Northampton boards recommend easing site‑plan review for second units, ask for language fixes

Northampton — The Planning Board and the City Council’s Legislative Matters Committee met jointly on Dec. 9 and both moved to recommend a zoning amendment that would remove the requirement for site‑plan review when a second dwelling unit is proposed in multiple residential districts.

City planning staff, represented by Sarah LaValle, told the meeting the change is intended to reduce permitting costs and delays for homeowners while preserving existing zoning and building‑code safeguards. “This is intended to remove the requirement for site plan review for second unit,” LaValle said, noting that the planning board historically rarely denied such applications and that energy and safety standards are now enforced through building codes and an energy pilot program.

During public comment, resident Alex Bowman said he supports making it easier to build housing but warned against encouraging low‑density, car‑dependent development on the city’s edges. “While I understand this proposed zoning change only relaxes a site plan requirement, we must carefully consider the broader implications of encouraging certain housing in suburban and rural areas,” Bowman said, citing concerns about infrastructure costs, emergency response times and longer‑term sustainability.

Board members and staff spent much of the hearing clarifying technical language in the draft amendment. Questions focused on three issues: the definition of “half scale” units (staff confirmed that term refers to units no larger than 800 square feet), whether the amendment’s references to 1,800 square feet and 2,000 square feet should be made consistent, and the meaning of the phrase “addition of the principal structure” in a provision that determines when site‑plan review would still be required.

Members proposed minor rewording and asked staff to tighten the language so the code reads clearly across related sections. Planning staff and several board members said the intent is that two units would generally not require site‑plan review but that any project resulting in more than two units would still trigger review under existing rules and that some outlying districts retain an 1,800‑square‑foot special‑permit trigger for large detached units.

On the motion to recommend, the Legislative Matters Committee recorded affirmative roll‑call votes from Councilors Jarrett, Maiori, Elkins and Perry. The Planning Board moved to recommend the amendment with an explicit recommendation that staff clarify the “principal” language; the motion was recorded in the transcript as made by Chris Tate and seconded by Rich Baker, and the board approved the recommendation.

Next steps: both bodies’ recommendations will go back to the full City Council for final consideration. Planning staff said the board can refine the wording before that hearing. The meeting closed after the boards completed that item and moved on to routine planning business.

(Reporting based on the Dec. 9 joint meeting transcript of the Northampton Planning Board and City Council Legislative Matters Committee.)