Braintree Revises
Its Zoning Regs

At the beginning of 2008, the Braintree Planning Commission (PC) began work on an effort to "tune-up" the town’s zoning ordinance. A first public forum on the revision process will be June 12.

A series of difficult decisions before the Development Review Board and complaints from permit applicants made commissioners aware that there were problems in the 2003 ordinance.

With the help of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, Braintree applied for and received a municipal planning grant to revise the town’s zoning and subdivision ordinances. Chris Sargent, a regional planner at Two Rivers, has been working with the town since February.

The primary focus of the revision process has been to correct problem areas, including setbacks, which have been a thorn in the side of a number of would-be developers in town.

Braintree’s setbacks "are a bit onerous", according to Sargent, and "have the potential to make it impossible to develop a piece of land.

"The distances are so extreme that, for example, a house near a stream might have to be set so far back from the road that it interferes with the required setback from the stream."

A permit applicant in this situation would be forced to request a variance (effectively a relaxation of the rules due to a hardship) but variances are, by statute, very hard to get.

In a similar case, which involved alterations to a porch that violated setback regulations, the DRB was forced to deny the permit because the applicant couldn’t meet the statutory requirements for a "hardship."

It is hoped that the revisions being considered will cut the number of variance requests brought before the DRB. Such a reduction would increase the speed at which a permit is granted by the zoning administrator.

The zoning revision will include a new "waiver" process, which planner Sargent referred to as "variance lite." Waivers, which were enabled by statute three years ago, allow towns to waive dimensional requirements like setbacks under certain circumstances, such as when someone wants to install a handicap access ramp.

In general, the PC is working to simplify and clarify the ordinance.

"We want to make the document easier for folks to understand," said PC Chair Bob Moyer. "With help from TRORC staff member Sargent, the planning commission already has a number of new ideas.

"But," notes Moyer, "we really need to hear from people who have had issues with the zoning ordinance or the permit application process."

The PC also wants to be sure that the new ordinance is enforced in a fair and equitable manner, which requires a more consistent process.

In an effort to encourage public participation in the re-write, the PC will hold the first of several community forums Thursday, June 12, 7 p.m. at the Braintree Town Hall. The PC invites anyone who has had concerns with the ordinance to attend.

While some residents have proposed that the town "do away" with zoning altogether, the planning commission is not convinced that this is the best option.

"I think Braintree’s bylaws and their permit application process can be ‘tuned-up’ in a way that will make the process easier for applicants, but still allow Braintree the ability to maintain local control on land use," Sargent said.

If voters opt to eliminate their zoning ordinance, he added, "they’re leaving it up to the state to control Braintree’s land use through Act 250 and other state regulations."