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Plaistow planning board reviews draft zoning-definition overhaul, agrees to seek legal review
Summary
The Plaistow Planning Board reviewed proposed changes to zoning definitions (Z25‑2 and related sections), debated abutter definitions, trade-business carve-outs, daycare and short‑term‑rental wording, and directed staff to send multiple sections to legal for refinement.
The Plaistow Planning Board spent significant time reviewing a draft set of zoning‑definition changes (noted as Z25‑2 and related edits) and agreed to send several sections to the town’s legal counsel for targeted review and editorial tightening. Speaker 2, who presented the draft, said many definitions were collected from other town ordinances and state statute language and that the draft intentionally ‘decouples’ definitions tied to specific ordinance amendments so they do not remain as orphaned terms if a related ordinance fails.
Presenters and board members identified several areas needing clarification or legal input: the 'abutter' definition and how it will affect notification lists and tax‑map software; the building‑code definition and alignment with Senate Bill 437; trade‑business language (noting the draft excludes exterior storage to avoid unintentionally excluding landscapers and contractor uses); change‑of‑use language and whether parking‑space alterations should trigger change‑of‑use review; and child‑day‑care/family‑day‑care language reflecting House Bill 1567. On short‑term rentals, the presenter pointed to case law and recommended leaving the town’s existing approach in place unless problems arise.
The board reached consensus to forward multiple sections (including Z25‑5, Z25‑6 and Z25‑7 among others discussed) to legal counsel and to circulate an edited draft to members for additional written comments before returning to the board. Speaker 3 recommended moving an annual administrative‑review sentence into the board’s rules of procedure rather than codifying it in zoning. Speaker 2 said they would recirculate a clean Word draft with strikeouts for items the board agreed to remove so members could review changes before the next meeting.
The discussion closed with staff tasked to incorporate the board’s cuts, circulate the revised draft for comment, and submit agreed sections to legal counsel for review.
