The town has filed with the state Department of Housing and Community Development(DHCD) asking for a revision to the Lincoln Park Smart Growth Overlay District to include a parcel on Reed Road. Part of the filing was a proposed revision to the existing bylaw. The proposed bylaw revision can be found here in MS Word format. Please note, these are proposed changes. They have not been adopted by Town Meeting and are not even submitted for the warrant yet. I am providing them so that those who are interested can have access ...
... to the information. If you have specific questions about the filing with the DHCD, please let me know in comments and I will try to answer them.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Proposed revision to Lincoln Park district bylaw
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3 comments:
Bill, I am only reading the document piece-by-piece, and have not yet finished it.
I have a few questions that perhaps may be of concern and interest to others as well, and wonder if you would explain them to me(us.)
Under 7.2, Definitions, I quote:
"As-of-right Project or Projects means a development of housing under zoning without recourse to a special permit, variance, zoning amendment, or other form of zoning relief."
Does this mean the developers are looking to bypass the normal channels the rest of us need to go through to see their 40R project completed?
Also, under "Open Space," could you explain the reference to the amount of wetlands referred to, in relation to the ability to develop housing, etc.?
How do the developers propose to deal with the wetlands, and how will they affect any housing, buildings erected, considering the amount of land that can sustain construction?
Under "Substantially Developed Land," does the reference to "consistent with or exceeding the densities allowable under the underlying zoning" mean that the 40R Reed Rd. project or the Lincoln Park Smart Growth Overlay District or both are greater in size than allowable for the area proposed for development?
I hope all readers of this post read the link you have set up. Just hearing about it in no way has the impact of reading the details of the project.
Thanks, Bill, for educating and informing us.
From 760 CMR 59, as of right development is,
"As-of-right – means a unit of housing is developable As-of-right if it may be developed under the Underlying Zoning or Smart Growth Zoning without recourse to a special permit, variance, zoning amendment, or other form of zoning relief. Units that require Plan Review shall be considered As-of-right, subject to review and approval by the Department of the proposed Smart Growth Zoning and Design Standards under 760 CMR 59.00."
Which I think means that other housing could be developed within the district, along with the 40R units in the Smart Growth District amendment, based on the density allowed by the underlying zoning. In this case about 10 units of housing. The developers would use a special process that is spelled out in the bylaw for the Smart Growth development and normal permitting process for any other development. They still have to meet all the wetland protection and environmental regulations but the allowable density is per either the Smart Growth or zoning bylaw.
Again from 760 CMR 59,
"Developable Land - means all land within a District that can be feasibly developed into residential or Mixed-Use Development Projects. Developable Land shall not include: Substantially Developed Land;
(a) Open Space;
(b) Future Open Space;
(c) the rights-of-way of existing public streets, ways, and transit lines;
(d) land currently in use for governmental functions (except to the extent that such
land qualifies as Underutilized Land); or
(e) areas exceeding one-half acre of contiguous land that are:
1. protected wetland resources (including buffer zones) under federal, state, or
local laws;
2. rare species habitat designated under federal or state law;
3. characterized by steep slopes with an average gradient of at least 15%; or
4. subject to any other local ordinance, by-law, or regulation that would
prevent the development of residential or Mixed-Use Development Projects at
the As- of-right residential densities set forth in the Smart Growth Zoning."
The proposed development sets out areas which are only slightly bigger than the building foundations to get the required density of 20 units per acre. That leaves the problem that the total area is 40 acres and they are developing around 160 units. It comes out to 4 per acre by my reckoning. Somehow the developable land has to be shrunk down, so it looks to me that they call the rest of the area, substantially developed. I will try to scan and post the map.
I want to point out that I am not an attorney and this is my reading of the language. There may be legal precedent or other things that I am not aware of, but the above is what I have read and what my understanding is now. Did I answer your questions?
Raise your habd if you think the name "Smart Growth" is a misnomer for the development happening in this new "District".
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