Limit Growth on Rte. 1 or Face Freeze, Board Told-November 8, 1989

Consultant Philip B. Herr Warns Planning Board That Loose Zoning and Traffic Pressures Risk State-Imposed Development Halt

A consultant hired to revamp the town’s zoning says Norwood must clamp down on development and control traffic along Route 1 or risk a state freeze on growth along the busy strip. “If traffic gets bad enough, there is the strong possibility that a state-imposed halt to development will be the result,” Philip B. Herr wrote in a memo to the planning board. In a meeting with the board last night, Herr pointed to recent examples in Revere, Framingham, and Barnstable where Secretary of Environmental Affairs John DeVillars imposed a halt on development as a way to slow down growth.

“If you don’t do this, you’re going to get John DeVillars in here,” Herr said as he listed several ways the board might limit growth along Route 1. One of Herr’s ideas is to limit commercial growth each year so that the total amount of development in a 12-month period does not use up more than 10 percent of the buildable space. The idea is an innovative proposal that has not yet been tried in any community in the state, Herr said. “It’s a whole new way of thinking about controls,” he said. The 10 percent limit would let planners spread out growth over time, assuring that all the remaining space is not gobbled up in two or three years. Herr said the town must correct current zoning bylaws, which are too loose and could allow overdevelopment to choke the life out of Route 1. Under current zoning, developers could build twice as much as the road can realistically handle, Herr said.

Although there is little open space left for development along Route 1, landowners could benefit from loose height restrictions and begin to build upward, Herr said. Few of the businesses along the strip have taken advantage of zoning bylaws that permit six-story buildings and allow construction to cover 80 percent of a lot. But as undeveloped land along the road grows scarce, pressures to build will increase, he has warned. In addition to the 10 percent building limit, Herr also suggested the board set lower density ratios along the road. That means developers would need bigger lots for their buildings. Herr also proposed that the town charge impact fees to landowners who want to build a business that would require a higher density than allowed by the zoning law.

“If someone wants higher density, they could pay a one-time fee to help fix the problem of additional traffic that their business would create,” Herr said. “If it’s a non-fixable problem, you don’t accept the money, you don’t grant the permit. But in cases where we can deal with the traffic, an impact fee would help.” Board members did not take any action on Herr’s proposals last night, deciding to weigh the ideas and discuss them at a later date.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger