Council Debates Zoning Changes

The Concord City Council debated two zoning change proposals on Aug. 8, that would alter allowable uses on South Main and Manchester streets.

Assistant City Manager Carlos Baia said the two amendments were part of a larger slate of proposals to be forward to the council based on public forums about zoning changes. The first would expand the Central Business Performance District all the way down South Main Street to its intersection with Storrs Street. The proposal was forwarded at a forum by state Sen. Andy Sanborn, R-Henniker, the owner of The Draft on South Main Street. Currently, the district is urban commercial and subject to certain regulatory requirements. 

According to Baia said the CBPD was “the most loaded with incentives for development."

“It doesn’t have setbacks, it doesn’t have parking requirements,” he said.

Baia said the Planning Board looked at the idea but rejected it unanimously, stating that they didn’t feel it met the spirit of the master plan. The change would also make some of the properties “non-conforming,” like the auto repair shop at the corner of South Main and Storrs streets and the Mobil Station. Other properties have small parking lots and any redevelopments might force parking to “spill over into neighbors,” he said.

“The architecture on that stretch of Main Street does not reflect the character of the Central Business Performance Corridor which tends have some of the older buildings in the architecture inventory,” Baia said. “So, they felt, in light of all the changes, it was premature to consider that.”

At-Large City Councilor Mark Coen asked if the property owners were contacted about the changes and what the feedback was from owners.

Baia said they were not contacted directly about the changes, adding, “We don’t normally do that for zoning.” He said the city did publish a public notice about the hearing and that Sanborn didn’t attend the public hearing and was not available to attend the Aug. 8 meeting. Sanborn also did not return an email request for comment about the proposal.

Coen said he was concerned that if the zoning was approved, property owners would be taken completely by surprise about the change.

“Potentially it could be taken by surprise,” Baia said. “However, it’s the practice of the city for other zonings we’ve done in the past.”

“To surprise people?,” Coen asked, without getting an answer.

Ward 10 City Councilor Fred Keach wondered that despite the Planning Board opposition, did the administration still want it approved.

Baia said administrators took a neutral position on the change since there were both position and negative things that could be said about the changes. He said that last change was made for the Sanel block redevelopment. Baia said future developments were unknown at this time.

“I think the Planning Board interpretation about it makes sense,” he said.

City Manager Tom Aspell said that if there were any changes or development proposals, city officials would go out and talk with neighbors and make sure there were no surprises, and to ensure that the best construction project was built.

“This is not a city proposal,” he said.

Ward 3 Councilor Jan McClure asked if the extension could be brought up in the future, when a proposal is actually forwarded by a developer. Baia said he believed it could, but officials would have to check with the legal department.

The second zoning proposal, to change the development design standards, was being raised due to changes made at the July city council meeting. At that time, the council approved changes to the zoning on Manchester Street, to allow for more car dealerships and others businesses. However, according to Baia, after the change, it was realized that a provision in the statute forced parking lots to be built on the side and the rear of a business, not the front, as is preferred for car dealers. The change essentially made all of Manchester Street non-conforming, he said.

Baia said the proposed changes on Aug. 8 would take out the words “auto sales” and replace them with “mixed-use,” in order to allow both housing and commercial to be built on Fisherville and Loudon roads. On Manchester Street, it would be changed to “highway commercial.”

Henninger said Manchester Street was essentially “a sea of cars” and would probably remain that way. The boundaries won’t change for any of the roads, he said.

Ward 7 Councilor Keith Nyhan said he was confused about the South Main Street rezoning and what city officials supported.

Aspell said Sanborn, not city staffers, raised the proposal. He said it didn’t adhere to the current master plan and was not being recommended.

The council voted unanimously to approve the changes to the Manchester Street proposal and to accept the Planning Board’s report to reject the changes to South Main Street.