MONTAGUE — Zoning amendments that would allow for mixed-use development on the former Farren Care Center lot on Montague City Road are set to come before Special Town Meeting voters on Oct. 22, following unanimous approval from the Planning Board.
The 10 proposed zoning amendments were drafted by Innes Land Strategies Group Inc. (formerly Innes Associates). Speaking before the Planning Board on Tuesday, Innes Land Strategies Group Chief Resilience Officer Paula Ramirez explained that the area’s current Central Business District zoning is too restrictive in maximum building height, units per building and parking for the Farren’s intended redevelopment.
“We see that by right is only equal or less than four units [for mixed-use commercial and residential]. Multi-family dwelling is not permitted. Then retail is permitted by right if it’s less than 5,000 square feet, and then we have several dimensional standards and the height that is permitted,” Ramirez said. “Our goal is to meet the housing needs, create that vibrant village center — more housing, more typologies, a mix of different units — and then for the retail to really encourage development of retail spaces. … It’s very clear that the existing zoning was not really aligning with the village center vision.”
The proposed plan includes features such as a bus stop, park, terraces, ground-floor commercial infrastructure and green infrastructure, Ramirez said. She added that leaving room for walkability in the center will also be a key priority.
Innes Land Strategies Group President Emily Innes explained that based on the town’s input, as well as community input from a variety of previous hearings on the proposed development, the design firm proposed the creation of the new “Village Center Mixed-Use Zoning District,” in addition to an overlay district so that the project can be further expanded in the future.
“Projects with any combination of two-family dwelling units and three-family dwellings shall be developed at a minimum density of 12 dwelling units per acre of developable land. … It’s important for people to know that multi-unit dwellings are four units and above,” Innes said, explaining the project’s housing density requirements.
The new zoning district, Innes explained, would allow for the construction of multi-family housing on the lot, as well as boutique hotels with up to 40 guest rooms with a special permit, craft workshops, restaurants, cafes and retail stores. It would also set a three-story height restriction on buildings within a 30-foot setback from Cabot Street or Farren Avenue and a four-story height cap on all other buildings in the district.
“We were doing this test just to see, first, what are we doing, the environment that we are looking at in this area with the residential mixed buildings and the pocket parks, etc., that we have in the zoning,” Innes said. “Then we wanted to do those tests with a height difference to see if we all agree that the four stories, what we have now, should continue, or if we want to do some modifications.”
After resident Sam Lovejoy requested during public comment that the Planning Board increase height restrictions, board members discussed a possible height cap increase, but ultimately decided not to amend the height restrictions. Members noted that the Planning Board’s recommendation could still be amended at Town Meeting to be more lenient, but not more restrictive. Board members also noted that there are few buildings in town that exceed five stories in height.
“We’re one step closer, one big step. The next one (Town Meeting) is a real biggie, and then the good stuff starts,” Planning Board Chair Ronald Sicard said. “Thank you, everyone. Thank you, thank you, for all the people who’ve put in extra time … who have dotted every i and crossed every t, and made sure we got this right.”