What to Know About Tuesday’s Town Zoning Amendments
James Kelly
He/Him
News Editor
3/8/25
Along with elections for Selectboard and Pemi-Baker Regional School Board, voters in Tuesday’s Town Election will consider two petitioned warrant articles and four zoning amendments. Here’s what you need to know:
Petitioned Warrant Articles
As opposed to Zoning Amendments, which are proposed by the Planning Board, petitioned warrant articles are proposed by citizens. They earn their place on the ballot when 25 registered voters (or 2% of registered voters, whichever is fewer) sign on to the application for the article, according to state law.
The first petitioned warrant article, which appears at the top of the Zoning Election Ballot, “is probably the most complex of all the amendments,” said Planning Board Chair John Christ. The article would change permitted commercial uses within Plymouth’s Agricultural Zone, moving uses including theaters, drive through restaurants, and banks to “not permitted” status. The amendment would also change uses like hotels, offices, restaurants, and retail sales from “permitted” to “permitted by Special Exception,” meaning applicants would have to go in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustments to request approval. The Planning Board recommend the article.
The second petitioned warrant article appears at the bottom of the ballot. This would change the Planning Board seats from appointed positions to elected ones. Currently, Planning Board members are appointed by the Selectboard.
Though the Planning Board did not make an official recommendation on the second article, members commented as individuals. Phil LaMoreaux, Planning Board Secretary, was a signatory to the petition. An elected Planning Board gives the public more confidence the board will “serve the interests of the public,” he said. “Election to the board provides more robust support to the person serving.”
Neil McIver, who sits on the Planning Board as a member of the Selectboard, took a neutral position on the warrant article. He shared, however, that he has noticed Planning Boards in Vermont moving away from elected boards because it has been challenging getting people to serve. Grafton County Commissioner Katie Hedberg, a member of the audience, shared similar concerns about candidate recruitment. LaMoreaux suggested that the Planning Board could use appointed alternates as a form of onboarding. In the event of a vacancy, Christ noted, alternates could still step in. “I will say, as far as boards go… it’s often the case that the Planning Board is pretty sought after,” he said.
Zoning Amendment 1 – Industrial Commercial District Boundaries
Zoning Amendment 1 is, in a sense, a companion amendment to the first petitioned warrant article. If that warrant article passes, certain businesses near Tenney Mountain Highway in the Agricultural zone, which were once permitted, would no longer be permitted. “If the petitioned zoning amendment goes through, and this does not get approved, then we have a whole bunch of businesses that are now nonconforming,” LaMoreaux said.
The area around Market Basket, for instance, includes uses like drive through restaurants and hotels, which would no longer be permitted in the Agricultural zone. Zoning Amendment 1 would pull those areas out of the Agricultural zone and into the Industrial Commercial Development zone, where those uses are allowed.
Certain parcels near Smith Bridge Road were omitted from the rezoning in order to preserve their character and agricultural value, LaMoreaux said.
Zoning Amendment 2 – Article III Section 304 and Article II Commercial Storage Facilities
In short, Zoning Amendment 2 aims to better separate commercial storage facilities from residential areas. Plymouth has seen a growing interest in more commercial storage, Christ said, including a handful of proposals for new facility construction. “The issue that we had is that several of these storage facilities were being proposed in very close proximity to residential uses,” he said.
The town Zoning Ordinance currently classifies commercial storage facilities as a commercial service, “a pretty broad catch-all category for things that include barber shops, photography studios… a pretty wide range,” said Plymouth Community Planner Joseph Perez. That gives their construction a good deal of freedom. The amendment would put commercial storage in its own category, permitting new facilities in the Industrial Commercial Development zone, and by Special Exception in the Highway Commercial and Agricultural zones.
Storage would still be allowed as an accessory use outside of the ICD, like on a farm, Christ said. “If it grows too big, where [storage] eclipses your primary use, then we’re having a different conversation.”
Zoning Amendment 3 – Article III, Section 304 and Article IV, Section 411
Zoning Amendment 3 is an extension of state efforts to encourage housing development. The amendment would bring Plymouth into compliance with state law, which requires multifamily housing with 10 or more units provide at least 1.5 parking spaces per unit. Since the state has already mandated the parking minimum, the result of the amendment, pass or fail, has little meaning. “We could not pass it,” Christ said, “but then if it comes before us anyway, we have to follow state law.”
Zoning Amendment 4 – Section 304 Language on Permitted Uses
Zoning ordinances can either be permissive or prohibitive. A permissive ordinance lists the uses that are allowed in a given zone. A prohibitive ordinance lists the uses that are not allowed. The Plymouth Zoning Ordinance is permissive, but it has a line that muddies the waters: a use is allowed if it is “sufficiently similar,” as determined by the Planning Board, to a listed use. Zoning Amendment 4 would remove that language so that it does not undermine “the power to enforce what the zoning ordinance says,” said Planning Board alternate Molly McCahan.
Editor’s Note: Polls will be open from 8:00am to 7:00pm at Plymouth Elementary School.