Bolton PZC schedules March 12 public hearing on codified subdivision rules and zoning amendments

The Bolton Planning & Zoning Commission voted to schedule a combined public hearing for March 12, 2025, to consider codified Subdivision Regulations and proposed amendments to the town’s Zoning Regulations.

Patrice Carson, consulting director of community development, told commissioners that General Code completed the codification of the Subdivision Regulations and recommended combining that item with proposed zoning changes to reduce advertising costs. The commission voted 7-0-0 to hold the hearing virtually and in person at 222 Bolton Center Road beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Why it matters: staff presented several edits intended to clarify administration and preserve limited business and industrial land in Bolton. The package includes a new definition for “Lot Coverage” (the definition expressly includes roof overhangs), streamlined language for minor modifications, a clarification that the Zoning Enforcement Officer—not an unspecified “decision-making body”—will handle certain minor modification approvals, and a proposed change to Section 450-3.3 to allow limited expansion of existing nonconforming buildings “on the non-conforming side.”

One substantive change in the draft would remove the requirement that multifamily residences be located above commercial uses in the Rural Mixed-Use Zone (RMUZ) and the Gateway Mixed Use Industrial Zone (GMUIZ). Carson said removing that requirement would preserve scarce business/industrial land—currently about 2% of the town—for commercial uses; commissioners acknowledged that the change reduces a built-in path for upper-floor housing but said the trade-off favors commercial development.

Tyler Clark, a resident whose property is affected by the proposed nonconforming-use amendment, asked whether he needed to submit materials before the public hearing. Chair Tom Manning told him he did not need to be the applicant but should read the final version and provide comments at the hearing.

The commission approved a set of editorial and drafting fixes: replacing gendered language (“in his discretion”) with gender-neutral language (“in their discretion”) in Section 450-3.22, replacing the phrase “decision-making body” with “Zoning Enforcement Officer” in Item C of 450-3.22, and adding the phrase “on the non-conforming side” to Item (3)(a) in Section 450-3.3. Commissioners agreed to leave the GMUIZ subsection blank rather than renumber the regulations after removing the multifamily requirement.

Next steps: Carson said she will send the recommended changes to the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) for the required 30-day review and will request expedited consideration so the hearing can proceed on March 12. The PZC’s hearing will be the formal opportunity for residents and applicants to comment on the proposed codification and zoning amendments.

Vote and procedural notes: the motion to set the public hearing and related motions recorded at the February 12 meeting carried 7-0-0. The commission also approved the January 8, 2025 minutes by the same vote earlier in the meeting.