NORTHAMPTON — The City Council’s Committee on Legislative Matters and the Planning Board are conducting a public hearing at the end of October to discuss possible zoning changes that would bring existing residential parcels into a district that aligns with their current use, and also provide more opportunities for redevelopment for industrial and commercial parcels.
During the regular City Council meeting on Oct. 1, City Council President Alex Jarrett and the city’s Planning and Sustainability Department jointly proposed that several properties in the General Industrial District be rezoned to Office Industrial to allow for residential uses above the first floor of those properties.
Jarrett said that this rezoning would allow a place like Bi-Qem, the former chemical plant that currently resides at 238 Nonotuck St., to redevelop the property for something like housing.
“There’s several properties in the General Industrial District that if they’re moved to Office Industrial, it would allow residential uses above the first floor, so that housing could be built in those districts, while still permitting all the other uses of Office Industrial,” Jarrett said.
According to Jarrett, there are minimal differences between General Industrial and Office Industrial, including the fact that warehousing is not allowed in the Office Industrial district. Jarrett said that none of these places that would be rezoned are appropriate for warehousing.
The city describes its Office Industrial District as a place where back office, manufacturing, research and development, non-retail-oriented business and a flexible use of historic mill buildings can reside.
It also states that mixed residential/workspace is permitted.
Structures allowed in the General Industrial District include primarily manufacturing, back office, research and development, non-retail-oriented business and warehousing.
Jarrett and the Planning and Sustainability Department also noted that there are several properties currently in residential use that reside in the General Industrial and Office Industrial districts. Therefore, they are proposing that those properties be rezoned to Urban Residential B to better reflect their use.
“Sometimes someone lives in a house that’s always been a house, it’s in this industrial zone, [and] in order to do something like add a second unit, they have to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals because it’s not actually allowed under the industrial zoning, even though it’s a residential use,” Jarrett said, regarding the current process for people who live in the General Industrial and Office Industrial Districts.
According to the city’s zoning laws, Urban Residential B District constitutes residential with single, two and three-family units allowed in different development patterns, including townhouse units.
During its Oct. 1 meeting, the council elected to refer these zoning changes to the Planning Board and Legislative Matters committee for further discussion with the public. According to Jarrett, the city has had “several conversations” with affected property owners regarding the situation.
The goal, as of press time, is to conduct the joint public hearing with the Planning Board and Legislative Matters on Oct. 24.
Readers can learn more about these zoning districts by visiting these sites: tinyurl.com/33uw43kr, tinyurl.com/yhh5kx44 and tinyurl.com/ubcr582m.
