Planning board recommends downtown zoning, senior-housing bylaw, inns and ADU changes for April town meeting

The Manchester Planning Board on March 9 voted to recommend four zoning articles to the April town meeting that together reshape downtown rules and add new housing options.

The board approved proposals to create two downtown districts — Town Center and Harbor’s Edge — intended to preserve existing street-front commercial storefronts, allow mixed uses, and reduce some setback requirements to reflect the built downtown character. Chair said the Town Center would allow commercial use along the first-floor storefront to a depth of about 25 feet and permit up to four residential units per lot above, with a maximum height unchanged at 35 feet. The Harbor’s Edge district would require first-floor commercial and would keep parking requirements where on-site spaces already exist.

Why it matters: the package aims to align zoning with how downtown already functions, reduce permitting barriers for storefront investment, and protect commercial anchors in Harbors Point from conversion to single-family homes. As the planner noted, “the idea here is really to create zoning that looks like our current downtown because our current zoning does not look like what’s there.”

Key elements approved: - Town Center: mixed commercial storefronts along the street (up to about 25 feet deep), zero front and side setbacks to permit buildings close to the sidewalk, 10-foot rear setback, 6,000-square-foot minimum lot size, up to 60% building coverage and 80% impervious coverage in some places. Residential parking would generally be one space per unit and sited behind buildings. - Harbor’s Edge: targeted to properties along Summer Street and Harpers Point that already provide on-site customer parking; first-floor commercial would be required with residential allowed above and a slightly higher height limit (proposed 38 feet in parts). - Inns: a new definition limited to buildings of no more than 12 guest rooms, no cooking facilities in guest rooms, and parking requirements of one on-site space per guest. The board chose to allow inns by right in downtown districts and by special permit in some other zones. - Senior-housing bylaw: allows small-scale, age-restricted housing (55+) by special permit in most districts with controls to limit project scale and encourage reuse. The draft sets a density cap of about 10 units per acre, a single-project maximum of 60 units, unit-size maximums (e.g., studios up to ~600 sq ft), minimum lot-size thresholds that vary by district, a local preference for current/former town residents or town employees, and an affordability requirement of one affordable unit for every five units (intended for SHI listing). - ADU adjustments: the board agreed to allow larger accessory dwelling units (901–1,200 sq ft) by special permit in some districts and to adjust setback language so accessory units follow accessory setback tables rather than a primary-building reference.

Public reaction and clarifications: Residents and business representatives asked for clearer visuals for Town Meeting and raised parking and density questions. Colleen Murdoch of the Greater KBAN Chamber asked whether first-floor commercial would be mandatory; the board clarified that Town Center allows mixed use by right while Harbor’s Edge requires first-floor commercial. One resident asked about the 15-units-per-acre figure; a planner responded that the number was carried over from related MBTA-area zoning discussions.

Next steps: the board authorized the town planner to make non-substantive, administrative edits recommended by town counsel and formally sent the four articles with the board’s recommendation to town meeting. The hearing record and presentation materials will be posted on the planning board page and used in outreach before town meeting.

Speakers quoted (first reference): Chair (Chair), Sue Filbert (Committee member), Colleen Murdoch (Director, Greater KBAN Chamber).