Zoning Articles for Town Meeting

The Planning Board of the Town of Hopkinton held a public hearing on Monday, January 31, 2022 at 7:00 P.M., on proposed amendments to the Zoning Bylaws. The subject matter of the proposed changes is below. This hearing was held pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020, as amended. For additional details, please email John Gelcich, Principal Planner, at jgelcich@hopkintonma.gov, call the Department of Land Use, Planning and Permitting at 508-497-9745. Read the public legal notice. Watch the meeting on YouTube, the discussion begins at 42 minutes into the meeting.

1. Amend the Zoning Bylaws to establish a dimensional table as a summary reference to the Bylaws as an appendix.

2. Amend the Zoning Bylaws to refer to the uses listed throughout the Bylaws as singular, in order to create consistency whereas currently some uses are listed as singular and others as plural.

3. Amend the Zoning Bylaws to modify all references throughout the Bylaws such that they are gender neutral.

4. Amend Article I, General Provisions, Section 210-3, General Applicability, to explicitly state that only one single-family dwelling may be allowed per lot. Additionally, Article I, General Provisions, Section 210-4, Definitions, would be amended to include the definition for “Principal Use”.

5. Amend Article XVIII, Supplementary Regulations, Section 210-124, Off-street parking, B. Parking Requirements, to create a new category for parking conformance (“Laboratory, research and development, and industrial uses”); reduce the required amount of parking for a warehouse use; and include the word “space” or “spaces” where appropriate to resolve a consistency issue.

The following proposed article will have a public hearing at a later date:

• To amend Article VIII, Section 210-28, Size and Setback Requirements, as follows: (4) Maximum gross floor area: 50% to 80% of lot area. – this last proposed article will have a public hearing at a later date, after it is reviewed by the Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC). Some information about this article is discussed about about minute 23 of the 1/31/22 meeting.