Swampscott considers mid-sized housing in 3A zoning

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Last Updated, Nov 14, 2023, 5:18 AM

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SWAMPSCOTT — As the Planning Board works on drafting new zoning bylaws allowing for multifamily housing, it is trying to balance studio or one-bedroom apartments with “missing middle” housing, such as townhouses and courtyard buildings.

To comply with Section 3A of Massachusetts’ 2021 Zoning Act, MBTA communities or municipalities located half a mile from an MBTA Commuter Rail, subway, bus station, or ferry terminal must have a multifamily housing zoning district near the public-transit station. Since Swampscott has a Commuter Rail station, it is considered an MBTA community and is required to create a multifamily housing zoning district by the end of 2024.

Two weeks ago, the Select Board approved the Planning Board’s zoning district map, which proposes three separate multifamily zoning districts, which include two abutting districts in Vinnin Square and another surrounding the Commuter Rail station.

The Select Board approved the zoning maps, so the Planning Board is now tasked with writing the zoning bylaw amendments associated with the districts before a May 2024 Town Meeting vote.

Planning Board Member Angela Ippolito said that since Town Meeting approved the creation of a mixed-use retail and residential zoning district in Vinnin Square, the mapped areas already comply with Section 3A’s multifamily housing density requirements.

“No matter how we laid out different maps in those districts, we still came down to a net of over 15 units an acre on average,” Ippolito said. “Clearly, the zoning that we passed in May actually allows for even more dense housing in that district, and it compels the owner to include retail in the project. The new 3A law allows you to include retail with the multifamily zoning, but you can’t actually have a clause that says you must put retail there.”

Planning Board Chair Michael Proscia read an email from Vice Chair Ted Dooley to the Planning Board. The email suggested that the proposed zoning bylaws allow for creating “missing middle” housing or structures such as townhouses, fourplexes, or cottage courts that are categorized as a medium between larger apartment complexes and single-family homes.

Proscia agreed with Dooley’s opinion that “missing middle” housing blends better with the town’s appearance than large-scale modular apartment complexes.

“It’s a bit of a pushback between sort of the market version of housing these days, which is more like a five-story or one-story model. We see a lot of that, and aesthetically, there’s some pushback towards it. I kind of agree with Ted on this one,” Proscia said.

When Proscia asked whether the bylaws could limit the number of one-bedroom or studio units permitted within a structure, Ippolito said she was unsure whether the town had that legal authority under Section 3A.

A map of Swampscott’s proposed Section 3A multifamily zoning district around the Commuter Rail station.

“I think anything in terms of building size, format, anything like that, that would be regarded as restricting the number of units might be a problem. However, because we’re already in compliance, it may not be,” Ippolito said.

Director of Planning and Land Use Peter Kane suggested that if the Board wished to encourage mid-sized housing development, it could either do so using design guideline recommendations or by writing zoning bylaws that limit the number of units allowed per structure.

Kane said that by restricting the number of units allowed in each structure, the Board would encourage developers to consider “missing middle” housing without impacting Section 3A’s per-acre unit-density requirements.

Before Town Meeting in May, Ippolito said the Board plans to hold at least two public hearings to hear the community’s opinions on the proposed bylaw changes.

“People have this sense of impending doom about it (Section 3A zoning), so just in general, I think it would be good to get out in front of them and provide plenty of opportunity for comment,” Proscia said.

Anthony Cammalleri is the Daily Item’s Swampscott and Nahant News Reporter. He wrote for Performer Magazine from 2016 until 2018 and has been published in the Boston Globe, and Westford Community Access Television News.

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