The first Zoning Bylaw in Sherborn was adopted at a Special Town Meeting on June 7, 1937. It established two classes of districts – one for Residences and one for Businesses. It required a minimum of 1 acre in the Residence districts and at least ½ acre in the Business districts. [Unable so far to find a zoning map and there is no reference to one in the Bylaw].
A major change in the Zoning Bylaw was adopted on December 13, 1954. That Bylaw put in place the major features that remain the essence of the Zoning Bylaw to this day. It established three residential districts requiring minimum lot sizes of one, two and three acres, respectively.
There was a single type of Business district, but there were five separate locations to which it applied. One of those locations was essentially what is now the Business-General (B-G) district along North Main Street, with the exception that the Sherborn Inn property was not yet a part of it. Also, what is now the Business-General district along Washington and South Main Streets also existed except that the portion on the east side of South Main Street extended from the Split down to the Pilgrim Church property. This district has since been reduced.
There was also a district on the south side of Kendall Avenue. Except that a portion of this was rezoned to EA in 2001 (resulting in the development of Sherborn Meadows), this district still exists. The other districts, which have since been repealed, include the 4 corners at the intersection of Western Avenue and Washington Streets, and a strip along the railroad tracks just north of Forest Street.
The next significant zoning change impacting the Town Center occurred in 1983 when the Business-Professional (B-P) district was adopted for an area on the east side of North Main Street. This change allowed the construction of the office building known as 20 North Main Street in the mid-1980’s. Since that rezoning also included the Clark House, it also led to the restoration of that property and its adaptive reuse as an office building. Another significant change occurred in April 1984, when Town Meeting voted to extend the Business-General district across Powderhouse Lane. This allowed the construction of the Sherborn Inn in the late 1980’s.
At the 1998 Annual Town Meeting in April, the Town adopted the Planned Unit Development (PUD) provision of the Zoning Bylaw. This bylaw did not make any changes in the business district boundaries. However, it does allow for business development to occur on parcels with at least 25% of its area within the B-G or B-P districts, by special permit. The PUD bylaw allows more flexibility than the B-G or B-P with regard to setbacks and other provisions, but it also requires significant public amenities and provides for greater Town control than the B-G and B-P districts require. The PUD bylaw limits the size of any retail outlet to 2500 square feet, exclusive of any kitchen, storage or mechanical space, and promotes traditional, pedestrian-friendly Town Center development. No development has taken place under the PUD bylaw. In 2008 and 2009, the Planning Board proposed amendments to the PUD bylaw to allow a single retail outlet to exceed the 2500 square foot limit and to allow residences as part of a PUD. These proposals fell short of the necessary 2/3 vote needed for approval.
At the 2000 Annual Town Meeting, the B-G district was extended slightly on the east side of North Main Street to encompass the entirety of the parcel on which Rose Automotive is located. For the rest of the east side of North Main Street, the B-G district extends only 150 feet back from North Main Street. No expansion has taken place as a result of this extension of the B-G district.
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