Planning Board Addresses Route 1 Zoning Violations

On July 11, 1967, the Norwood Planning Board held a productive meeting with local residents to address long-standing zoning violations along Route 1.

Stack of Norwood Special Business District annual reports and planning documents on a wooden desk

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The proposed resolution, introduced by Town Engineer Robert A. Hamilton, involves rezoning all commercially owned properties situated between East Cross Street and Dean Street into a newly designated “special business district.” Currently, these commercial parcels are caught in a conflict between manufacturing and general residence zones, with the primary violation stemming from commercial use of residentially zoned land.

The plan seeks to balance business development with neighborhood preservation by mandating a 50-foot buffer zone at residential property lines, an improvement over standard districts that often allow construction within five feet of homes. Residents at the meeting—including town meeting members William F. Collins and Gedman C. Dauksis, along with area homeowners Richard F. Kennedy, Arthur J. Vuozzo, and John P. Jones—firmly rejected an alternative proposal from planner Francis Wisgirda, which they felt contained significant loopholes. The residents strongly advocated for a requirement that large trees be planted within the buffer strip to provide a substantial visual screen between their homes and the commerce on Route 1. While the board expressed caution regarding its ability to mandate landscaping, it committed to studying the zoning laws of neighboring towns to determine if such requirements could be legally enforceable. The board is working against an August 7 deadline set by the Appeal Board, which is currently considering requests from firms to abolish the general residence zone entirely, a move the planning board is attempting to influence with its new proposal.

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

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