Recodification Phase 2 Will Look At Falmouth Bylaw Changes, Updates
Phase two of the Falmouth zoning bylaw recodification is officially underway, zoning bylaw working group chairwoman Charlotte Harris said after the group's meeting to set goals and a timeline on February 24.
“It was a very quick and to the point meeting because our agenda item was to set goals and to get a timetable, to just figure out what we're doing,” Ms. Harris said. “And we managed to do that.”
The subcommittee is made up of town counsel Frank Duffy, zoning board of appeals members D. Scott Peterson and Gerald Potamis, zoning administrator Noreen Stockman, planning board members Patricia Kerfoot and Ms. Harris, acting/assistant town planner Jed Cornock and planning staffer Michaela Shoemaker.
The subcommittee is also working with consultants Bob Ritchie and Bob Mitchell. Mr. Ritchie formerly worked in the attorney general’s office, where he reviewed local bylaw changes. Mr. Mitchell has served on several planning boards and worked on bylaws in various towns across Massachusetts.
“They've got a breadth of experience and knowledge that's really useful to us,” Ms. Harris said.
Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Mitchell kept a list of identified topics and issues that had been picked out during phase one of the zoning bylaw recodification. While phase one was largely focused on reformatting the bylaw to make it more accessible and readable, phase two will focus on reviewing it for errors, inconsistencies and areas in need of improvement or further elaboration.
Ms. Harris said the purpose of identifying priorities for phase two is to narrow down the list to avoid creating a free-for-all situation.
“It's been the practice of the board over the years to periodically address issues kind of as they come to the surface and get discussed and chewed over, and finally result in a change in the bylaws that goes to Town Meeting so that we are not in need of a major overhaul,” she said. “What we're in need of are tweaks here and there and some changes just to keep up with the times so we were all in agreement on that pretty quickly.”
One of the identified priorities is agricultural uses and bylaws, an area in which Mr. Ritchie has a lot of experience, Ms. Harris said.
“What we're trying to do is keep it balanced,” Ms. Harris said. “Our bylaws on agriculture allow practically everything to happen in agricultural districts and so we are losing our open land as a result. So we are taking a look at it probably from that standpoint.”
Other things being looked at are clerical errors that were overlooked during phase one, including numbering issues and any other mistakes. These will be cleaned up by the consultant team and presented to the subcommittee for final approval before heading to Town Meeting, Ms. Harris said.
The consultants will also review anything that needs to be brought up to standard with current state laws and regulations, which Ms. Harris said will likely include some redrafting and clearing up of any ambiguities.
Anything the subcommittee does, Ms. Harris said, goes back to Town Meeting for final approval, meaning there is no way for the subcommittee to act independently. So, rather than burn through their funding designated for the consultants, the planning and zoning boards will be using time on their regularly scheduled meeting agendas to discuss relevant issues regarding zoning bylaws with their respective boards.
“The boards can’t meet unless it’s a public meeting, so we will use time on our regular board meetings to discuss those issues, come to some sort of consensus, and then come back to the full subcommittee to talk about it with the consultants,” she said. “It means the public can be involved in those policy decisions and the full board can be involved and yet we get the benefit of the consultants without draining down the $30,000 that we have. We want to be careful how we use it.”
As chairwoman of the subcommittee, which did not have a chairperson during its first pass at bylaw recodification, Ms. Harris said that her largest concerns are making sure that everyone can say their piece, but that it’s done so in a time-efficient manner so the subcommittee can work quickly.
“We need to do things thoroughly,” she said.
Among priorities identified, Ms. Harris said that subcommittee members voiced their individual areas of concern, which will help direct how they move forward.
Mr. Duffy was specifically interested in looking at municipal uses in Falmouth.
“He feels that because of climate change, some of that might be impacted, and [he] wants to look at it, what are the things that the municipality has by right, and where are they involved,” Ms. Harris said. “[He] wants to look for maximum flexibility so they can deal with climate change on a timely basis without going back to Town Meeting for everything.”
Another point of interest is home occupation for business purposes, a bylaw that recently underwent changes during the pandemic. Cleaning up what exists in the bylaw and clearly defining what is/is not a home business is among some of the things expected in phase two.
Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, were also highlighted as a point of interest by subcommittee members, as well as the transfer of development rights, both of which can be used to mitigate impacts of climate change on residential density.
“With climate change, [that] is going to be really a hot topic,” Ms. Harris said. “What rights do the people who are about to lose property to the water have to move their rights for a small lot somewhere else in town? We'll see. So that's what they think we ought to be doing.”
Ms. Harris said that the more easily agreed upon items—such as renumbering, redrafts and minor cleanups—will be going to Town Meeting in November. Those items that will take longer and require more in-depth deliberation and public input could be headed for Town Meeting in April 2023, Ms. Harris said, if done efficiently.
“We’re hoping to get it all done,” she said. “We’ll see what’s really going to happen. I think we’re got a good group.”
Incorporating recodification topics into their regular meeting agendas will give both boards a better chance to hear more public input and have their ideas fleshed out by the community in real time.
“When we were doing phase one, the suggestion was made—and it's a good suggestion—that people who are not on that subcommittee be allowed to contribute as we go along,” Ms. Harris said. “Why wait until the end…when we think it’s the end and the cleanup time? Why not have them contributing all along? And we think that the process we’ve set up allows for that; we hope so. And they will be invited to come and know the topics that we’re intending to look at so they can be part of the process as we go.”