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Planning staff outlines sweeping use‑table revisions; committee continues public hearing and requests details
Summary
Planning staff presented an extensive update to the zoning use table that adds and redefines many use categories; the committee left the public hearing open and requested supplemental crosswalks on approving authority and zone impacts.
City planning staff presented an extensive update to the city’s zoning use table and related definitions during the Ordinances Committee public hearing on Aug. 25.
Assistant City Planner Mike McCarthy and Planning Director Jennifer Carloni guided councillors through the packet, which reorganizes use categories (residential, lodging, retail, eating/drinking, arts/creative enterprises, motor‑vehicle uses, marine and industrial). Notable changes include newly defined uses such as hostels (commercial short‑term lodgings requiring an on‑site employee), brew pubs, food halls/public markets, and more granular retail and industrial categories. Staff said the update gives permitting authorities more precise use categories and makes the use table more consistent with present‑day practices.
McCarthy told the committee the Planning Board reviewed the referral and recommended some changes — for example, the board was comfortable removing the church separation distance for body‑art establishments while advising broader Council discussion about schools and childcare. Planning staff also flagged that some ordinance sections and the use table had conflicting references to approving authorities (for example, assisted‑living special regulations reference the Planning Board) and said they would provide a detailed crosswalk of any approving‑authority or district changes.
Staff described an upcoming, related form‑based code initiative — a separate zoning tool that would manage building form and scale in specific districts (downtown, Acushnet Avenue corridors, County Street/Riverview areas) to better control contextual infill than broad use‑table changes alone.
The committee requested additional details and a line‑by‑line explanation of any use‑table changes that alter approving authority or permitted zones. The hearing was continued to the Ordinance Committee meeting on Monday, Sept. 29 to allow staff to deliver the supplemental information.
What’s next: Planning staff will provide a follow‑up memo clarifying approving authorities, a list of uses reassigned to different approving bodies, and counts or examples where zone permissions changed; the committee will reconvene Sept. 29 to continue the public hearing.
