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Date: 5/16/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — On May 10 at South Hadley’s spring Town Meeting, Kim Prough was awarded the Joseph Taylor Volunteer of the Year Award and Mary Lou Guarnera received the Lions Club Person of the Year Award. Discussion of warrant articles then revealed the concerns of residents about accessory dwelling units, short-term rentals and the development of the corner of Granby Road and Willimansett Street.
Petitioner Robert Bolduc told meeting members that Starbucks approached him about building a café on the 2.61-acre site. In his letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals asking for a zoning change, Bolduc wrote that a small professional office or shop building would also be located there. He said there are no plans to put a gas station at the high traffic corner.
Bolduc also petitioned the Town Meeting in 2021 for a zoning change. That warrant article was defeated. Joanna Brown, current member of the Planning Board, urged voters to again reject the proposed change.
“We don’t have a zoning definition for low-density mixed-use,” Brown said. “We need the time, as a Planning Board and a community, to decide what can and cannot be done in a low density mixed use area.”
Area residents voiced conflicting opinions about a coffee shop on the corner. Cathy Galvin, a Lyman Terrace resident, pointed to the danger to pedestrians and bicyclists.
“I can tell you it is a dangerous intersection,” Galvin said. “A while back I did see a child hit by a car, trying to cross that intersection...It’s just too busy.”
Several Town Meeting members voiced a desire for some development on the site, a Starbucks or condominiums, to create jobs and improve the appearance of the intersection. Others pointed out that once the zoning change was voted in the town would lose control of what is allowed on the site, regardless of an amendment proposed by Bolduc to ban the sale of gasoline for 99 years.
Article 23 was defeated 94-8.
Accessory dwelling units were the focus of Article 22 and a lengthy discussion. A proposed amendment to exclude detached ADUs, freestanding units up to 900 square feet, turned up the emotional heat, though speakers remained civil. Robert Wagner, a member from Precinct C, called the amendment “fear based and ridiculous.”
Wagner said about the proposed ADU bylaw, “The Council on Aging supports this, as written, and that’s good enough for me.”
A Precinct D resident, Preston Smith, pointed out that a detached ADU requires a site plan review, public hearing and notifications to the neighbors. Limits on unit height, size and dimensions are also part of the proposed bylaw.
“I haven’t heard a good reason why we shouldn’t give a choice to the homeowner,” Smith said. “I think it’s up to them to make that determination.”
Charles Miles noted the population of South Hadley remained at about 17,000 residents for the last 40 years. Now, he said, his children cannot afford to live in town. ADUs offer more options on the spectrum of affordability.
A mobility impaired resident, Lawrence Dubois, told Town Meeting members detached ADUs can be designed to serve the needs of those with specific conditions. Retrofitting an existing house to enable continued occupancy can be very difficult and extremely expensive.
“The Disability Commission voted in favor of detached ADUs,” Dubois said.
Planning Board and Appropriations Committee representatives supported the ADU Bylaw. Planning Board member Joanna Brown offered a dissenting view. She urged members to vote in favor of amendments to reduce the allowed number of ADUs, both attached and detached. She pointed out that ADUs on a neighboring property will impact the aesthetic qualities of a neighboring property, views and privacy.
Both proposed amendments were defeated. The bylaw to allow ADUs passed with a simple majority, 68-24.
Articles 20 and 21 proposed creating complimentary zoning and general bylaws to govern short-term rentals, an option that several residents said would help cash-strapped homeowners stay in South Hadley. The impacts on neighborhoods and abutters was discussed. Planning Board member Brown didn’t wholly agree with the bylaw as written because it left too many questions unanswered.
The Sharon Terrace resident said, “I have great concerns about the enforcement. We have set no fee [and] I want to make sure if these are profit making…that the expense won’t come back to the taxpayers.”
Amendments to reduce owner occupied units from 25 to 20 and non-owner occupied units from five to two were defeated.
Rudolf “Ray” Ternbach, a member from Precinct B, pointed out that if the maximum number of units allowed under the proposed bylaw came online, 25 to 30 units would leave the stock of available affordable housing.
“The rate on short term rentals is typically 25 to 40% more,” Ternbach said. “You are reducing the stock of available housing.”
Anne Capra, director of Planning and Conservation for the town, offered some perspective. She said statistics on fulfillment after similar short-term rental bylaws were passed in the commonwealth showed that towns, on average, saw 2.5 short-term rentals come on the market.
Precinct A member Raymond Rondeau pressed for a licensing fee. Capra replied that a fee would be set by the Selectboard. Other members, concerned about safety, suggested the Police Department be given a list of short-term renters in town. Capra said the building commissioner would be the enforcement officer of the bylaw restrictions.
Ira Brezinsky observed that residents want local improvements and better opportunities, but don’t want any changes.
“Increased traffic?” Brezinsky said. “This has been a common mantra, over and over and over again: give us the money but don’t impact anything at all about the style or quality of our life. Everything has to stay the same forever. It is time to look at…increasing the economic development in our town.”
Article 20 passed 82-24. Article 21 passed 81-17.
Earlier in the meeting, members in one vote passed eight consent articles that allow town officials to carry out business. Article 9, the operating budget of $54,266,925, passed as proposed. Members Ann Sobel and Adam Reid, from Precincts B and A, objected to the increase in the Police Department budget.
Article 10 funded two new police cruisers for $135,000, ductwork at the middle school for $100,000, security upgrades for all three school buildings, and various smaller expenditures for equipment and building improvements.
Article 11 funded improvement to the wastewater treatment plant for $310,000, those monies coming from operating receipts. The Ledges Golf Course will also see retained earnings of $198,500 be turned to facility improvements after Article 12 passed 99-8. A unanimous vote funded a new rolloff dumpster at the transfer station for $14,000.
Article 14 funded Buttery Brook Park upgrades for $715,000 with a vote of 104-1. Walking trails, more pickleball courts and a playground will enhance the recreational options.
Article 15 funded buyouts of employment contracts when departures occur. ATM members agreed to $100,000 funding 106-1. Article 16 established an opioid stabilization fund to receive $1.3 million in settlement monies from a national lawsuit. Article 17 moved those funds to a stabilization fund, which will make them available for use in less time. That article passed 104-1.
Article 18 passed 85-16 in favor of allowing the Selectboard and School Committee to enter into contracts longer than three years. Town Administrator Lisa Wong commented, when an objection arose, that town employees will use their best judgement when executing contracts. Members passed the article with a majority of 85-16. Meeting member Andrea Miles than ntroduced Article 19, which authorized the town to offer some tax relief to the families of National Guard members. That article passed with a majority of 98-3.
Article 25, a citizens petition involving a personal grudge, was rejected by members as inappropriate for ATM.
Joan Rosner closed the meeting with gratitude.
“I would like to thank the Planning Board and Town Meeting for this exceptional meeting,” Rosner said. “For 30 years we’ve tried to pass these zoning bylaws and this year we finally did it.”