The Planning Board has finished work on its proposed bylaw changes for the Oct. 28 Special Town Meeting, bringing to the docket changes to six existing bylaws. At the board’s Sept. 30 meeting, members reluctantly voted to withdraw the proposed Rural Life Special Permit bylaw and cut back changes to the Ayer Road Village Special Permit bylaw in the face of public criticism. The board also revived proposed changes to the small-, medium-, and large-scale uses allowed in the commercial district, which it had previously abandoned after discovering a clerical error.
The now-defunct Rural Life Special Permit bylaw would have allowed the board to issue special permits for limited commercial activity on up to nine parcels of 10 or more acres in the agricultural/residential district in exchange for the permanent preservation of open space or historical landmarks.
The changes to the existing Ayer Road Village Special Permit bylaw would make it more permissive, mostly by increasing the allowed floor area ratio (FAR). FAR compares the square footage of all buildings on a lot (including multiple floors) to the total area of the lot. For example, a two-story building with 500 square feet on each floor in a 2000-square-foot lot would have a FAR of 0.5 (50%). The existing bylaw allows a maximum FAR of 0.2, the original proposal would have increased that to 0.5 (0.4 base with a 0.1 bonus for development including affordable housing), and the current proposal increases it to 0.4 (0.3, with a 0.1 affordable housing bonus).
At the board’s Sept. 23 meeting, members discussed scaling back its bylaw proposals in response to negative feedback from the public and resolved to gather an additional week of feedback before making a final decision. At the Sept. 30 meeting, more citizens, including former Planning Board member Michelle Catalina, criticized those proposals, asking for a more thorough study of potential consequences before altering the town’s zoning.
Vice Chair Justin Brown and member Stacia Donahue wanted to keep the 0.5 as the maximum FAR of the Ayer Road Village Special Permit bylaw, Chair Erin McBee and member Jarrett Rushmore supported reducing the maximum to 0.4, while member Fran Nickerson wanted to withdraw all proposed changes. The board voted 3-2 to reduce the proposed maximum to 0.4. It also unanimously voted to withdraw the Rural Life Special Permit bylaw.
Other sections of Harvard’s protective bylaw refer to the allowed small-, medium-, and large-scale commercial uses, which would have caused the bylaw to become internally inconsistent, forcing the Planning Board to consider withdrawing the proposed changes until it could also alter the other sections at a later date. Director of Community and Economic Development Chris Ryan was able to reorganize the proposed changes so they would no longer cause conflict, allowing them to proceed to Special Town Meeting.
The board has now closed the hearing on all its proposals for the upcoming Special Town Meeting, meaning it will no longer be setting aside time at each meeting for public comment on them. Any further alterations to these bylaws will need to occur on the floor of Town Meeting.
