Groton Open Space Association

KKC Presents Preliminary Report On Groton Land-Use Rules

GROTON — Kendig Keast Collaborative has released its long-awaited preliminary report on how to improve Groton’s land-use regulations and has explained its findings to the Planning, Zoning and Inland Wetlands boards, who listened with interest but raised questions.

The Midwest-based consultant’s report proposes, among other things, conceptual answers to long-disputed questions about the definition of buildable land and how buildable land acreage should relate to the number of dwelling units permitted on a given tract of land. The 29-page report is available on the town website; this GOSA report concentrates on highlights that pertain to open space. Interwoven with ideas about buildable land are proposals for more flexible zoning to promote space-saving cluster housing.

Mac Birch, the Kendig Keast principal who presented the findings to the land-use boards Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, 2008, told Zoning Commission member Richard Haviland that the question of buildable land is “probably 80% of why I’m here.” He said that agreed-upon standards addressing buildable land and other questions dealt with in the report would let developers proceed with certainty when formulating projects while assuring conservationists that critical open space and unique natural resources would be preserved.

“Money currently spent for lawyers would be better spent on architects and land acquisition,” his report says.

Zoning, Planning and Wetlands members were asked to submit written feedback, which can be dealt with Oct. 29, when the findings will be formally presented to the public at the Town Hall Annex. Following the meeting, the feedback is to be digested and work started on writing detailed changes to regulations. The current target for completion is June 2009. Kendig Keast had kicked off the project in May with a visit that included discussions with the public, conservationists, developers and other stakeholders.

Initial reaction by the commissions to the report released this month included both broad considerations as well as hyper-particular observations. Stephen Hudecek, Zoning Commission chairman, cited the difficulty of using the high-level KKC report to visualize its long-term impacts on the town. Eunice Sutphen, a member of the Inland Wetlands Agency, expressed fears that an overly prescriptive set of Inland Wetlands regulations could remove desirable qualities of judgment from the agency’s approval/disapproval process. At the other end of the spectrum, one Planning Commission member objected to the idea of planting trees near sidewalks because “hurricanes could topple them.” He complained that trees on West Mystic Avenue are “buckling sidewalks.”

While the report speaks frequently of preserving open space, it says little about formal acquisition of tracts of open land such as those on the Conservation Commission’s list. That document, perennially ignored by the Office of Planning and Development Services, contains names of approximately 20 properties that are considered worthy of preservation. Instead, the KKC report encourages builders to maximize open space on their development sites by making use of density bonuses. It proposes to protect the space thus saved by placing it under conservation easements held by the town, land trusts or a homeowners association.

It remarks that “Groton has an abundance of permanent open space…” That assertion is disputable at best. The 2002 Plan of Conservation and Development (Work Booklet No. 11) says that only 11% of the town’s area is securely protected, well below the 21% that has been held up as a worthy statewide goal.

The key KKC idea for saving development-site open space is clustered residential units. A chart on residential clusters (P. 18 of the report) illustrates the open-space salvaging mechanism. The chart shows a conventional subdivision of half-acre (20,000 square foot) lots on 40 acres. With a normal 10% open space setaside (4 acres), a conventional subdivision would offer its developer an opportunity to build 60 units (“the yield.”). Changed regulations proposed by KKC would allow a “conservation” cluster, among other forms largely new to Groton. This would feature 65% open space (26 acres) and building lots of 5,000 square feet (one eighth acre), with a developer’s yield of 68 units.

The KKC proposals would not require housing clusters but in theory would give builders an incentive to choose them to increase yields. At a minimum, clustering would not penalize builders for setting aside open space by reducing their yields, as current regulations do. Mr. Birch said that clustering allows for development while not only preserving some open space but also creating “the impression of open space.”

He said of development and open space, “You want to have it all.” Groton is “approaching practical full buildout in terms of existing zoning,” Mr. Birch said. “Land that’s left is hard to develop. We don’t want to screw it up.” Mr. Birch said The Ledges near I-95 is an example of a project built without due regard to physical constraints of its rugged site. He said the development puts “two gallons in a one-gallon pail.”

Besides clustering, another key concept relating to open space is “resource protection.” Under this concept, a land parcel under consideration for development would undergo a “specific site resource survey” to determine the “development capacity” of the site for various types of development (see Pages 16 and 17). Resources such as water bodies, floodways and floodplains, and wetlands would be assigned a resource protection level of 1 (=100%) and would be completely protected. Woodlands would be 90% protected in rural (RU) districts, 60% in single-family (RS) and industrial park (IP) districts and 20% in all other districts. Steep slopes having a grade of more than 25% would be 95% protected in RU, 85% in RS and IP, and 55% in other districts. Steep slopes of 15% to 25% would be protected 85%, 60% and 20%, respectively.

He said the numerical resource protection factors would allow developers to get a precise idea in advance of what they are permitted to build.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the resource-protection level concept would interact with a KKC proposal for reducing the number of zoning districts.

Matthew Davis, planning manager, endorsed greater flexibility in building housing. He noted that Mystic and Noank are among the “most cherished” parts of Groton, but “if we continue to build conventional subdivisions, we can lose this character.”