Residents will decide to approve or reject a new zoning bylaw that establishes proposed overlay districts in four areas of town at the November 18 Special Town Meeting. The proposed districts have been developed by the MBTA Task Force and the Planning Board in response to a new state law that adds a new Section 3A to the state’s Zoning laws contained in Chapter 40A.
The new overlay districts keep in place the underlying zoning provisions that exist today and add the possibility of property owners building multi-family units by right if the proposal adheres to the requirements of the overlay district, including design standards. This new zoning proposal is an important change that voters will want to study carefully before casting their vote.
The Task Force has been hard at work on the possible responses to the new state law for over a year. They have assembled a great deal of information both as background to their work and the details of the proposed overlay districts, all of which can be found on the Town’s web site. Just click on the MBTA Zoning button on the home page. The planners have heard many suggestions and comments about their efforts and have incorporated many of the suggestions that residents have provided. The many meetings, guiding principles, public forums, FAQs, field trips and short videos about the four districts can all be found on the website. It is not too soon for residents to be reviewing these materials as we count down the weeks to the Special Town Meeting.
The state passed the new law to encourage the creation of new housing, though the legislation only addresses this through zoning, not through actual construction mandates – the law requires towns to allow multi-family housing, it does not require that this housing be built. While some have objected that the law overreaches and takes away local control, the statutes are full of examples where municipalities must abide by state law, including the very process by which zoning laws are enacted. (There is a case before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court involving the Town of Milton challenging some aspects of the law. Oral arguments take place on October 7th though a decision is unlikely to come before the end of the year.)
The good news is that we have worked to tailor the new 3A zoning requirement to fit into Manchester’s character. For Manchester, the requirement is to allow multi-family housing on 37 acres, a tiny fraction of the approximately 5100 acres that lie within the Town boundaries. The law requires that we allow an average of 15 units per acre on these 37 acres. Given existing development that already exists within the chosen overlay districts, the maximum amount of net new housing that could be built is 342 units. This compares to approximately 2433 units that exist today. A commissioned study to determine the number of new units likely to be built put the total over time at 134 with 100 of these being in the small district proposed for the Limited Commercial District near the MAC. Even if the study’s conclusions are off a bit, it is not surprising to see a relatively low amount of new development arising given the historic trends in town and the high price of real estate.
A major worry has been whether the Town could comply with the new law while still retaining the special character that Manchester has. The proposals aim to address this concern by not placing any of the overlay districts in the historic district nor in the commercial area of the village. Most districts were chosen because they consist of small lots already built on to minimize the number of new units and to avoid the possibility of large complexes. Rules for each district set height limits and parking requirements to further limit development. Finally, the overlay districts are subject to new design review standards that are aimed at ensuring any new construction fits in with the existing
character of the surrounding neighborhood.
Another element that will be part of the proposal is to require a minimum of 20% of units built to be designated as affordable per state guidelines. This applies to any development with more than five units. This is important as Manchester currently lacks a good inventory of diverse, affordable units, likely contributing to our dwindling student population. Encouraging more diverse, affordable housing is one of the goals of the Town’s Master Plan.
A formal public hearing will be held by the Planning Board at the end of October and there will be additional public forums and presentations leading up to the Town Meeting. You are encouraged to learn about this important work as you prepare to participate in the Special Town Meeting on November 18 at the High School and decide whether to approve the new zoning regulations.
