Night #3 of Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting got off to a flying start on May 6, with members voting almost unanimously on the first few motions with barely a comment. Moderator Jeff Alderson even referenced the Kentucky Derby-like record pace (See the whole meeting recording on Natick Pegasus).
Then Town Meeting got to the zoning articles… hopefully no one bet on many of these horses. Though in the grand scheme of past Town Meeting articles, these moved along relatively quickly, too.
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Town Meeting made short work of Article 16, a bylaw clean-up, but real discussion began with Article 17, regarding Natick’s amendment of its zoning bylaws to comply with the updated floodplain map and make owners of property in certain flood zones eligible for flood insurance (cha-ching!). The presentation by Amanda Loomis, director of Community & Economic Development, and subsequent discussion on the motion under Article 17 lasted for half an hour.
Questions were raised on the Town Meeting floor about whether the town is alerting those who may now have to pay for flood insurance, but Natick Environmental Planner/Conservation Agent Claire Rundelli said Natick does not get involved in that, as this is the purview of the National Flood Insurance Program. Natick will make updated floodplain maps available on its website, and they are also available via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“No, there currently is not a plan [by the town] for outreach,” she said, adding later that determining the flood elevation for individual properties would involve widespread topographical surveying that the town doesn’t have the resources to pay for. The town is happy to answer people’s questions and provide contact information for the flood insurance program, though, she said.
Part of floodplain presentation at Town Meeting
Town Meeting voted in favor of the motion by a count of 107-16-3.
Next up was Article 18, having to do with updates to the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw that sync up with a state law on ADUs that went into effect earlier this year. More specifically, the update addresses the gross floor area definition (Natick currently measures from the exterior wall in, while the state measures from the interior wall in). Natick had created an ADU bylaw last fall in anticipation of the state law going through.
The questions on ADUs seemed to have to do more with ADUs in general, than the specifics of the motion. These are new, so people are still trying to get their arms around what is and isn’t allowed. The impetus behind new freedom around ADUs is to help address the housing shortage, though relatively few ADUs have been built in the area to date from what we’ve heard.
The motion passed by a 116-10-1 vote.
Also under the zoning articles was #19, which focused on cleaning up the Natick zoning bylaw and map regarding indoor recreational businesses, say like mini-golf, personal training, or volleyball. Natick is booming with such businesses, from the Mall to Tech Circle, and this bylaw change would allow such enterprises in more areas (though limited to one-tenth of the lot).
Julian Munnich, a Town Meeting member as well as Finance Committee member, warned that supporting this motion amounts to a policy change under which the town kind of gives up on areas for industrial businesses, like MathWorks, in favor of entertainment businesses. He said: “Now if as a town we’re making a policy change saying, eh, that time when we used to create good paying jobs and have a tax base, we’re past that now. Now it’s more important for us to have skipping and dancing and ball throwing facilities. I mean those are important, but that isn’t what creates a tax base.”
Town Meeting voted in favor of the motion 105-22-1.
The last article to generate any notable discussion was Article 20, seeking to align the definition of body art establishments in the zoning bylaw with the Board of Health’s definition of body art (the Board regulates all operations that produce bloodborne pathogens). The article also aimed to align body art establishments with personal services businesses like salons, since their offerings have begun to overlap, Loomis said.
This article had moderator Alderson musing about a possible spa day if Town Meeting were to go another night.
Body art establishments have been in the zoning bylaw since 2001, when they “were looked upon very differently than they are today,” and in 2024 Fall Annual Town Meeting allowed body art businesses to operate in the downtown mixed-use area. Article 20 would allow such establishments in even more parts of town.
Town Meeting and Planning Board member Andy Meyer shared background that a local salon owner had come forward to town officials a while back to let them know he was at a competitive disadvantage to businesses in nearby communities that were allowed to offer body art and other salon services. Town bodies and leaders got together to propose changes to the zoning bylaw to support such businesses and remove “that inadvertent competitive disadvantage,” Meyer said.
Town Meeting voted in favor of the motion 115-8-1.
What’s left for this Thursday, May 8? Articles 23-25, the latter being a citizen petition on stabilization funds.
See an unofficial running list of Town Meeting votes on the Natick Financial Committee website.
More:
- Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting opening night recap: Un-stabilization; A Happy Fuss over Foss; Override-infused budget
- Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting night #2 recap: Unpaid bills; Stabilization; Capital spending
- Natick Spring Annual Town Meeting night #3: Zoning articles on floodplain maps, body art, ADUs & indoor rec
