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Farmington planning board advances multiple zoning amendments to second public hearing
Summary
The board read several warrant articles to align local ordinance with state changes (including ADU and parking changes) and voted 5‑0 to move them to a second hearing on Jan. 21, 2026; staff will clarify that the town has not collected impact fees despite removing the unused provision.
The Town of Farmington Planning Board held a public hearing Jan. 7 to present proposed warrant articles that would update several sections of the town zoning ordinance and moved the articles to a second public hearing on Jan. 21, 2026.
The amendments presented include: an update to accessory dwelling unit (ADU) regulations to comply with House Bill 577; a revision of parking requirements in Section 3.17 to align with Senate Bill 284 (changing the maximum requirement from 1.5 spaces per unit to 1 space per unit); a location restriction for sexually oriented businesses; removal of Section 3.22 (impact fees) with staff clarifying the town has never imposed impact fees; reduction of minimum side/rear setbacks in the Urban Residential District from 25 to 15 feet; moving authority provisions into the site‑plan regulations; and a clarification allowing up to two single‑family homes on a lot under certain conditions without subdivision approval.
Vice Chairman Stephen Henry flagged a potential public perception problem if the town appeared to be removing a revenue source by striking the impact‑fees section; Planning Director Kyle Pimental agreed to draft clarifying language for the next hearing noting the town has not collected impact fees. No members of the public spoke in opposition at this hearing.
The board voted unanimously (5‑0) to place the amendments on the Jan. 21 agenda for a second public hearing at 6:30 p.m. in the Selectmen's Chamber.
Next steps: staff will prepare the clarified warrant language and the planning board will hold the second public hearing on Jan. 21, after which voters will see the warrant language as part of the town meeting process if the board forwards the articles to the ballot.
