Planning Board Mulls Floor Plans for Two-Family Dwellings; Public Hearing Set for July

The Bedford Planning Board continued its discussion of the zoning bylaw and two-family dwellings during its Feb. 22 meeting.

The discussion primarily focused on the dimensional standards and performance criteria that should apply to such dwellings.

Planning Director Anthony Fields provided a research memo regarding relevant bylaws in other towns, which included generally accepted dimensions and floor plans. He suggested organizing floor plans into sub-groups as he continues to gather statistics regarding frontage, setbacks, and square footage in preparation for a public hearing in July.

Board member Chris Gittins praised the floor map provided in the memo and advised against placing a cap on floor area.

Member Jacinda Barbehenn conducted additional research on floor-area ratios and suggested that the board review multiple floor plans in order to provide residents with a variety of options and prevent one lot from being converted into two “McMansions” against residents’ wishes.

Barbehenn emphasized the need for residents’ input before moving forward with “aesthetic” details for multi-family dwellings and stressed the importance of addressing the “missing middle” constituency for housing.

Her colleague Amy Lloyd argued that aesthetics for residences need to conform with the aesthetics of the neighborhood in which the residences are located. Gittins agreed that tailoring the floor plans would be beneficial to both homeowners and neighboring residents. He proposed that the board make suggestions for possible floor plans and then provide those options to residents for feedback.

Lloyd cautioned against bringing forward new limitations to current zoning bylaws. She asserted that increased regulations could be circumvented by developers, while making it more difficult for homeowners to make alterations to their homes.

Barbehenn asked if the data could be provided in a spreadsheet format to complete a review and comparison. Catherine Perry, Assistant Planner, offered to provide a list of frequently-asked questions and corresponding responses for the next meeting.