Nonprofit organizations in Lawrence are aiming to use smart-growth zoning to convert this part of the city into a vibrant canal-side district.
Part Three of a Three-Part Series
[Editor’s note: This is the last article in a series examining the communities and organizations that were awarded technical-assistance grants by the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association to implement smart-growth and affordable-housing strategies.]
Town officials in Sharon have had visions of housing and business development in the community’s downtown district.
To accomplish that goal, the town last fall approved a mixed-use overlay zoning district, which would allow for higher-density mixed-use development. But one major barrier has kept the vision from becoming reality: Limited infrastructure, namely septic capacity, has blocked higher-density development from taking place.
“The downtown area has very little opportunity for growth in its current configuration,” said Assistant Town Engineer Peter O’Cain.
Now, the town is studying whether a common septic system serving the downtown can be built on the site of a former high school across from town hall in Sharon’s downtown.
The town recently received a $23,000 grant from the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, or CHAPA, to conduct an engineering design and environmental analysis of the school site to see how feasible it is to install a common septic system there.
Sharon was one of seven communities or organizations to receive such a grant from CHAPA to implement smart-growth and affordable-housing development strategies. MassHousing, a quasi-public state agency, provided funding for the CHAPA initiative.
CHAPA selected projects across Massachusetts to serve as models for creating development that incorporates affordable housing while maximizing open space and preserving environmental resources, increasing access to public transit and utilizing existing infrastructure. Such development projects are usually identified as good examples of smart growth.
In Sharon, the town is hoping to make better use of an area that’s within walking distance to the commuter rail station. Last fall, recognizing the state’s ardent support and promotion for smarter development near public transportation and in areas with existing infrastructure, Sharon voters adopted a mixed-use overlay zoning district that would allow from much higher-density development than traditional zoning.
Housing developers building a project in the district are required to include at least 20 percent affordable units, with a minimum of 20 units per acre.
But the town relies entirely on septic systems, and town leaders realized that a common septic system servicing the downtown overlay district would need to be developed.
The town is using part of the CHAPA grant to do a feasibility study to see whether the septic system can be built at the site of Charles R. Wilbur School, a high school building situated on a 3.9-acre property that’s been closed since the mid-1980s. The study will determine exactly how much wastewater can be handled there, test soil and percolation rates, and analyze the impact of nitrates on the town’s groundwater and drinking-water wells, according to O’Cain.
O’Cain said the treatment system the town is considering is a package system that would remove nitrates and other harmful components that could negatively affect Sharon’s drinking supply.
Since the Wilbur School is located in a groundwater protection district, the town is also considering other sites for the common septic system and is hoping to use part of the grant money to study and test those other locations, explained O’Cain.
“We’re having some meetings with the town now on where and how we want to do this,” he said.
In addition to suburban communities like Sharon, the CHAPA grants were also awarded to urban centers like New Bedford, Springfield and Lawrence.
‘Monolithic Zoning’
In the city of Lawrence, two local nonprofit organizations – Lawrence CommunityWorks and Groundwork Lawrence – are working on the Reviviendo Gateway Initiative, an effort to revitalize the city’s downtown.
The initiative, which involves a broad coalition of residents, nonprofit groups, mill owners, city officials and business leaders, is focused on redeveloping the historic North Canal Mill District, the North Common neighborhood, and eastern downtown.
One of the first strategies that was undertaken – after the launch of the initiative in 2002 – was the creation of an overlay zoning district that would make it easier for developers to undertake mixed-use, higher-density projects in the targeted area, explained Andre Leroux, a CommunityWorks neighborhood planner and co-coordinator of the initiative.
Lawrence CommunityWorks and Groundwork Lawrence crafted a zoning overlay district that was approved by the city in 2003. It was the first time in 60 years that the city had made such a significant zoning change, said Leroux.
“The city had this monolithic zoning in place,” he said.
In approving the zoning overlay district, the city was promoting smart-growth development – namely, the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized mill buildings and housing creation in an urban center near public transportation. In fact, the Reviviendo Gateway Initiative has been recognized by Gov. Mitt Romney twice for its smart-growth elements.
But a year after the city passed its overlay zoning district, the state came up with its own smart-growth zoning program, known as Chapter 40R. The law provides financial incentives to communities that create smart-growth zoning districts for housing to be constructed.
Under Chapter 40R, new zoning districts must allow for a mix of housing to be developed and must allow for at least 20 units per acre of multifamily housing or eight units per acre of single-family housing. In addition, in projects with more than 12 units, at least 20 percent of the units must be affordable. Towns can receive a one-time zoning incentive payment that ranges from $10,000 for up to 20 units that are to be developed in the district to $600,000 for more than 500 units.
When a town begins issuing building permits, it also cab receive a $3,000 density payment for each new or rehabilitated unit created within the district. In addition, the town will receive a priority for state discretionary funding.
To take advantage of those financial incentives, Lawrence CommunityWorks and Groundwork Lawrence, along with city officials, want to modify the city’s overlay district to incorporate Chapter 40R requirements. The city’s efforts were aided when Lawrence CommunityWorks was awarded a $20,000 grant to revise the overlay district to meet Chapter 40R regulations.
Leroux said one of the goals is to link the financial incentives awarded under
Chapter 40R to asset-building programs. For example, the state money awarded to Lawrence under the law could be used to help low-income residents get matched-savings accounts that would enable them to participate in the redevelopment of the area by purchasing a home or starting a small business, he explained. Or the money could be used for workforce development or training.
“We think Lawrence is well positioned to get the highest category of funding because we’re creating hundreds and hundreds of units,” he said.
“We hope to pass a local ordinance that links smart-growth funding to social investment so people who live here will benefit from the development” that takes place, he added.
