Minutes March 8, 2010
Regular Meeting
Planning Board Agenda for Monday, March 8, 2010
7:00 Continuation of Zoning Hearings • Article 3 (Harbor Overlay District)
• Article 5 (Changes to South Hingham Overlay District)
• Article 8 (Changes to Uses Permitted in Office Park, Industrial, Limited Industrial, and Industrial Park Districts
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Present: Planning Board Members, Chair, Judy Sneath, Clerk, Paul Healey, Sarah Corey,
Susan Murphy, and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
7:00 Continuation of Zoning Hearings
The Board discussed and made recommendations on the following three articles:
Article 5
This proposed amendment to the Zoning By-Law entails selected modifications to Section III-E, South Hingham Development Overlay District (SHDOD), which includes all of the property that is zoned as either Office Park or Industrial Park south of Whiting Street. One of the objectives of the SHDOD (which was established by Town Meeting in 1991) was to support future development that balances the concerns of abutting neighborhoods with the long-term fiscal goals of the community. Over the past year, the Planning Board has worked closely with commercial property owners and representatives of affected residents and various Town boards and committees to identify possible amendments to SHDOD that would address the needs of commercial property owners and abutters alike. For example, property owners in the Office Park District asserted that it would be more attractive to developers of medical and professional offices if maximum building heights of up to 60’ were permitted, though the overall square footage of building that could be built would remain the same.
After careful consideration of the specific property in question, the Planning Board determined that this modification would not have negative impacts and voted unanimously to recommend favorable action on this Article.
Article 8
This Article proposed a variety of modifications to Section III-E (Schedule of Uses) aimed at expanding and updating the uses permitted in the Office Park, Industrial, Industrial Park, and Limited Industrial Park zoning district. The Planning Board worked closely with the Zoning Board of Appeals and members of the business community to identify changes that would better reflect current land use trends, reduce the need for zoning relief, and promote the development and/or continued use of commercial property in these selected districts.
The Planning and Zoning Boards are planning to continue this process next year with a similar review of uses permitted and not permitted in other zoning districts.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend favorable action on this Article.
Article 3 Creation of a Hingham Harbor Overlay District
This article came about as a result of many months of work on the part of the Harbor Task Force. The purpose is to 1) to allow, with a Special Permit A2, a marina on the Town-owned land zoned Official and Open Space; 2) to allow for the presence of tightly regulated, seasonal concession stands (not restaurants), and 3) to modify some of the dimensional requirements for the parcels with an underlying zoning designation of Waterfront Business District and 4) to provide for limited design review for new construction.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend favorable action on this Article.
Next Meeting: March 15
The Meeting was adjourned at 9:50 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Katharine T. Lacy, Town Planner