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Confusion over what counts as 'open space' emerges in Groton hearing
Summary
Public commenters and commissioners said the approved text and the applicant’s submission leave unclear whether paved amenities such as tennis courts count as 'open space' and whether clustering actually delivers net undeveloped area.
Several public speakers and commissioners said the new language on "open space common interest communities" blurred the line between true undeveloped open space and paved recreational amenities. Joan Smith, vice president of a local open space association, urged the commission to focus on impervious area and net gains in permeable open space rather than allowing built recreation facilities to qualify as open space.
"A community center, tennis courts, basketball courts, anything like that that's paved could be considered open space," Joan Smith said, warning that counting impervious recreational features as open space could mislead the public about environmental and conservation outcomes. Commissioners noted that definitions can be amended separately from this application and that the question of what constitutes open space may require a targeted revision to the regulations if the commission wants to change the standard across the board.
Residents also pressed the commission about how clustering would affect buildable area calculations and whether the result would be a true net gain in vegetated, non‑impervious open space. The commission’s discussion flagged the definitional problem as important to resolve before allowing any new flexible development type to be implemented.
