Consultant: Town’s Zoning Is Out Of Step With Housing Goals

BREWSTER – On one hand, Brewster has outlined a clear vision of how it wants to create housing in the years ahead, with the select board’s goals, the long-range plan and the housing production plan remarkably in sync. What’s out of step is the town’s zoning bylaw, which sets up obstacles to housing development, and is, in some cases, potentially discriminatory.

 That was the word from consultant Judi Barrett, who led a community forum last week on zoning and housing. 

Funded by a state grant, Barrett’s study is focused on finding opportunities to create housing other than single-family detached homes, which represent most of Brewster’s housing stock. Increasing the diversity of housing types is seen as key to accommodating young adults, seniors and working people. That’s a key goal expressed in Brewster’s various planning documents, Barrett said, along with creating a more stable workforce “and simply creating more opportunities for Brewster residents to stay in the community.”

 Having reviewed those planning documents, Barrett said she is impressed that those documents are so well in sync, which isn’t the case in most communities she works with. 

 “That’s just kind of what your plans tell me: that there’s a high interest in housing here, a high interest in providing for a range of housing types addressing multiple price points and a variety of household needs,” she said.

 But the zoning bylaw, the main tool for implementing that vision, is in need of adjustment, Barrett said.

 For instance, the bylaw has a provision for “Accessory Commercial Dwelling Units,” but they are only allowed in a tiny portion of the town’s zoned land – about 2 percent. By contrast, single-family homes are allowed by right in 97 percent of the town’s area.

 “Are you going to be open to allowing it in more locations than you do right now?” she asked.

 The zoning bylaw also provides for “affordable multi-family dwelling units,” which are defined as having no more than two bedrooms or 900 square feet of space per unit.

 “I’m not saying you shouldn’t have zoning that works for you,” Barrett said, but those restrictions likely do not comply with the requirements of the Federal Fair housing Act, part of the 1968 Civil Rights Act. That law makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, national origin or “familial status.” It could be argued that zoning that allows affordable units only for individuals or small families is discriminatory.

 “When you impose things like a two-bedroom restriction on units, it raises the question, who does that serve and who does it exclude?” Barrett said.

 Where they are permitted, multi-family dwellings also require a special permit.

 “Special permits add uncertainty to the development process,” Barrett said, and that can deter potential developers. The zoning bylaw also stipulates that lot coverage should be no more than 25 percent for multi-family housing, which is much lower than ideal, she said. 

 “At some point, it becomes more of an incentive for the developer to do small units because, the fewer bedrooms I have, the less land I need,” Barrett said. 

 Assistant Town Manager Donna Kalinick said the Cape Cod Commission has conducted several studies about what types of development people find acceptable, “and people often choose downtown Chatham as desirable,” with restaurants and businesses with apartments above. “And yet we all know that zoning, as it exists today, would not allow what downtown Chatham looks like. So there’s definitely a disconnect between what people see as favorable or desirable, and what the zoning bylaw might say,” she said.

 Housing Partnership member Jillian Douglass said zoning changes are often like the swing of a pendulum. In the 1970s, “people were looking for privacy. They didn’t like the idea of density,” she said. The pendulum is starting to swing back now, she predicted.

 One attendee at the meeting said it’s a mistake to try and make Brewster look like Chatham. Town Planner John Idman agreed.

 “I think Brewster wants to look like Brewster, but if there’s a way to do that and add more density without changing the inherent character of that lovely 6A corridor, I think that’s what we would really aim for,” he said. 

 More public meetings will be held in the months ahead to discuss the zoning study, Idman said.