Council hears planning staff’s 'Town and Suburb' zoning concept, staff urges careful calibration

Planning staff presented a detailed draft zoning ordinance and a new 'Town and Suburb' concept intended to distinguish traditional‑town form from surrounding suburban neighborhoods. Summer Wilkes, the planner presenting the rewrite, described adjustments to base districts (R2/R3/R8/R15) and said the draft seeks to protect the historic town character by tailoring lot‑size and form standards by street type.

Wilkes said earlier standards would have rendered hundreds of existing parcels nonconforming without a cluster‑subdivision grandfathering approach; she told the council that nearly 800 parcels could have been affected if the cluster provision had been removed. The presentation included recommended height limits (staff described a 2.5‑story, 35‑foot maximum where the previous standard had allowed up to 45 feet and three stories) and proposed a regulating plan that assigns street types (historic main street, storefront downtown, suburban main street, neighborhood medium and small neighborhood streets) with tailored building‑line and streetscape guidance.

Council members asked detailed questions about how the proposals would affect existing townhouses, nonconforming lots, and whether rebuilding after damage would be allowed on existing foundations. Staff said existing foundations could be reused and emphasized tailoring standards by street so that preservation of downtown fabric could coexist with reasonable property rights. Several councilors expressed support for preserving ‘‘town DNA’’ while asking staff to clarify how proposed standards would interact with state code and the town’s comprehensive plan.

Staff recommended adopting the concept as a high‑level approach now and returning to refine ordinance language later, including additional public hearings, a potential master plan for focus areas, and coordination with property owners before adopting overlay rules.