Discussion of Rezoning 5-7 Winter Street to MBTA Communities Overlay District
John Leone attended the meeting to discuss rezoning his family’s property at 5-7 Winter Street to be included in the MBTA Communities Overlay District. The property is a large historic home that was excluded from the recently created overlay district because it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Leone explained that his family wants to preserve future options for the property. He requested that the property be rezoned to the Neighborhood Multifamily subdistrict rather than the Broadway subdistrict.
The board was generally supportive of rezoning the property to the Neighborhood Multifamily subdistrict through a citizen petition. They agreed that spot zoning one property owned by one family made sense in this case. They recommended Leone do outreach to the Historic Commission before bringing a citizen petition.
Discussion of Creating an Urban Renewal Plan
The board discussed creating an urban renewal plan to allow the town to acquire and redevelop underutilized properties. The Community Development Department will research and propose potential areas that could benefit from an urban renewal plan.
Changes to Sign Review Process
The board voted to modify the administrative sign review process to allow the Community Development Department to administratively approve signs that comply with zoning bylaws without needing to go through the full board review process. Only signs that require waivers or adjustments would need to go through the full board review.
New Assistant Director of Community Development Hired
The Community Development Department announced that it has hired a new assistant director who will start in January 2023.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLpMOOcli0