Four amendments to Temple’s zoning code have been removed from the 2020 warrant due to a procedural error.
Planning Board Chair Allan Pickman sent an announcement alerting residents to the amendments’ removal on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
“The RSAs say that the… exact wording of the proposed amendment has to be on file with the town clerk five weeks for the election,” he said, but the Planning Board didn’t get the final wording of the proposed amendments in until four weeks before the election. Pickman said the error was discovered when town officials were putting together the ballots and warrant. “It’s not a political thing at all,” he said.
“We thought we should go forward, but we didn’t do it right,” he said, adding he expects the proposed amendments to go to next year’s ballot.
The three proposed changes built on existing allowances in the zoning code. The first would effectively remove the current requirement that Accessory Dwelling Units be smaller than the primary residence they’re associated with. The second change would be to allow a density bonus for proposed Planned Residential Developments, which would result in more units built within the same development footprint. A third change would be to allow duplexes to be constructed in town.
On Jan. 15, the Planning Board voted 4 to 3 in favor of putting the proposals to a vote in this year’s town meeting, despite despite calls from residents for more research on how best to tackle affordable housing.