funded Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) grant and a housing master-plan chapter.
The Plymouth Planning Board on March 6 reviewed a citizen-petitioned change to uses in the town’s Agricultural (AG) zone and four zoning amendments the board placed on the ballot, and the board also outlined the start of a housing master‑plan chapter funded by a round‑two Housing Opportunity Planning grant.
Why it matters: Voters will decide next week whether to adopt changes to the zoning ordinance that would alter what commercial activities are allowed in the AG zone, add a stand‑alone use category for commercial storage, update parking standards to conform with recent state law, and remove ambiguous permissive-language from the ordinance. The board also signaled it will begin a year‑long process to prepare a housing chapter that must be integrated with Plymouth’s 2018 master plan.
The board began by explaining logistics for town election and town meeting: the ballot and election will be held Tuesday, March 11, 8 a.m.–7 p.m., at Plymouth Elementary School; the in‑person town meeting is Wednesday at 7 p.m. Board members emphasized published materials and short explanatory videos available on the town website and the Kenny Baker TV YouTube channel for voters who want details.
Petitioned amendment on Agricultural zone uses A citizen petition seeks to change the table of uses for the Agricultural zone so that several commercial uses now permitted by right would become either not permitted or permitted only by special exception. The amendment covers a long list of commercial categories and is framed as a line‑by‑line change to the ordinance’s use table.
Board members said the intent of the petition and related planning‑board amendments is to protect the rural and residential character of much of the AG zone while allowing the community and the zoning board to review certain commercial proposals through the special‑exception process. David Kent, a Plymouth resident who identified himself as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, urged the planning board to favor special exceptions for…
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