Proposed Beverly Building Zoning Changes Set For Legal Affairs Meeting

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly residents looking for more clarity and direction involving several recently proposed zoning changes that would affect the height of new construction in the city, affordable housing requirements for new development and accessory-dwelling units — or so-called "in-law apartments" — will get more insight into the progress of those initiatives at a Jan. 30 City Council Committee on Legal Affairs meeting.

The meeting will incorporate the ordinance change addressed at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting that would eliminate the "tall building overlay" district downtown entirely, reduce height limits in two downtown districts encompassing Cabot and Rantoul streets and increase the percentage of affordable housing required in new construction.

The ordinance, along with ensuing amendments, would also require an increased percentage of new housing to be offered at 60 percent of market value and proposes to decrease the threshold for an exemption of that from its current six-unit development.

Also up for discussion is expected to be an ordinance allowing for ADUs in Beverly — which would allow residents to rent out a smaller portion of their homes in an effort to gain property income and add to the city's affordable housing inventory — as well as a discussion of City Councilor Matt St. Hilaire's proposed zoning change from October that calls for a blanket three-story maximum for all new construction in the city.

"If people are interested in this topic the 30th is a key meeting to watch or attend," City Council President Julie Flowers told Patch on Wednesday, noting that residents can also contact their councilors with input as well. "It's an important conversation and my anticipation is that the Legal Affairs meeting will encompass the full breadth of all of these questions.

"That's why we are having Legal Affairs take this up on the 30th as the sole topic of the meeting. We felt it is such a big and important topic that it should be the full scope of the meeting."

The meeting is scheduled for City Council Chambers at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on BevCam's YouTube channel.

The City Council held a joint public meeting with the Planning Board on Dec. 5 on Beverly Director of Planning and Development Darlene Wynne's proposal from the mayor's office that she said was intended to be a "quick fix that we could put in place to mitigate what we heard people say in that we don't want to see the same heights on Cabot that we are seeing (in recent development) on Rantoul."

The City Council closed its public hearing that night, but the Planning Board held its public meeting open to its Dec. 9 meeting for further discussion and input. At that Dec. 9 meeting, the Planning Board voted to close its public hearing — but also to request additional time to consider the changes and amendments before making its recommendation to the City Council.

Flowers said she anticipates the Planning Board will make its recommendation in advance of the Jan. 30 Committee on Legal Affairs/City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.

If the Committee on Legal Affairs makes a recommendation on one, or all, of the zoning changes on Jan. 30 then the City Council will take them up for discussion and a possible vote at their next meeting in February.

"Anytime you get into zoning conversations they are big conversations," Flowers said the deliberate pace of the process. "You want to hear, collectively, what people are hoping their city will grow like, be shaped like and look like in the future."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)