DEERFIELD — The Planning Board will hold three public hearings during a Sept. 13 meeting regarding frontage requirements, a new tourism zoning district and solar bylaw revisions.
The Planning Board and Selectboard met on Aug. 23 and Aug. 26 to discuss the proposed zoning changes, which will be brought to a vote at the Oct. 4 Special Town Meeting.
The proposed frontage bylaw, which was originally shot down at Annual Town Meeting in June, would reduce the minimum frontage specifically for town-owned lots from 200 feet to 50 feet in the Center Village Residential District (CVRD) and Small-Business District (C-1). The revision voted down at Annual Town Meeting in June would have reduced frontage requirements for town-owned lots across all of Deerfield to 50 feet. Selectboard members said they believed the original bylaw’s town-wide effect may have worried people about the town’s ability to build anywhere.
Selectboard member Trevor McDaniel said the reduced frontage requirements in only the Center Village Residential and Small-Business districts would allow the town to develop lots that cannot be used right now.
“You see this in any big city or any large town where you’ve got really tight areas. You need to have access,” McDaniel said at the Aug. 23 meeting. “This uses property for municipal use to benefit all residents of the town; it’s not looking for a blanket, ‘Hey we’re going to put anything, anywhere we want.’”
The boards approved a proposal for a tourism zoning district. The overlay would encompass parcels next to Routes 5 and 10 such as Tree House Brewing’s land to try to drum up tourism in the area.
The overlay would set requirements for open space, parking spaces and overnight camping events, such as festivals. The overlay would limit companies like Tree House Brewing to three camping events — of up to four consecutive days — per calendar year.
Four camping events were initially proposed, but several Planning Board members said that number was “generous.”
“Four camping events a year in our town would be a great problem to have,” Planning Board member Ann-Mary Cloutier said at the Aug. 26 meeting. “I think (three) is good.”
Town bylaws require any further restrictions to be voted on at a Town Meeting, but allowing more camping events in the future would only require a petition to town boards.
“I think it would be a cool idea,” McDaniel said. “but I agree, it shouldn’t be open-ended.”
The Planning Board also approved solar bylaw revisions at its Aug. 23 meeting. The revision would restrict by-right, ground-mounted solar arrays to 660 square feet.
The bylaw, which focused on medium-scale and large-scale solar arrays, was originally passed by voters at Annual Town Meeting in June, but the Planning Board opted to revisit it after concerns about a lack of specificity when it came to small-scale arrays. The original bylaw allowed ground-mounted solar arrays up to 10,000 square feet.
The proposed revision would bring Deerfield’s bylaws in line with state regulations, which limit by-right arrays to 10 kilowatts. Ten kilowatts of energy roughly translates to a 660-square-foot system.
“A typical residential system today can be built up to 660 square feet without getting (Department of Public Utilities) approval,” said Chris Curtis, a Planning Board consultant. “Correlating that to our bylaw seemed like it was logical and sensible.”
The Sept. 13 meeting involving the three public hearings will be held at 7 p.m. and in hybrid fashion at both the main meeting room at the Deerfield Municipal Offices, 8 Conway St., and online via Zoom. Links are available on the town website.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.