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1-08-2022 11:56pm
Planning Board Tables Smart Growth Zoning, Moves Forward with Multi-Family Housing
Darlene Cancell
Editor
At the Town of Westwood Planning Board’s remote meeting of January 3, 2022, the board came another step closer to finalizing its proposed zoning amendments on multi-family housing and other issues, but decided to pull its proposal on a new smart growth district.
Smart Growth Proposal Pulled from May’s Town Meeting
Members of the board had earlier entertained the idea of creating a new smart growth district as a way to help satisfy the state’s requirements regarding multi-family housing. Following the passage of the Housing Choice Law in January of this year, Westwood, like many other "MBTA communities" in the Commonwealth, is now required to have a zoning ordinance or by-law that that provides for at least one district of multi-family housing that is permitted “as of right.” This means that in this district, multi-family housing development can proceed without discretionary zoning approval. Westwood's multi-family housing district must be within half a mile of a train station or bus station.
Town Planner Abby McCabe noted that creating a smart growth district could not only count toward meeting the town's obligation for multi-family housing, but also result in a financial benefit. The state pays towns $3,000 for each building permit issued in the smart growth district, along with paying for the cost of added school children.
Planning Board Chair Christopher Pfaff, however, noted that the state incentive “is not so great.” He noted that the reimbursement for student expenses is based on a state average and that Westwood spends more per student than the state average.
Board member Ellen Larkin Rollings offered her concern that the state’s smart growth density requirements of 20 units per acre, plus the associated costs of police and fire, would be a burden on the town.
Secretary Kathleen Wynne questioned whether the financial benefits, offered by the state and that flow from “new housing” in the smart growth district, would continue over time as the housing ages or as occupants change.
Vice Chair David Atkins compared the state’s smart growth incentives to a carrot-stick approach where the carrot is not really a carrot but “more like a box of seeds.” He noted the presence of good planning ideas in the state’s smart growth initiative, but believed more deliberation is required before presenting a proposed zoning amendment at Town Meeting.
The board unanimously voted to pull the proposed smart growth zoning article from consideration at this spring’s Town Meeting. Instead, Planning Board will resume its review of the issue in May.
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Declining to Incorporate State Guidance on Size of Multi-family Housing District
On the issue of creating a district for multi-family housing as-of-right within half mile of a train station, the board debated how to approach the state’s interim guidance that such district must be fifty acres in size. The zoning amendment drafted by Planning Board falls far short of this size. The Planning Board’s proposed locations are: (1) an area around the parking area of the Gables University Station apartments and (2) 22 Everett Street, a two-parcel lot of 6.7 acres referred to the “Tumblebus location,” due to its current use as a parking lot for Tumblebus.
“It’s ludicrous,” said Mr. Pfaff, commenting on the idea that a town the size of Westwood should assign fifty acres to the new district.
Town Counsel Patrick Ahearn advised the board that he expected the Massachusetts Municipalities Association, Massachusetts Planning Association, Association of Planning Boards, and Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association to file comments with the state regarding the unreasonableness of the fifty acre mandate.
Planning Board Member Thomas McCusker recommended, “We should go forward with what we have,” referring to the board’s current draft zoning amendment that assigns the district a much smaller size. He noted his belief that the fifty acre district size requirement will not last long.
Ms. Larkin Rollings echoed a comment that she recently heard at a Finance & Warrant Commission meeting. “It feels like they’re trying to tell small towns they can’t be small towns anymore,” she said. “And that’s problematic on many levels for many people . . . .There’s a whole lot here that makes me very hesitant to try and come up with that much land for a zone at this point. . . . I don’t believe the law will stand as written. I think we should be conservative until the guidelines have completed the public comment process,” she said.
Mr. Atkins concurred. "We shouldn’t try to jump to try to quickly alter our position. . . . We’ve got a starting point that we’ve agreed is a good baseline, so let’s just stick with that.”
Ms. Wynne commented, “We’ve been behaving in good faith this entire time. We have a very solid proposal and let’s just see what happens with it.”
With Mr. Pfaff adding his agreement as well, Planning Board unanimously decided to offer an article for the Spring 2022 Town Meeting that proposes the Tumblebus and the Gables University Station apartments areas as locations for the new multi-family housing as-of-right district. Consideration of acreage around bus stops on Washington Street may also be included.
The board declined to incorporate the state’s interim guidance that the district should be fifty acres in size. The state is expected to release its final guidelines in May, after which Planning Board may make adjustments, if necessary.
Proposed Amendments Going to Select Board for Consideration
Planning Board unanimously voted to move the following proposed zoning amendments to Select Board for its consideration:
- Creating a multi-family housing district as-of-right as discussed above;
- Amending Section 4.5.3.3. of the Town Bylaws regarding alterations of non-conforming lots. Planning Board proposed to let the building commissioner decide whether an alteration is a de minimus change for which a special permit should issue or whether a variance is needed;
- Rezoning the Obed Baker house (909 High Street), an abutting lot, and Westwood Plaza (911 to 929 High Street) as mixed use that includes residential;
- Adding a definition for large-scale solar arrays/installations to the bylaws that would trigger a Planning Board review when such an installation is proposed.
Updated 01/09/2022 at 10:08 a.m. Typographical errors have been corrected. "Council" has been corrected to "Counsel" and "House" has been corrected to "housing."
