Planning Board pauses ordinance change on floor‑area definitions and large‑house thresholds for further review

At its Sept. 10 meeting the New Shoreham Planning Board reviewed a proposed zoning ordinance amendment to align local definitions of floor area with a state change that excludes basements from floor‑area calculations and considered corresponding edits to the town’s large‑house ordinance (section 4.06).

The Land Use Council‑prepared amendment would exempt basements from floor‑area ratio calculations. Planner Peter presented a draft memo and a proposed 10% reduction in large‑house thresholds to preserve the ordinance’s original intent when finished basements no longer count: footprint from 2,000 to 1,800 square feet; living area from 4,000 to 3,600 square feet; gross area from 5,000 to 4,500 square feet; and building volume from 45,000 to 41,050 cubic feet.

Board members raised questions about whether footprint figures should be reduced (several noted basements did not count toward footprint), how the change would affect the number of applications requiring a special‑use permit, and whether maximum allowed sizes tied to the thresholds should also be adjusted. Board member Sasha asked why a 10% change was chosen; Peter said it was an attempt to strike a fair adjustment, noting not all large houses have basements and that finished basements vary in prevalence. Several members said they wanted more time to review numbers and potential unintended consequences. One board member explicitly said she would not favor reducing the footprint threshold to 1,800 square feet because basements historically did not count toward footprint.

After discussion the Planning Board agreed to table the floor‑area and large‑house threshold amendments for additional review at the October meeting. No motion to forward language to the Town Council or a vote on the ordinance changes was taken at this meeting.