Middlebury zoning law revisions would enable affordable housing - Addison County Independent

I think (a Neighborhood Development Area) is the best thing we can do to make ourselves more marketable to affordable housing developers.
— Jennifer Murray

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Planning Commission continues to work on revisions to the community’s zoning rules that in part incentivize development in the village area while preserving the history and character of Addison County’s shire town.

The rule changes are also intended to make the town of Middlebury more inviting to affordable housing. Jennifer Murray, Middlebury’s director of planning & zoning, said the changes would allow the town to qualify for a “Neighborhood Development Area (NDA)” designation from the state of Vermont, which among other things would incentivize developers to build affordable housing in town.

It was on April 21 of last year that the planning commission completed its work revising the town’s zoning and subdivision regulations. The revised regulations are intended to mirror the objectives of Middlebury’s town plan. In general, the revisions will “encourage a wider variety of housing types for increasing residential density on the downtown area, and improve the overall vitality of the downtown in accordance with the 2020 Downtown Master Plan,” according to an April 22 planning commission narrative summarizing its work.

Murray is upbeat about the proposed changes, especially the creation of a Middlebury NDA. Having an NDA would promote the creation of local affordable housing by giving developers the following perks:

• Qualified “mixed income” projects are exempt from Act 250 regulations.
• Agency of Natural Resources fees for wastewater review are capped at $50 for projects that have received sewer allocation from an approved municipal system.
• Exemption from the land gains tax.
• Limitation on appeals of conditional use permits for residential development.
• Host municipalities receive priority consideration for state grants.

Middlebury and other Addison County communities have been confronting the shortage of local affordable or “workforce” housing, which has become a more pressing concern of late since much of the state’s housing stock has been purchased by urban folks seeking refuge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have very few affordable housing contractors,” Murray lamented. “What brings them to Middlebury, instead of doing these projects in Chittenden County, where they have a lot more profit from selling an apartment than in Addison County? I think (an NDA) is the best thing we can do to make ourselves more marketable to affordable housing developers.”

Areas eligible for NDA designation must be located within a neighborhood planning area that extends a quarter-mile from village centers and new town centers, and a half-mile from downtowns.

The commission’s hope of directing development in, or closer to, the downtown is also reflected in the planning commission’s work on a set of “Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND)” standards that “offer streamlined review in exchange for a developer following a slightly more prescriptive set of standards that produce dense, walkable new neighborhoods,” according to Murray.

These TND standards would only kick in with proposals to build five or more new units on one of the vacant parcels identified in a newly created R-20 zoning district. This R-20 district includes current areas of dense development in town — including condominium clusters — as well as vacant lots close to the downtown that are served by exiting water and sewer service.

Murray noted the village area is currently characterized by a large High Density Residential (HDR) district, through which various housing proposals are fielded. The revised rules call for this big HDR district to be divided into several new districts. The new residential districts are R-2, R-4, R-8 and R-12 — connoting the number of units that could be built per acre. Planning officials stressed these designations closely align with the density of development currently existing in those neighborhoods.

‘HERITAGE’

The revised zoning rules call for a Heritage Industrial District “to encourage compact, mixed-use development within the downtown, with pedestrian-oriented, small-scale uses encouraging the arts, maker’s spaces and live-work units close to transportation, goods and services and entertainment options,” according to a planning commission narrative. This district would be located west of the railroad tracks and includes the area near the new Amtrak passenger rail platform, the Marble Works and Mill Street.

There’s a Mixed-Use District, which encourages a combination of residential and commercial units but lies along busier streets in the heart of the downtown where “vehicle-reliant businesses are more appropriate,” according to the commission narrative. This district would include South Pleasant Street and the east side of Exchange Street, from Elm Street to the Vermont Sun fitness club. It would expand commercial and residential options in those gateway corridors, according to Murray.

Other proposed zoning revisions call for:

• Removal of the maximum height restriction of 110 feet, which the commission found “arbitrary and no longer corresponded to the height of our new ladder truck,” reads the commission’s narrative. Applications will continue to be evaluated based on existing criteria of Section 727 of the zoning rules, with safety and fire protection also taken into consideration.
• The addition of language to Section 733 stipulating that “an accessory apartment is not a principal use.” This would in essence make it easier for owner-occupied parcels to create accessory apartments in such onsite structures as barns and carriage houses.
• A new section of the rules that clarifies how tiny homes and manufactured homes are classified and reviewed. “Different scenarios are contemplated, such as a tiny house on a parcel owned by someone else and multiple-unit tiny house developments,” reads the commission’s narrative.

A requirement that developers (or projects consisting of five or more units) in the R-20 and R-12 districts include a certain percentage of affordable units. The commission, in conjunction with these new rules removed a separate section of the current regulations that stipulated that developers of 10 or more units in other districts in town would no be longer required to ensure 20% of those units be made affordable. Planning officials said they made the tradeoff so as not to deter developers from creating market-rate housing, which Middlebury also needs at this time.

The planning commission has mapped out a tentative timetable for reviewing the proposed zoning changes that could lead to the selectboard approving them in late July. The commission and selectboard will both hold public hearings before that, so stay tuned. More information about the zoning revisions can be found at townofmiddlebury.org.

Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].

“When I first came, there was a lot of organizing to do,” said Ann Webster. “The first tim … (read more)

source: https://www.addisonindependent.com/2022/04/28/middlebury-zoning-law-revisions-would-enable-affordable-housing/

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