HADLEY — In the nearly 17 years Hadley zoning has allowed developments restricted to individuals 55 and older, which can be built along Route 9 from the Coolidge Bridge east to where the Norwottuck Rail Trail crosses the state highway, the only project realized is the 35-home East Street Commons.

That may soon change if voters at annual Town Meeting on May 1 go along with revisions to the overlay district bylaw that would allow for more varieties of senior housing.

The changes are being spurred by a proposal by the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group to construct a building with 45 senior housing apartments at the Hadley Village Barn Shops site, which would be more dense and not owner-occupied.

The Planning Board Tuesday voted 4-0 to recommend voters adopt the changes to the bylaw, which in addition to allowing more variety in senior housing will rename the original overlay district created in May 2008 as the Central Senior Housing Overlay District.

The changes were initiated by the Parmar family, which owns the Barn Shops site at 41 Russell St. site that includes a Hampton Inn hotel and a Manny’s Appliances store. Planners have been working for several months with Amherst attorney Tom Reidy of Bacon Wilson PC to make the appropriate revisions.

“I think it’s a good proposal and I think the fact that the original requirements haven’t produced a substantial number of senior housing units is a good reason to try something different,” said Planning Board Clerk William Dwyer.

The changes would allow buildings with more than four residential units, currently prohibited in the district, and there could be one dwelling per 4,350 square feet of land area, which is much denser than the one dwelling unit per 7,260 square feet currently allowed. Another change would allow up to 50 units in a building.

The senior housing overlay district was adopted by voters on May 1, 2008 and has included certain limits, such as not making up more than 5% of the town’s 1,665 housing units, prohibiting apartment-style buildings and requiring that 15% of the units be set aside as affordable.

A second part of what will be presented to Town Meeting is to separate the overlay district into two parts and rename them.

The existing rules will continue to apply to the Rural Senior Housing Overlay District created by voters at a special Town Meeting last fall. That new overlay district, bounded by Route 9, Route 116, North Maple Street and Rocky Hill Road, is expected to lead to the town’s second 55-and-older project on the so-called Babb Farm. Amherst developer Barry Roberts, who built the East Street Commons, is also handling that development, though no plans have been formally submitted.

A third 55-and-older project, also proposed by Roberts for Middle Street several years ago, didn’t move forward when voters at Town Meeting rejected enlarging the senior overlay district.

Planning Board Chairman James Maksimoski said the town was in uncharted waters when the senior overlay district was first contemplated, with fears that it could compromise the vitality of the commercial stretch that supports the tax base. Hadley zoning has traditionally prohibited more than one dwelling unit on a property, with certain exceptions.

Now, Maksimoski said it is worth trying to encourage more 55-and-older developments, especially since they have proven to have a limited demand on town services. “It’s a low-impact tax usage to the town,” Maksimoski said.

Planning Board member Joseph Zgrodnik said planners were intentionally cautious when it was first adopted out of concerns that the bylaw might lead to too much senior housing development, pointing to such projects being overbuilt in Easthampton at the time, with some developers’ projects stalling out.

The collaborative process with Reidy and the Parmar family was appreciated by Planning Board member Mark Dunn, who said this has given protections for the town.

Other business

In other business, the Planning Board approved plans for Carr’s Ciderhouse, 295 River Drive, to put up a new pavilion and make revisions to the parking plans.

The board also received information about a new landscaping business, to be located at 87 Russell St., with the vehicles and equipment expected to be parked at the rear of the rental home.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.