Several of Jaffrey’s proposed zoning ordinance amendments this year open doors for additional workforce housing and multi-family units in areas where they would be supported by town infrastructure.
On Tuesday, the Planning Board held an informational meeting via Zoom on the amendments, which have to be voted on by the general public during March Town meeting.
Changes this year include adding the definition of “workforce housing,” as provided by the state, and setting some standards within the code for building workforce housing.
As defined by state law, to qualify as “workforce housing,” the housing must be affordable to someone earning the median income for a four-person household in the county – a number which is updated and published annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rental properties can count as workforce housing if it costs less than 60 percent of the median income for a three-person household, also as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The proposed updates to the code include several points regarding multi-family buildings.
For example, it would allow greater density for two-family dwellings in areas of town served by water and sewer. Currently, in districts that allow two-family dwellings, they must be on a lot that’s twice the size for the requirement for a single-family home in that district. The amendment to the code would allow a two-family home to be built on the same lot size as a single-family home, if there were water and sewer to support it.
A new section of the ordinance lays out base density for multi-family and apartment houses in the General Business A and Residential B districts, where water and sewer are available.
If passed, the amendment would allow developers to apply for a conditional use permit for up to six units per acre, and an additional two units if they qualify as workforce housing. These developments would still be subject to site plan review and a design review, as well as the conditional use permitting process. The amendment also lays out some specific design standards, including renovation of historic structures or replication of the existing vernacular building structure, that it keep in the character of typical Jaffrey buildings, provides adequate parking on the side or to the rear of the building, contributes to pedestrian access to the community, and uses sustainable building and energy practices.
Currently, in most districts where they are allowed, apartments are allowed to have a maximum of eight living units in a building, except in the rural district, which allows four. Buildings must have an acre for the first living unit in a building, plus a half acre more for a second living unit, and an additional 5,000 square feet of land for each additional unit after that. Under those rules, a six-unit building would require two acres, where under the new rules, it could be built on a single acre.
Jaffrey Community Development Director Jo Anne Carr said the changes were made “in consideration of housing demands and business development in town,” while still protecting the town’s interest by still requiring a Conditional Use Permit process. “In other words, it’s not totally by right,” Carr said.
The zoning amendments will be voted on individually via ballot in March and require a majority approval to pass. Prior to being placed upon the ballot, the Planning Board must hold a public hearing on the amendments, where residents can provide input and the amendments are subject to change before being finalized for the ballot.