Committee restores single‑family protections in Klasky Common overlay, refers ordinance to full council

The ordinance committee voted on May 28, 2025 to amend the proposed Klasky Common Transit‑Oriented Development Overlay District to restore single‑family protections in neighborhoods zoned Residence A and referred the amended ordinance, with a favorable recommendation, to the full New Bedford City Council.

The change reverses recent edits to the table of principal uses that had allowed townhouses and two‑family houses in areas historically limited to single‑family homes. Jennifer Carlini, director of the Department of City Planning, told the committee that planning staff supplied a revised table that would return townhouses and two‑family dwellings to “no” in Residence A, removing an allowance that some council members said had been added without adequate notice.

City Solicitor David Garatowski urged the committee to approve the amendment to protect single‑family zoning. “This would protect single family zoning and put it back to the way it was,” Garatowski said, adding a caution that state law requires accessory structures be allowed where other standards are met.

Councilor Linda Morad (Councilor at Large) framed the vote…