By Ashley Saari Monadnock Ledger-Transcript,By ASHLEY SAARI Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Copyright keenesentinel

Jaffrey is gathering feedback on proposals to merge four zoning districts into two. The changes are designed to streamline development and encourage growth. The proposals may be before voters in March.

One proposal would combine the town’s general business district and Main Street program area overlay district into a single district. The other would combine the two residential districts into one.

On Wednesday, Jaffrey held a workshop in the Jaffrey Civic Center to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the potential changes, ask questions and offer feedback. Residents who attended were generally in favor of the mergers, but offered suggestions to keep development in line with the existing neighborhoods.

Jaffrey Planning Director Doug Dumont said the aim of the changes is to make the districts more uniform, and to encourage development mostly in the areas where the town has water and sewer infrastructure. He said in some cases, the zoning may be more permissive, or remain the same as the current zoning.

“We’re not making things more restrictive,” Dumont said. “In the worse case, nothing changes, but more than likely, properties will see less restrictions.”

The new business district would allow residential uses (excluding manufactured homes), lodging houses, professional offices, services or commercial uses, eating and drinking establishments, retail and personal services, artisan workshops and studios, civic uses or other uses by conditional use permit.

There would be no requirements for lot size or frontage, the front setbacks would align with existing buildings and have a 15-foot side and rear setback from neighboring buildings. The height limit is 45 feet, which is the upper limit throughout the town due to the reach of the town’s fire equipment.

Mark Fougere, of Fougere Planning and Development, said the goal of the changes is to reflect what the town has today.

“One of the problems with existing zoning is that if you tried to rebuild the downtown, which everyone loves, today, you couldn’t do it,” Fougere said. “That’s the case in a lot of places.”

While giving feedback on behalf of her table, resident and planning board member Margaret Dillon said that long-time residents want a walkable, shoppable downtown.

“Folks who lived here a long time ago remember when the downtown was pretty much a full-service community,” Dillon said. “You didn’t have to leave town for anything.”

She said people wanted to see that again — shops like grocery, pharmacy and hardware stores, restaurants and professional services. She said the proposed changes seemed to have that same goal.

Evan Clements, speaking for his discussion group, said they agreed that concentrating development where there is existing sewer and water is the goal, while preserving rural areas like the town’s Mountain Zone. He said these kinds of regulations for the area of Main Street seemed natural, though he was less sure of what the landscape might look like if the same regulations stretched up and down Route 202.

Jim Douglas, speaking for his group, said they were in favor of the change. “We generally support anything that promotes further development in the business district,” he said.

The town is also proposing a change to the residential district downtown, combining the two existing residential districts, which are similar to each other, into one. The primary difference between the two is access to water and sewer infrastructure. After the merger, water and sewer access would inform permitted uses.

The proposed permitted uses in the district would be residential and civic uses, with other uses allowed by a conditional use permit. Properties with town water and sewer would be allowed to be 0.46 acres, require 75 feet of road frontage, with 15-foot front, side and rear setbacks. Those without water and sewer would require a one-acre lot, with 125 feet of road frontage and 30-foot setbacks.

The districts would allow single-family and duplex homes by right and remove an upper limit on units, but would still require site plan review for anything larger than a duplex.

Clements said his group had some concern with loosening density requirements, and had discussed how to resolve that. He said it could be done in a non-disruptive manner, referencing a multi-family apartment in the former Red Mill Inn on Stratton Road, which he said fits seamlessly into the neighborhood.

He said his group wanted further design standards to make sure that apartments fit into the neighborhood.