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Winchester planning officials are looking to streamline the procedures behind special permits and site plan reviews.
The Planning Board on April 7 proposed making changes to a section of the zoning bylaw “to refine the procedures, standards, and criteria associated with special permits and site plan review in order to support clear and predictable development review processes.”
“The zoning bylaw dates back at least 15 or more years. In the intervening years, there are have been numerous changes and additions proposed to and approved by Town Meeting,” new Planning Board Chair Jack LeMenager explained. “Each such addition and change adds unanticipated complications and possible contradictions, particularly the site plan review and special permit, which appear in multiple places in the bylaw and where this effort is focused.
“The result is a zoning bylaw that is difficult to navigate and sometimes confusing, especially for the average citizen seeking to improve their property,” he continued. “This effort by the Planning Board and its consultant will strive to find those complications and contradictions and simplify the bylaw.”
Town Planner Taylor Herman added there are three different versions of site plan review, including those for the Main Street Mixed Use District, the Central Business District and the Zoning Board of Appeals, all of which are slightly different from one another, and it would be best to have one uniform process for all cases.
Consulting urban planner Nels Nelson, of CommunityScale, agreed the process should be streamlined, but resident Russell Gay said a broad policy would overlook important details and asked the Planning Board pay attention to details.
Former Planning Board member Diab Jerius brought up the idea of there being site plan review only for buildings with a certain amount of change, which calls into question as to whether the dollar value of work in a “renovation” amounts to new construction.
CommunityScale attorney Jonathan Silverstein noted most communities don’t require site plan review for single residences and two-family homes.
Jerius expressed concern about small houses being torn down and large houses being built in their place. He said house sizes relative to lot sizes matter and historical structures should be protected.
LeMenager added if large houses replace small houses, the town will lose the value of its streetscapes and experience changing demographics, primarily through the loss of middle-income homeowners.
How the size and design of buildings affect the character of the town has been an issue in discussions of the permits and designs of 10 Converse Place/33 Mt. Vernon Street and 972 Main St. Former Planning Board member Nicholas Rossettos had questioned how the designs of both projects fit into the character of their neighborhoods and the town.
Former Planning Board Chair Brian Vernaglia said site plan reviews should consider the protection of trees, especially canopy trees, and that site plan reviews could provide reasonable conditions to move forward without requiring a special permit.
LeMenager said in his experience on the Historical Commission, landscape and trees were included in their consideration.
Ellen Spencer, of the Design Review Committee, added it always reviews landscape plans, but Silverstein countered the style of houses cannot be controlled.
Nelson added recommended changes will be presented at meetings Tuesdays, May 5 and June 2, with the work expected to be completed before Saturday, June 30.
LeMenager hopes that timeline will allow things to be considered at the Fall Town Meeting.
Neil Zolot has been a freelance journalist more than 40 years. He has worked for newspapers on the North Shore and in the Boston area.
