GREENFIELD — A zoning overhaul of the French King Highway commercial district and the rules that govern large-scale development could be passed this March by the City Council in an effort to cut a deal to help approve a new public library downtown.
If the proposed zoning changes are passed, it will be the easiest it has been in decades to develop large businesses throughout the city and in particular along the French King Highway.
The plan addresses both the French King Highway overlay district and the major project review guidelines, which were intended to provide close scrutiny of commecial development.
French King Highway
The proposal removes almost all of the French King Highway overlay district along High Street from Clark Street, which is the block just south of Silver Street, and north up French King Highway to the Route 2 intersection. The exception is land east of the French King Highway and north of Canada Hill Road, which is to ensure the protection of the Wissatinnewag land, the site of presumed Native American burials.
The overlay district includes land that has been hung up in court over a proposed 130,000-square-foot big box store on the land of Ceruzzi Properties, formerly owned by the Mackin family. This case, which is an appeal of a 2011 Greenfield Planning Board decision, is expected to go to trial the last week of March.
The overlay district, which was drafted after extensive public input in 1993 on the heels of lobbying against a big box store like Walmart coming to town, is intended to “create attractive entryways into Greenfield, to minimize strip development and traffic congestion, to protect scenic and natural features, and to promote high quality building and site design.”
The overlay district prohibits take-out, drive-in or drive-through restaurants, as well as gas stations.
Major Development Review
The plans to change the major development review are a bit more complicated and nuanced, and have been the byproduct of private negotiations among councilors.
The purpose of the major development review ordinance is to “identify and attempt to mitigate potential negative impacts to the City of Greenfield, such as to (municipal) services, traffic patterns, the eviromement, abutting properties, or the public health and safety, caused directly or indirectly by major development.”
The proposed zoning changes would:
■Allow businesses that bring in 3,000 vehicle trips per day in the commercial district and 1,500 trips per day in all other districts. This is an increase from 1,000 and 500 trips, respectively, per day.
■Allow nonresidential buildings of up to 150,000 square feet in the planned industry district, 35,000 square-feet in the central commercial and limited commercial district and 75,000 square feet in all other districts. This is an increase from 100,000, 15,000 and 40,000 square feet, respectively. It also deletes previous threshold rules on expanding businesses.
■Explicitly outlines the Zoning Board of Appeals is in charge of granting all special permits for major development.
■Alters the language that the Zoning Board can grant a special permit only after finding that the proposal will not “create a materially adverse impact” as opposed to just an adverse impact.
■It creates the rule that if a special permit is not granted within 210 days of initial application that the permit will automatically be granted, in accordance with state laws.
All of the talk on these changes are likely to be compressed into the next five to 10 weeks.
The zoning changes have a handful of hoops before they can be approved, but the final vote could come as early as the March 20 Greenfield City Council meeting.
If not in March, the vote could come the next month, before the April 30 deadline for state grant money that is tied to approving a new public library.
City councilors have tied relaxing development regulations to support for a proposed new library, so that both plans are on parallel tracks and must be approved at the same time.
Now that the initial process has been approved, the zoning change moves to the Greenfield Planning Board and Economic and Development Committee. The two groups can hold a joint public hearing or two separate public hearings.The groups need to publicize for two weeks the announcement of the public hearing, which means it could come as early as Feb. 28.
Following the hearing, the Planning Board has up to 21 days to give its recommendation to the full council.
The council needs two-thirds of its body, likey nine councilors, to approve of the zoning changes.
If ultimately passed, it likely means there will also be a new public library built in Greenfield — which also means a planned new fire station will also have to be built elsewhere in town ahead of the library.
Currently the city is evaluating the Beacon and Riddell Street site for the new firehouse. The full plans on the fire station or public safety complex have not been made public yet, even though the mayor initially indicated a study on the feasibility of that site to be ready late December, early January.
The library can begin being built without the fire station moving from its current location, but how long the city has to find a new space is not clear.
What is clear is the fire station definitely will have to move if the new library, which has been approved by the Massachusetts Board of LIbrary Commissioners, is built there.
As for commercial development in Greenfield, businesses like gas stations, drive-throughs and restaurants with take-out options would be able to build there.
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264