Proposed amendments to Peterborough’s zoning ordinance would make requirements more consistent for homeowners in the downtown Traditional Neighborhood Overlay District.
Both the Family District and the General Residence District fall within Peterborough’s Traditional Neighborhood Overlay District, referred to as the TNOZ.
Planning Board Chair Carl Staley said the board’s goal is to make zoning consistent for all properties within the TNOZ. At a public hearing Monday night, Staley outlined what the change would mean for residents of downtown Peterborough.
“The way the rules are written, a person who lives in the Family District is allowed to build either a single family home or a duplex if they have a lot of at least 10,000 square feet. But if their neighbor across the street is in the General Residence district, that person is entitled to build more on the same size lot,” Staley said.
The proposal would change requirements for minimum lot sizes in the TNOZ to 5,000 square feet per housing unit, regardless of what type of housing is built. The proposed amendment would allow for multi-family residences in the Family District, but only through Planning Board review and with strict conformance to the TNOZ ordinance.
Town Planner Danica Miller said that only about three lots in the General Residence zone are large enough to build additional units.
“Most people have big houses on small lots,” she said. “There are very few lots that would allow that density level.”
The town’s current ordinance requires “10,000 square feet for one or two dwelling units, plus 5,000 square feet for each additional unit in the Family District,” and “5,000 square feet for one dwelling unit, plus 2,500 square feet for each additional unit in the General Residence District.”
The town’s Master Plan prioritizes the creation of more housing within the TNOZ, which encompasses the part of Peterborough served by town water and sewer. The TNOZ includes the sections of the Family District and the General Residence District closest to the center of town.
“If you look at the map, the TNOZ is a red line around the middle of Peterborough. Town water and sewer is available at all of these properties. The idea behind the TNOZ was to have more options than just single-family homes in these already dense environments,” Staley said.
He said the Planning Board is trying to balance the inequities created by outdated zoning.
“We don’t know why the Family District and General Residence zones were created this way. There is no clear reason we know of as to why one part of town is yellow on the map (Family District) and why another is green (General Residence District), but it is quite a big difference if you wanted to turn your large home into three apartments,” Staley said. “It’s allowed in General Residence, but it’s not allowed in Family. Right now, if you’re in General Residence, you are entitled to build more than your neighbor in the Family District, even though you live right across the street and have the same lot size.”
He said the Planning Board is “trying to create more options that make sense to people.”
Planning Board member Mike McGill said the change could help people who own large homes and would like to convert them to apartments or add an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU.
“There are people who can’t maybe afford to stay in their homes, especially older people, who have been here a long time and would like to stay in Peterborough, and this change would help them do that,” McGill said.
Board member Lisa Stone said that many large homes in the Family District, such as on Pine Street, have already been broken into apartments, and that the apartments predate the zoning.
“They’re already there, and they’ve been there for a long time, but according to the current zoning, it’s not allowed,” Stone said. “That is something we are trying to address.”
Staley said that when the Planning Board did an inventory of Family District homes, most of the homes are on about half an acre or less and non-conforming under the current zoning.
“We’re trying to make this zoning work for 2026, not 1976,” Staley said. “We have no idea why and how the zones were made this way, but that’s what we have.”
Select Board member Bonnie Tucker said the proposed zoning change will provide more flexibility for homeowners, adding that the proposed change will lower the level of density allowed to eight units per acre in the General Residence District.
“Currently, in General Residence, the limit is 15 units per acre, and in meetings with the public, we know people are concerned about that density level, so we are trying to make that consistent with the limit in the Family District, which is eight units per acre,” Staley said.
Voters will decide on the ordinance at Peterborough’s elections in May.