ARTICLE 19 - March 25, 2023 Town Meeting

PB ZNG 2304: Amendments to Sections 2.1, 3.2.2, 8, Appendix A, and Appendix C of the Zoning Bylaw

The Planning Board has sponsored amendments to the Zoning Bylaw (Sections 2.1, 3.2.2, Appendix A, Appendix C, and a new Section 8.9) for consideration at the March 25, 2023, Annual Town Meeting (to be held at 9:00am at Westford Academy). The following summarizes the proposed changes, which essentially cover two key topics – the creation of a Commercial Recreation Overlay District and an expansion of Indoor and Outdoor Commercial Recreation and Winter Commercial Recreation opportunities by Special Permit in commercial and industrial districts: 

Proposed Amendments Description

Section 2.1: This simply identifies the name of the proposed overlay district – Commercial Recreation Overlay District (CROD).

Section 3.2.2: The intent of this change is that if a business use identified as an Indoor or Outdoor Commercial Recreation or Winter Commercial Recreation use is seeking to add an accessory commercial use (for example, retail sales of merchandise like t-shirts and hats to promote the business, a snack shop, etc.) that the Special Permit Granting Authority could authorize accessory uses during its review process.

Section 8.9: This section establishes the purpose, application standards, requirements, and proposed parcels of land to be included in the proposed overlay district. The current proposal includes parcels of land associated with Nashoba Valley Ski Area and Kimball Farm. Although these are both existing Commercial Recreation and Winter Commercial Recreation businesses, the overlay would allow both entities to make changes and add accessory commercial uses (such as new restaurant space) to their existing business through a more streamlined permitting process than the town’s Zoning Bylaw currently requires. These kinds of accessory use additions would still require a Special Permit, which is a public hearing process. 

Appendix A: Presently, Indoor and Outdoor Commercial Recreation is only allowed via Special Permit in the Commercial Highway zoning district. The proposed changes would also allow these types of uses by Special Permit in the Industrial Highway, Industrial A, Industrial B, and Industrial C zoning districts. Similarly, the opportunity to have a Winter Commercial Recreation business via Special Permit would be expanded to the Commercial Highway, Industrial Highway, and Industrial C zoning districts. 

The proposed amendments for the CROD and Appendix A also seek to change the Special Permit Granting Authority (SPGA) from the Zoning Board of Appeals to the Planning Board in an effort to consolidate the permitting process for applicants as they are likely to need other approvals from the Planning Board (such as Site Plan Review or a Major Commercial Project Special Permit). 

Appendix C: Because some commercial recreation uses may require a greater height than what is allowed within the underlying zoning districts of properties within the proposed CROD (e.g. ziplining, rock climbing, toboggan courses, etc.), a footnote has been added regarding height to allow structures that support commercial recreation uses within the CROD to have a maximum height of 50 feet. The SPGA may still require that any specific proposal be reduced in height during the public hearing process.

Following the public hearing (closed by the Board on March 6, 2023), the Board voted 5-0-0 to recommend that Town Meeting vote to APPROVE the requested zoning changes to create the CROD and allow Indoor and Outdoor Commercial Recreation and Winter Commercial Recreation uses by Special Permit in select commercial and industrial zoning districts.

The latest draft can be viewed here and is on file with the Town Clerk's Office and Department of Land Use Management.