Wegmans and Hannafords

Since Wegmans of Northboro and Hannafords in Hudson was brought up at last weeks Town Meeting I thought I would discuss both of these developments in my blog.

Wegmans in located in Northboro Ma and is a 138,000 SF building footprint.

Wegmans in Northborough

Hannafords Plaza located in Hudson has a 114,000 SF footprint

Hannafords Plaza in Hudson

If we put that in perspective and look at Bolton Office Park which is located on 39 acres and has a foot print of 43,916 SF, Hannafords is about 2.5 times larger than Bolton Office Park  and Wegmans is more than 3 times larger. In order for Bolton to handle a project such as a Hannafords at 8% lot coverage it would need 32 acres and would need 39 acres to support a Wegmans. Additionally, only 50% of the lot can be covered by the building and other impervious surfaces (parking, sidewalks etc..) which further limits development.

Bolton Office Park

During the Village Overlay Study the Planning Board looked extensively at various parcels to determine potential development on various lots. The only parcel that could accommodate a large scale development  would be the Bolton Office Park development which already has a structure located on it.

My next blog will discuss parcels more in detail.

Stay tuned!

Community Transit Service Survey

The Town of Bolton received a grant through our regional planning council, MAPC and is working with other towns in our region on the issue of local and regional public transportation services for residents. The survey is focused on gathering information and suggestions on enhancing transit options within Bolton and to destinations outside of town. The survey will help determine the types of improvements most beneficial to area residents and businesses.

Please complete one survey for each adult in the household. Hard copies can be found at Town Hall or on the Town’s website. To complete it electronically go to: www.surveymonkey.com/s/4BOLTON

Spotlight on Bolton

Bolton has been highlighted by the Freedom’s Way Heritage Association as part of the Strolling and Rolling 2012, a month-long event highlighting towns in the region in celebration of National Preservation Month. Freedom Way is encouraging people to get outside and rediscover Bolton. The following are highlighted: 1) Whitcomb Inn and Phillips Conservation Area 2) Lime Kiln and Quarry Conservation Area 3) Old South Burying Ground 4) Bolton Public Library 5) Wilder Mansion 6) Nashoba Vallery Winery Details along with a map can be found on this link: http://www.freedomsway.org/projects/s&r2012_bolton.pdf

 

Town Meeting Results – the second night

Well the second night of Town Meeting went much better than the first night. All of the Planning Boards articles were approved. The Fast Food restriction passed with little debate. The Base Map amendment also was approved. And finally the Solar Bylaw was adopted. Now off to the Attorney General’s office for the final stamp of approval. 

There has been much encouragement and support in regards to the outcome of the first Town Meeting night when the Village Overlay Article was defeated. Many residents have encouraged the Board to continue working on the bylaw and bring it to the next Town Meeting.

Stay tuned!

Jennifer Burney, Town Planner

Town Meeting

At last night’s Town Meeting, the Village Overlay was defeated. Opponents made a motion to remove the Salt Box from the Village Overlay which was approved. The amended article that did not include the Salt Box was then defeated. Also, the citizen’s petition for the Kane’s was defeated. What does that all mean now?

There are many options:
1)  The Planning Board could decide to bring the Article back to the next Town Meeting.

2) The Kane’s could request a Special Permit for a commercial development that would be approximately 40,000 SF. They could also do a Mixed Use 40B which could allow for a mix of residential and commercial. Or they could take the offer up on the suggestion of a Development Agreement. Many of the details such as lot coverage, number of buildings, sizes of building, building envelop, parking, and allowed uses are agreed on prior to Town Meeting. The development agreement would be voted on at town meeting followed by a vote on a zoning change. The Town of Berlin has done this for 3 of their developments (the mall, Highland Commons and the mixed use project by Pure Hockey).

3) The Salt Box folks could renovate the building, they could demolish and rebuild a building or they too could entertain the idea of a development agreement.

As far as other Planning Board articles, the fast food articles, the base map and solar bylaw will be voted on tonight.

Other articles include the Local Historic District.

Hope to see you tonight at Town Meeting. 7:00pm at the Highschool.

And thanks to the Planning Board members, especially to Chairman Doug Storey who worked so hard on the bylaws. I’d also like to thank the Economic Development Committee who supported the village overlay.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Burney, Town Planner

WHAT IS AN OVERLAY DISTRICT?

An overlay district is a district superimposed upon another district which supersedes, modifies or supple­ments the underlying regulations. Bolton currently has the Wireless Overlay District. The proposed Village Overlay District would be another.

The City of Rockville MD uses the analogy “Imagine a blanket covering a couch.  The couch is still there but you also have the blanket too”.  

Overlay districts are used to accomplish a variety of development, transportation, and land use goals such as protection of historic or natural resources, safety, standardization of a historic district, implementation of development guidelines, protection of the quality of surface water, and even special taxing or financing for an area. Overlay districts often complement a Town’s Master Plan.

If the Village Overlay is approved at Town Meeting it is not an automatic guarantee for a applicant. The applicant would still need to seek a Special Permit from the Planning Board and go through Site Plan approval with the Board of Selectmen and Design Review by the Design Advisory Team. The application could be denied if the project doesn’t meet the criteria of the Special Permit. Some folks have asked why even create a village overlay? The answer to that question is that the village overlay provides more design flexibility. It allows for reduced parking numbers, reduced set backs, smaller buildings, and multiple buildings. In some cases the underlying zoning does make sense. If we use Bolton Office Park as an example it makes more sense to have one large building set back at 150’. This would be a case where the village overlay zoning would not be utilized but rather the underlying zoning. Keep in mind that a project doesn’t have to use all the features within the village overlay. If a project makes more sense to have a 150’ set back but multiple smaller buildings the village overlay would allow this flexibility.

Stow Ma – Village Overlay allowed mixed Use (residential & business) and reduced set backs

Bolton Office Park – One large building with large front yard set back

How does the underlying zoning and the proposed Bolton Village Overlay District compare: Town Meeting is tonight Monday,  May 7th, 2012 at 7:00pm. Article 17 creates the Village Overlay District and 18-23 amends the bylaws as it relates to the Village Overlay. It is expected that this article will be late in the evening.

Bolton Local news event

Please view the Bolton Local news event to learn more about the upcoming Town Meeting. Meet the Town Administrator, Town Planner,  and Town Clerk. 

http://townhallstreams.com/locations/bolton-ma/event/neighborhood-new?start=201205021800&end=201205021830&tz=EDT