LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A rural residential large lot reuse zoning bylaw will likely be presented to at the annual town meeting in June.

 

The Planning Board voted last to request District Local Technical Assistance from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to develop the bylaw. 

 

The idea would allow for the reuse of larger parcels that are in residential-agricultural zones to be used for hospitality oriented projects. 

 

"What inspired me was Lenox and Stockbridge have this great estates bylaw that encouraged a lot of the big 19th-century estate properties in those communities to be reused primarily into these more hospitality industry resort properties," said Town Planner Andrew Groff. 

 

The hope is to create a bylaw similar to the great estate bylaw for big, rural pieces of land such as Donnybrook and Camp Mohawk, which are currently on the market.

 

Earlier this fall, Groff and Planning Board Chair Gwen Miller were approached by a prospective developer who wants to open a boutique spa resort but their conceptual site plan wouldn't be really possible with the current zoning. 

 

One of the concerns that was brought up was loss of privacy, which is something they ran into when they proposed decreasing the RA road frontage from 200 feet to 100, Planner Joe Trybus said. 

 

The board decided against decreasing the frontage at that time not because members didn't want to encourage development but over concerns that denser development wouldn't maintain the privacy that attracts buyers, Vice chair Barbara Davis-Hassan said.  

 

Allowing all RA zones to be redeveloped into what would be a business would make a dramatic difference but that is not what they would be doing, Hassan explained. 

 

Rather, they would allow development for already existing businesses like Camp Mohawk and Donnybrook, that are "magnificently larger" and outside the "typical residential area, which is a little bit more dense," she said

 

The bylaw would not harm anyone's privacy because these properties are already in isolated spots.

 

Another potential solution to the privacy concern is rather than control development by frontage, the town could do something similar to the Lenox bylaw, which has 200 foot activity buffer, Miller added

 

"There's like a 200 foot kind of perimeter around the parcel where there can be no activity associated with the use," she said. 

 

The board also voted to put a proposal together requesting that the town lift the accessory dwelling unit restriction for the next annual town meeting. 

 

The current restriction only allows an ADU on a percentage of the existing home, which caused some projects on larger parcels to not move forward despite there being room. 

 

"Why are we limiting that second home on a piece of property if kids want to come back and build on their parents' land where their parents' house is and they're going to raise a family," Trybus said.

 

"They should be able to build something to accommodate a home as big as they need for their family. And the way that it's written right now, they can't do that."

 

Other members also voiced in favor of lifting this restriction. 

 

"I'm very much in favor of what Joe was talking about, because quite frankly, as long as the buildings meet the zoning requirement and the appropriate setbacks, and they have the well and the septic accommodations I don't see it as being an issue," Davis-Hassan said. 

 

In other business: 

 

• Although not on the agenda, the board confirmed that an "approval not required" plan for Kelly Granger Parsons after confirming that they paid the $100 fee for the two building lots and certified that it has 216 feet of frontage.

 

• The board postponed discussion of a solar and electric storage bylaw proposal because the consultant was not present to speak at the time. 

 

• The board decided to revisit the stormwater bylaw in January so it can get a better understanding from BRPC senior environmental planner Courteny Morehouse.