The Bedford Planning Board will hold public hearings within its remote meeting on October 8, 2024, starting at 7:00pm, to review two proposed zoning amendments, which are likely to be on the Warrant for the November Special Town Meeting. These are additional to the amendments for which public hearings were begun on September 24; those will be continued on October 8.
One proposal is to amend Section 7.1.4 of the Zoning Bylaw, which governs changes to single-family or two-family dwellings in nonconforming situations. It would allow modification or replacement of such a dwelling without a ZBA special permit if there would be no more than a 600 square foot increase in the building footprint, similar to a policy/protocol currently being applied.
The other proposal would amend the rules applying in a portion of the Great Road business district - the Center subdistrict, which covers the area west (up the hill) from the Bacon/Hillside intersection to 47 and 48 Great Road. It would allow residential use of historic buildings without requiring a commercial use element. Currently, residential use is only allowed in the Great Road districts when it forms part of a "mixed use" of a property with retail or small business at the street front.