SOUTH HADLEY — A draft proposal to rezone the Route 202/33 corridor is drawing varied opinions from residents, with some excited about the prospect of new business and housing developments along the busy stretch of road and others concerned about the impact of such increased development, especially if tall buildings end up being allowed.
“I think if it’s done correctly, it can be beautiful,” resident Lillian Karl Ely said at a public listening session on Monday. “It doesn’t have to be something that people don’t want to look at [or] don’t want to be a neighbor to. Everything that was built up by Mount Holyoke (College). I’m sure that there was a lot of people that were against all the building that went on there, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Based on recommendations from a 2022 corridor study, the rezoning proposal consolidates nine existing zones across the corridor into a residential core sandwiched by two residential mixed-use zones. The “L”-shaped corridor stretches from Willimansett Street going into Chicopee and Granby Road that leads to Granby.
The residential core aims to preserve a “residential identity” while expanding housing options. Since a previous public presentation in the last year, the Planning Board has added a new type of housing called a cottage cluster development, which allows for building of several village-style small housing units on smaller lots.
“There are a lot of really lovely older neighborhoods in town. I think of them as legacy neighborhoods,” Planning and Conservation Director Anne Capra said at Monday’s session. “They were smaller lots with smaller homes that were built post-World War II era with a lot of young families and retirees living in them. That’s the vision that we want for this corridor now.”
The residential mixed-use zones includes residential and commercial developments, with proposed changes that would allow new types of commercial businesses in the corridor, including food trucks, a brewery and/or distillery, and a “neighborhood cafe.” Different sizes of retail and restaurants are subjected to different levels of permitting.
Design overlays with mandatory development standards and suggestive design guidelines are outlined to ensure the corridor has uniform look, with the overall goal to promote a walkable or bikeable community that has a lower impact on the natural environment, Capra said.
“If we want this corridor to be more cohesive for the people who live on it, for the people who visit it, and for the people who stop to use some of the services and facilities that are there, we need to figure out a way to make that environment more cohesive physically, and that’s what this zoning proposal aims to do,” Capra said.
Nearly every resident made some comment on traffic along the busy highways. As with previous meetings, leaders of the project reiterated that the zoning changes cannot address current and future traffic.
“Town administration, myself, the police chief and the Department of Public Works are reaching out to MassDOT to discuss options for how to manage traffic along the road,” Capra said. “Traffic is a is a big issue. We’ve heard that before, and it’s not something that this project is solving.”
Many people expressed discontentment with the new dimensional requirements for buildings. While homes and rental developments in the residential core cannot rise past three stories, multifamily and mixed-use developments in the residential mixed-use zones can go up to four stories, or as high as 55 feet. Capra said she added extra space for the first floor ceiling height for the mechanical needs of restaurants.
“The prodigious citizen feedback from the January 2022 report and the workshops held over the past year have been ignored,” said Martha Terry, a member of the Route 202/33 Corridor Rezoning Committee. “People have repeated over and over again that they don’t want 202, and 33 to look like Route 33 in Chicopee, and it seems to me these proposals would just do just that: turn a main thoroughfare throughout our town into exactly what is not wanted.”
In previous public workshops, residents specifically asked for height limits of 35 feet, wider frontages and longer setbacks to create space between structures and their surroundings.
“I know what it’s like to have tall buildings and very short frontages. It lends an entirely different sensibility to walking down the street. It lends a different sensibility to being in your home,” resident Joanna Brown said.
Other residents added that the proximity of taller buildings to the residential core zone and the distribution of the different housing typologies could lead to less cohesion overall.
“Some buildings of this magnitude may indeed be beneficial, both in terms of the additional revenue to help support our services, schools, our wastewater treatment expenses, and also helping our housing shortage,” resident Mark Adams said. “But where I have concerns is having such height in areas that border the residential core itself, which can make for stark rather than gradual transitions as one navigates the corridor.”
Planning Board member Brad Hutchison explained that the 44 feet and 55 feet height maximums create wiggle room for developers to build slanted roof styles for sustainable energy design. Residents doubted the claim that restaurants need higher ceilings, but David Isaacman, who owns Ebenezer’s Bar & Grill and The Whiskey Barrel, explained that HVAC, hood fumigation systems and fresh air systems in the kitchen benefit from higher ceilings.
“You don’t need monster ceiling, but having a higher ceiling would be very helpful,” Isaacman said.
Despite comments against the changes, many residents spoke in favor of the rezoning. Karen Buscemi, a nurse practitioner in South Hadley, said that many of her patients are leaving South Hadley or cannot find a home due to lack of affordable housing. Resident Ken LeBlanc adds that dense developments are a more cost-effective way to build affordable housing. Brian McLaughlin said he wants to expand his home and business, but the current zoning regulations greatly limit these opportunities.
“The current zoning regulations were written for a different time, and while they have served us well, they now create barriers for growth, innovation and unfortunately, sometimes even survival for some businesses,” South Hadley Granby Chamber of Commerce President Steven Leplante said. “By supporting these zoning changes, we’re saying yes to stimulating the local economy by creating opportunities for new businesses, attracting businesses to our town and encouraging existing businesses to expand.”
The Planning Board is expected to vote on the final proposal at its Aug. 11 meeting. Once approved, a public hearing is scheduled to take place on Sept. 8 before it heads to the Select Board for approval. The proposal is expected to come before voters at a November special Town Meeting.
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.
