Stance on Mixed Use Zoning

Q: I’d like to hear a little more on your stance about mixed use zoning. When I think mixed use I think of towns with walkable centers, I'd like to see more of that and less swaths of land dedicated to just industrial use.

The term “mixed use” zoning itself doesn’t mean anything more than the use of more than one zoning law on the same property. Mixed use zoning will not necessarily guarantee pedestrian access to businesses. It will only allow an additional or combined use of a commercial, residential, or agricultural, etc. property that is already zoned for one specific use. 

Mixed use zoning can work well in some situations. It all depends upon two things: the zoning law itself, and the specific site where the mixed use zoning law is applied. The issue we are dealing with in Billerica isn’t that fact that we have mixed use zoning. The town already had more than one mixed use zoning law in 2016, before the PUD zoning laws were added by a vote at Town Meeting. For example, the new retirement community being built on the Rangeway Golf Course land on Nashua Road is being built under the auspices of a mixed use zoning law that allows both a commercial-medical use together with a residential use. The town also has a mixed use zoning law for townhouse condominiums. These mixed use zoning laws have been working well for years. The problems we are dealing with now all have to do with this relatively new mixed use zoning law – called the PUD.

The PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (PUD)

The first problem we are dealing with is that the specific mixed use zoning law, defined in section 5.E.9 of our town's zoning law (the PUD), which as voted into law as Article 42 at the October Town Meeting in 2016 (see Billerica Town Meeting: 10-11-16, Article 42), is a bad zoning law.  It provides inadequate protections in terms of limits for building height, apartment density, number of affordable units, set backs, parking density, and specific use. The law is too broadly defined so that it allows almost any combination of uses and limits.

The second problem we are dealing with is that this PUD zoning law automatically re-zoned close to 100 different sites in our town and made them into a Planned Unit Development District. This was voted into law by Articles 44 and 45 at the October 2016 Town Meeting (see Billerica Town Meeting: 10-11-16, Articles 44 and 45). This means we have a poorly defined mixed use zoning law that has been pre-approved for a large number of sites.

Prior to passing the PUD zoning law in 2016 developers were required to bring large project proposals to Town Meeting for approval. Now that step can be by-passed. Developers bring their projects directly to the Planning Board. The problem at the Planning Board is that Section 5.E.9 of our zoning laws (the PUD) is so broadly defined that it can not effectively regulate the project. This puts both the town and the Planning Board in a vulnerable position. The Planning Board can’t protect the town from developers with a poorly defined zoning law. What protects the town is the zoning law, not the Planning Board.

The first step to reaching a solution to this problem is to repeal the PUD zoning law. Following this, work can be done to define and adopt a new zoning law that has the specific protections and provisions the town wants to support the kind of commercial/residential mixed use development that it needs. I would also recommend that application of this new mixed use zoning law be applied for and approved by Town Meeting, one project at a time, just as it is with the other mixed use zoning laws we have. I don’t support more automatic, blanket approvals. The town needs to carefully deliberate the process of adding and applying any new mixed use zoning law to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

In summary, I have nothing against mixed use zoning or zoning overlays. We just need to redress the problem and correct the mistake that was made in 2016 by adopting the PUD zoning law. This is the centerpiece of my campaign for both Town Meeting and Planning board.

The Committee to Elect John Meneghini
33 Timbercreek Rd, Billerica, MA 01821
https://planning-for-meneghini.blogspot.com/
Email: planning.for.meneghini@gmail.com
Phone: 978-435-4224