Thursday, February 22, 2018

PLANNING BOARD TO HOLD HEARING ON ZONING CHANGES

The Sherborn Planning Board will hold a public hearing regarding its proposed amendments to the Zoning Bylaw on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, beginning at 7:00 PM at Town Hall. The Planning Board is proposing 5 amendments to the Zoning Bylaw for consideration at this year's Annual Town Meeting in April.

The five articles sponsored by the Planning Board are the following:

1. Accessory Apartments -- This article would loosen the requirements to qualify for a special permit by removing the limit on occupancy to relatives and domestic help and allowing the collection of rent. It would require that the owner occupy either the main house of the apartment.

2. Outdoor entertainment in the Business General district -- This amendment would remove the restriction against outdoor entertainment from restaurants and apply it to the entire Business General district. It will still require a special permit and there would be restrictions on hours and noise.

3. Farm events -- This article would help support the sustainability of agriculture in Sherborn by allowing farms to hold special events like weddings or other personal recognition events. Farms wishing to host such events would be subject to site plan review and there would be restrictions on hours and noise.

4. Solar facilities -- Currently, large scale solar photovoltaic facilities are allowed by right but limited to an overlay district that consists only of the closed landfill site. This article would provide for locations outside the overlay district but only by special permit. A maximum of 10% of any such facilities could be located on land that had been in active agriculture or woodlands within the previous five years.

5. Open Space Subdivisions -- The current open space subdivision bylaw has never been used and includes several disincentives. The proposed replacement is based on an updated state model and contains many important updates. It would flip the current situation by allowing open space subdivisions by right and requiring a special permit for conventional development. It would also require that at least 60% of the parcel be preserved as open space, provide maximum flexibility for design within the parcel but require an expanded setback from the entire perimeter. It would still require that a conventional plan be provided to determine the number of housing units that could be permitted and then allow flexibility in arranging those units. The minimum required  protected open space could include no greater percentage of wetlands than the parcel as a whole has.

After receiving input from residents, the Planning Board will prepare a report recommending that Town Meeting support each articles as is, support them with changes, or oppose them. Town Meeting is on Tuesday, April 24.