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| By Courtney Llewellyn Reminder Assistant Editor WILBRAHAM What will the 20-acre section off of Boston Road be rezoned as at next spring's Annual Town Meeting? The area, made up of seven parcels, is currently zoned Adult Care Facility (ACF). Nearly 100 residents met with the Planning Board last Wednesday to share their opinions on what the area should be next. "We will be rezoning the ACF parcel on Boston Road to something else," Dick Butler, chair of the Planning Board, told those in attendance. "This meeting is to discuss what that something else might be." Petitioned articles to have the parcels rezoned as General Business (GB) were withdrawn from town meeting in 2006 and defeated in 2008. Before being zoned as ACF, the first 200 feet of each parcel was GB, with the remaining land zoned as Limited Business (LB). Butler said the Planning Board plans to go to the next Annual Town Meeting with a rezoning option that is best for residents and businesses. Chris Curtis, chief planner for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), and Jessica Allan, a senior land planner with the PVPC, gave residents in attendance a presentation about a Smart Growth Strategy Plan and how mixed use zoning could be used on the property in question. Curtis explained that smart growth incorporates well planned, compact, mixed use growth that protects open space and decreases automobile use. Smart growth is the opposite of urban sprawl. Rezoning the ACF parcel to mixed use would create the opportunity to connect the other business clusters on Boston Road, from the Wilbraham Shoppes to Post Office Park, Allan said. She presented the pros and cons of what each rezoning option would be before the floor was opened for comments and questions. With GB zoning, there would be an increased variety of businesses, which would add to the town's tax base, but there would also be more traffic. With residential zoning, there's the option of a larger variety of housing in town with less traffic impact than a business zone, but that would also mean a higher cost of services. With mixed use zoning, there would be a variety of housing near goods and services with shared parking, but creating a mixed use area could cost more to build. Allan said the PVPC was recommending mixed use for the parcels, adding that zoning option "would fit in nicely" in Wilbraham. Mixed use would involve a mix of small businesses and housing. Allan noted the Village Commons in South Hadley as an example of successful mixed use zoning. "It's a question of what does the community want on the site and for the Boston Road corridor as a whole?" Allan stated. Residents voiced their concerns about traffic in the area, light pollution and keeping the small town feel of their neighborhood. Some were in favor of mixed use development; others were in favor of leaving the land as is. One man suggested that the land be purchased by town and turned into a police and fire department complex. "Change is very difficult for people to accept, but this is progress," one resident stated. "We just need to find something that fits the flavor of Wilbraham." At the end of the nearly two-hour meeting, Butler thanked the residents for sharing their opinions. "We have a lot more work to do," he said, "but this was a very useful meeting." To learn more about smart growth planning, visit www.pvpc.org and click on "Valley Vision 2." |