Officials this week mulled a possible multifamily zoning district in proximity to the West Gloucester commuter rail station as Gloucester faces coming into compliance with state MBTA Communities Act guidelines in less than six months.
Officials also discussed Tuesday the possible creation of multifamily zoning districts at existing Gloucester Housing Authority property on Maplewood Avenue and Riverdale Park and possible mixed-use districts for the Shaw’s Plaza on Eastern Avenue and in the Maplewood and Railroad avenues area.
This discussion came as the city has until Dec. 31 to comply with the state law. Communities that do not comply face the loss of eligibility for a number of state grants.
The meeting was a way for the Planning Board’s Housing Subcommittee, the City Council’s Planning and Development Standing Committee and planning staff to get on the same page to give marching orders to the city’s consultant, RKG Associates, to model the various scenarios.
The law, known as Section 3A, requires Gloucester adopt zoning to create one or more districts to allow multifamily housing by right. About half of the districts must be within a half-mile of one or both of the city’s train stations, with a unit capacity of at least 2,270 units, and an allowed density of at least 15 units an acre.
In outlining the timeline, Community Development Director Alex Koppelman said there was a need for consensus to allow the consultant to draft and review zoning regulations, and have enough time so the state could review them and the City Council could hold a vote.
At a public forum last month at which there was little consensus among residents, the consultant recommended three approaches, the first being the “simple approach” to allow the construction of three-family homes by right, instead of by special permit, in the downtown R-5 zoning district.
This simple approach included the entire R-5 district. Factoring in lots that already comply and existing multifamily units, this could net 627 additional units over time than what is allowed under present zoning.
A “minimal impact” approach would create several districts downtown, which comes up with 196 more units than what is allowed now.
A third option for “housing production” proposed districts downtown and a district on Lexington Avenue in Magnolia with the potential for 244 more units than would be allowed now.
On Tuesday, officials debated the fairness of zoning the entire R-5 district for three-family multifamily housing, or whether it made sense to create smaller sub-districts or narrow the zoning in the downtown somehow.
Ward 2 Councilor Dylan Benson, who represents much of the downtown in the area of the Railroad Avenue station, was asked what he favored.
“I think there has to be burden sharing,” Benson said, “and I think it shouldn’t just be in one specific area in the R-5 district.”
Officials also looked at a proposed small district in West Gloucester of more than 17 acres along Essex (Route 133) and Lyndale avenues with a capacity of 416 units and a density of 27.1 units per acre. The area has sewer service, is unaffected by flooding and is proximate to the West Gloucester station.
There was also concern about making a zoning district with mixed use optional as opposed to mandatory in the Railroad Avenue neighborhood in a move to encourage housing in the vicinity of the Shaw’s grocery store.
Officials said creating a Mandatory Mixed Use district would require an economic feasibility analysis and pre-approval from the state, which would take time with not a lot of it left. There was some concern among officials that a developer might not keep the grocery store given the option to create just housing.
“An optional mixed use,” Grow said, “would mean a greater likelihood that Shaw’s might disappear because they wouldn’t be obliged to keep any sort of retail use on the ground floor.”
“We have to make sure that it’s mandatory if we are zoning that lot on Railroad Ave., specifically the Shaw’s there,” said Benson, who represents Ward 2. “This is critical.”
Officials also discussed the creation of a district in and around the Shaw’s Plaza on Eastern Avenue, though this might be a subject for another time, they said.
“I wanted to talk about Eastern Avenue because I think it’s really a good opportunity whether it’s included in the 3A or not,” Planning Board member Beverly Bookin said.
Officials at the meeting did not give a date for another public forum.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.