Sharon has substantial minimum lot-size rules and setbacks, which makes home-ownership costly for many working-class people. With these rules, a working-class person is more likely to purchase a property smaller than the 5-acre minimum and/or has a home closer to the road than the existing 100-foot setback requirement.
These older lots tend to be more affordable, but the setback rules greatly restrict the land use available. The Planning Board is looking to adopt additional restrictive rules regarding what a homeowner can do if their home falls within the setback. The proposal will allow “only natural growths such as trees, shrubs and grasses” inside the setback, so it can be reasoned that a garden or storing cord wood may not be allowed.
The new rules would apply to anything within that setback. For example, if you are storing your RV, camper trailer or boat within the setback, or perhaps you have a children’s play set within the same, you would need to seek approval from the ZBA. This is overly burdensome, and effectively creates a two-class system of rules for those who have enough land and those who do not.
At the Planning Board public hearing Dec. 14, there was a large response from residents who voiced opposition to the new restrictions and they were not passed. The Planning Board’s next meeting is 6 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Sharon Meeting House to discuss these objections. Residents of Sharon, please come express your concerns. After the last hearing, there was a request by the Planning Board leadership for a police presence at the meeting. I hope that it is to maintain order and not suppress residents’ voices. Please be respectful and come to the meeting with ideas and solutions.
Frederick J. Woodhouse III
Sharon Select Board Chairman