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Planning Board directs staff to draft mixed-use zoning bylaw using regional models
Summary
The board reviewed mixed-use model bylaws from Dartmouth, Medfield, Winchester and Cape Cod guidance and voted to have staff draft a mixed‑use bylaw combining purposes, definitions and design elements for public outreach and resident feedback.
The Planning Board discussed proposals for a mixed‑use zoning bylaw and voted to ask planning staff to prepare a draft using elements from sample bylaws included in the packet.
Chair (unnamed) said the packet was useful and pointed to Dartmouth’s business-apartment concept that ties allowed residential square footage to business square footage to ensure active ground-floor uses. Board members raised concerns about gas stations and wireless facilities that they would not want included. The discussion touched on where a mixed‑use overlay might begin (for example, near the hospital site or along Main Street) and whether the board should start with a narrowly defined area rather than rezone large swaths of property.
Member (speaker 2) moved that the board begin putting together a revised mixed‑use zoning bylaw using the provided samples; the motion was seconded and carried. The board asked staff to prepare a draft that includes purpose, definitions, use regulations, dimensional rules, and diagrams, and to plan outreach (surveys and in-person sessions) to collect resident feedback before any warrant article is filed for town meeting.
The board emphasized it will not rezone property without resident support and that any overlay district must be map‑based rather than a floating zone to avoid legal vulnerability.
