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 as a response to a major policy change that she said had been adopted last fall without adequate council notice. “I am really angry at the fact that this administration and this director of planning and this city solicitor felt that they could pull one over on the council,” Morad said. She and other councilors pressed for a separate, detailed review of all changes made to the table of uses in late 2024.

A motion by Councilor Morad to swap the committee’s current table of uses for the version provided by Director Carlini passed and was followed by a referral motion. Councilor Joe Lopes moved to refer the ordinance, as amended, to the full council with a favorable recommendation; Councilor Leo Choquette seconded. A roll call produced seven votes in favor and three opposed: Councilor Abreu — yes; Councilor Carney — yes; Councilor Choquette — yes; Councilor Giesta — no; Councilor Gomes — yes; Councilor Lopes — yes; Councilor Morad — no; Councilor Oliver — no; Councilor Pereira — yes. The clerk recorded the vote as passing 7–3.

The committee also approved a related motion, led by Councilor Morad and supported by several colleagues, requesting that the director of planning present a detailed, line‑by‑line explanation of all changes made to the table of principal use regulations and associated definitions that were adopted in late 2024. The committee set a target of within 30 days for that presentation and asked the chair to refer the matter to the planning board and the ordinances committee for public hearings.

Votes at a glance: - Klasky Common Transit‑Oriented Development Overlay District (Chapter 9 amendments): Committee amended table of uses to disallow townhouses and two‑family homes in Residence A; referred to full council with a favorable recommendation (roll call 7–3). - Accessory Dwelling Units ordinance (items 2 / 2A): Committee moved to receive and place on file and to refer to the full council; motion passed by voice vote. - Accessory Dwelling Units amendment (items 3 / 3A): Committee opened and closed a public hearing and moved to take no further action in committee and refer to the full council; motion passed by voice vote (no planning board recommendation was on record due to scheduling confusion). - Bates Street rezoning (item 4 — Map 108, Lot 317): Committee recommended adoption and referred the rezoning from Industrial A to Residential C to the full council (voice vote). - Recall of elected officers act (item 5): The committee removed this from the table earlier in the meeting, debated numeric and timing amendments, and then voted to table the item again while attorneys draft compromise language; motion to table and instruct attorneys passed.

What happens next: The amended overlay ordinance will appear on the full City Council agenda for consideration with the committee’s favorable recommendation. The planning director will be asked to present a detailed account of the late‑2024 changes to the table of principal use regulations within roughly 30 days, and the committee requested that the planning board hold the companion public hearings.

Not all technical questions were resolved in committee. Garatowski cautioned that accessory structures are constrained by state standards and therefore cannot be fully addressed in the table of uses. Several councilors pressed staff for clearer line‑by‑line mapping between the old and new tables before final adoption.