Town Council Discusses Proposed Zoning Changes, Funds to Combat Racism
Photo:pixhere.com. Creative Commons
Report On The Meeting Of The Town Council (2/22/21)
The meeting was held via Zoom. A recording can be viewed here.
Zoning Bylaw Revision
After the lengthy presentation and discussion of the proposed library expansion, Building Commissioner Rob Morra and Planning Director Chris Brestrup presented the work the Planning Department has been doing on revising the Zoning Bylaw. A more detailed presentation was given to the Community Resources Committee (CRC) the following day. (see also here and here).
Morra stated that Town Planners have been discussing making it more feasible to add housing to the Limited Business district, but felt adding the district to footnote b (Article 6 dimensional table) to facilitate increased density was not desirable, due to the possibility of allowing unsustainable density. Therefore the Planning Department is working on changing the dimensions required for building in the district. The Department is also exploring the effects of increasing allowed density in the General Residence zone, and increasing the allowable area for accessory dwelling units from 800 square feet to 1,000.
Currently, apartment buildings are limited to not more than 24 units, with no more than 50 percent of the units being of a single size. The Planning Department is considering allowing larger apartment buildings and developing design guidelines for them. Also, they would like to specify how much commercial space is required in mixed use buildings.
Further goals of the Planning Department are to expand the Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw (Article 15), so that all buildings with 10 or more dwelling units need to have affordable units and to recodify the Zoning Bylaw to remove inconsistencies and make it easier to use.
The Planning Department will endeavor to have the draft bylaws ready to present to the Council by June.
Councilor George Ryan (District 3) wanted to know if “inclusionary zoning” could include workforce housing for those earning between 80 and 120 percent of area mean income.
Brestrup said that the State Department of Housing and Community Development uses the 80 percent figure. In response to another question from Ryan, about the status of the proposed 40R smart growth overlay zoning, Brestrup said that the Town Council has asked the Planning Department to work on zoning bylaw revisions now, and creating a 40R is on the back burner. It might be brought back later, maybe for use in village centers.
Cathy Schoen (District 1) wanted design guidelines to be part of a new bylaw and to include consideration, with some diagrams, of streetscapes and sidewalks. She thought 3-D drawings would make some of the proposed changes clearer. Morra said that including diagrams is part of his plan for the recodified zoning bylaw.
When asked about coordination between the Community Resources Committee (CRC), Planning Board, and Planning Department in revising the Zoning Bylaw, Brestrup said that the Planning Board is providing a sounding board for the Planning Department in discussing possible changes. The Planning Board has been meeting weekly during February and will continue to do so in March. There have been several fruitful discussions. By law, the Planning Board must hold a public hearing about zoning changes. This hearing will probably be held in collaboration with the CRC.
Capital Building Projects
The Elementary School Building Committee has put out a Request for Services to hire a Project Manager. The committee is working on goals for the project and a means to evaluate applicants.
The Joint Capital Planning Committee (JCPC) is meeting weekly to set up a schedule for meeting capital requests over the next five years. JCPC has received a list of Town assets and their condition from departments to help plan for needed repairs and replacement. There was one request from residents for funds. That came from a group of high school students promoting solar canopies for our school parking lots.
Town Budget
The FY 2022 budget is proposing an across-the-board 1.5 percent increase for all departments. Although the effect of this small increase is not known for most departments, the schools have announced the lay off of 16.5 full-time positions to meet previous commitments for benefits and raises. Schoen asked if this is a case where the Budget Coordinating Group (BCG) could meet and decide whether some of the money should be reallocated to the schools, from other departments. Finance Committee chair Andy Steinberg (at large) said that, in the past, the BCG would meet when exceptional circumstances, such as the receipt of additional funds mid-year, necessitates a need to discuss reallocation of available funds. Under the new Town charter, the BCG has not been active.
The full Town Manager’s report is included in this issue and also can be read here.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that the Farmer’s Market would like to use the Town Common again this summer. Not many events are anticipated to take place on the Common, but if there was a conflict, the Farmer’s Market could skip a week. This will be brought before the Council at a later meeting.
The Community Safety Working Group has put out bids for a consultant to help them collect and analyze data on mistreatment of BIPOC residents in Town by the police. The funds will come from the $80,000 in the budget previously dedicated to combating racism.
The Reparations for Amherst group has also requested funds to help determine the most effective way to compensate the Black community for past and present discrimination. The group plans another symposium with Evanston, Illinois Alderman Robin Rue Simmons, as a follow-up to their December 1, 2020 program. They would like to pay Alderman Simmons an honorarium. Several people expressed support for this use of the money in public comment, as did Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne (District 5).
Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) asked about the legality of distributing money to groups not associated with the Town. Bockelman said that the rules are unclear, and he has requested advice from the Town Attorney. He said the first priority is to support the Community Safety Working Group with what they need to prepare their report by mid-March. Alisa Brewer (at large) said that the Town used to have contracts with various social service groups, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, so “we should be able to figure this out.’”
Bahl-Milne and Pat DeAngelis (District 2) have found a trainer, Annie Rodriguez, who works with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond for the Undoing Racism workshop for the Councilors. They will be distributing her bio and have chosen the weekend of April 10 as the most likely time. The workshop will entail two 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. days and a three-hour follow up a few weeks later.
The meeting adjourned at 10:40 p.m. The next meeting will be March 8.