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Planning board to redraft multifamily design and zoning language after council referral
Summary
After the town council returned proposed multifamily design requirements and zoning changes for further work, the planning board instructed staff to revise the draft (options include limiting changes to R20, strengthening lot‑size thresholds and tightening variance rules) and to return a clarified version for board review.
The planning board discussed proposed design requirements and zoning amendments governing multifamily residential development, a package the council returned to the board seeking stronger language to protect neighborhood character.
Staff explained the draft requires a minimum lot of 40,000 square feet to be eligible for multifamily structures in the targeted residential districts and noted the planning‑level analysis identified roughly 120 properties townwide that might be candidates (the majority in the R20 district; only about a dozen R10 parcels meet the threshold). Board members debated limiting the proposal to R20, adding massing or unit‑density triggers for design standards, and tightening rules so that applicants could not easily use dimensional variances to circumvent the special‑use permit process.
The board directed Ron and Peter to work with counsel and return a revised draft that clarifies which districts the rules apply to, how density and massing are calculated, and how variance requests interact with special‑use review. Board members also asked staff to improve the design standards language so it is specific and enforceable at the plan‑review stage.
Next steps: staff will produce a revised draft for the board; outreach and clearer explanatory materials may accompany the next step to help the council and public understand limits and protections in the proposal.
