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Planning Board gets to work on new zones
"What we're trying to do is arrange the zoning districts so there's consistency between the Town and Country overlays," Vorce said. "We've already dealt with the commercial properties located in the town districts. Those were the new commercial districts we did (at a Special Town Meeting in) October." The first is an intermediary zone called Town Residential (TR) or, R- 40, with a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet. "What we've been thinking about is a transitional zone that's in the town with 40,000- square-foot lots before you get to the country," he said. The R-40 zone would effectively confine all of the Limited Use General (LUG) zones to within the Country Overlay District. Similarly, a second new zone called Village Residential (VR), with a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet, would replace the existing R-2 zone in the villages of 'Sconset, Quidnet, Madaket, Surfside and Cisco. To address the commercial uses found in the Country Overlay District, Vorce and the board are going after two other new zones: + Village Commercial Residential (VCN) would allow for less intensive uses on a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet in the village centers, such as the small grocery stores and restaurants that already operate seasonally in Madaket and 'Sconset. + Village Trade, Entrepreneurial and Craft (V-TEC) would cover larger commercial operations in rural areas with a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, including Cisco Brewers, the island's golf clubs, and farms. Although all four of these new districts are in their infancies, the Planning Board likes what it sees. "I think the overall concept of solidifying the zones is good because right now it's crazy," said Planning Board member Frank Spriggs. Fellow member John McLaughlin agreed. "This would be a lot clearer than that Comprehensive Plan," he said." Other efforts for April's Town Meeting include adjusting the zoning for 12 lots between Myles Reis's property at 80 Miacomet Ave. and Otokomi Road, per the request of 12 property owners who signed a petition and sent it to the Planning Board. If adopted, this article would change the zoning for these lots from Residential Commercial-Two (RC-2) to Residential-Two (R-2). Vorce and his staff are also working with residents of the 3M subdivision encompassing 123 properties on Golfview, Farmview, Swayzes, Henderson's, Doc Ryder, Clara and Raceway drives, Hatch and Todd circles, and Somerset Road to change their lots from RC-2 to R-10 or R-2. However, there is no consensus on how to proceed, so Vorce and the board are trying to galvanize as many residents as possible so at least some change can happen in April. To date, property owners on Golfview, Swayzes, Henderson's and Doc Ryder drives want to convert to R-10, but residents of Clara Drive and Todd Circle are against it. "We want to work with them in that we want to work with the people who have made up their minds and move toward a residential zoning district," said Vorce. Should voters adopt these articles, they will specifically target the areas in question, but for the four new districts, voters would only be adopting their concepts, not specific island areas where they would apply. Likewise, cautioned Vorce, the new commercial zones approved for the Town Overlay District by voters at the Oct. 23 Special Town Meeting will not have island areas assigned to them until articles are written for another special Town Meeting that deals only with zoning again. In fact, Vorce and the Planning Board agreed last Thursday night that holding a fall Town Meeting each year as needed, strictly for all zoning issues, could become a more efficient way of making zoning changes. "It got people's attention because when they saw something was going to change, it got them out," said Planning Board Chairman Don Visco. I |
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