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Corridor Overlay Protection District
Download a Word file of this Bylaw
BYLAW: Corridor Overlay Protection District
MUNICIPALITY: Brewster, Massachusetts.
DATE ADOPTED: May 9, 1994
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS BYLAW, CONTACT:
Brewster Planning Board
brewplan@town.brewster.ma.us
508-896-3701 x133
PURPOSE OF BYLAW:
The purpose of this Article is to protect public health, safety and welfare through the preservation of the town's transportation corridors and protection of its historic and cultural assets for the residents and visitors of the Town of Brewster. The designation of the Corridor Overlay Protection District and careful regulation of development activities within the district can reduce the potential number of vehicular trips along the town's road systems, thereby reducing congestion and improving safety. The adoption of standards for transportation, access, parking, landscaping and appearance is necessary to ensure that future development will not degrade the existing character of the town's roadways and will maintain or enhance the ability of the corridors to serve as cultural assets for the residents and visitors of the Town of Brewster.
Section 179-65. Applicability.
The Corridor Overlay Protection District shall be superimposed over any other district established in this chapter and shall include all land identified on the Town of Brewster Zoning Districts Map. Land in the Overlay District may be used for any purpose otherwise permitted in the underlying district, subject to the restrictions described in this Article XII.
Section 179-66. Use Regulations.
A. Permitted Uses
One-family dwellings; one-family dwelling unit for the protection of property allowed in the C-H and V-B Districts; buildings and structures accessory to residential use and two-family dwellings do not require a special permit under this section.
B. Special Permit Uses
(1) An increase of floor area by more than five hundred (500)square feet through either a new principal building; a new accessory building; or an addition to a pre-existing building shall be allowed only if granted a special permit in accordance with this Section 179-66 and Section 179-51.
(2) The special permit granting authority (SPGA) shall be the Planning Board.
(3) Such special permit shall be granted if the SPGA determines that the intent, purposes and standards of this Article XII and Section 179-51, Special permits, are met.
(4) When a project requires a permit for a change in nonconforming use authorized by Section 179-28 of the Zoning Bylaw, as well as a special permit under a separate section of this Article, the proponent shall be able to obtain a single special permit, provided that the proposed use meets the conditions of this Article. In this instance only, the Board of Appeals shall be the SPGA.
(5) Uses requiring a special permit under this section may also be required to apply to the Development Plan Review Committee as set forth in Chapter 83, Development Plan Review (Article 11 of the 1990 STM).
(a) For projects generally recognized as large or complicated, and at the applicant's request, the SPGA and the Development Plan Review Committee shall conduct a joint hearing on an application pending before the SPGA and the Development Plan Review Committee.
Section 179-67. Transportation, trip reduction, access, parking, landscaping and appearance standards. The purpose of these standards is to improve roadway safety and internal site circulation, aesthetics and retention of historic character. All uses requiring a special permit under this Articles hall meet the following standards as a condition of approval.
A. Transportation Standards.
(1) Proposed uses shall not degrade the existing levels of service of surrounding roads and intersections, including Route 6A, below Level of Service (LOS) C, based on summer peak-hour traffic volumes. This level of service for Brewster's roadways and intersections surrounding Route6A and for Route 6A has been defined in the Route 6ACorridor Study, prepared by TAMS Consultants, Inc., June1992. This study is available in the town offices (Planning Board and Board of Selectmen). When the existing LOS is below LOS C, the proponent shall maintain or improve performance indicators.
(2) Sight distance at any driveway serving at least twenty(20) trips per day shall meet American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials standards as well as those set forth in Brewster's Sight Line Bylaw(Chapter 157, Article VI, of the Town Code).
B. Trip Reduction Standards.
All retail and service uses and wholesale and manufacturing uses (see Section 179-11, Table 1,Use Regulations) located in the Corridor Overlay Protection District shall prepare a trip reduction plan as a condition for issuance of a special permit. The trip reduction plans hall describe traffic impact mitigation strategies designed to reduce traffic generation and may include strategies such as company-sponsored carpooling/vanpooling; bicycle and pedestrian incentive measures; and/or variable work hour or flextime programs. The applicant shall also present a plan for future enforcement of proposed trip reduction measures following permit issuance.
C. Access standards
(1) The number of curb cuts on Route 6A, Route 124, Route137, Underpass Road and Tubman Road shall be minimized. To the extent feasible, access to businesses shall be provided through one (1) of the following means:
(a) Access through a common driveway serving adjacent lots or premises;
(b) Access through an existing side or rear street; or
(c) Access through a cul-de-sac or loop road shared by adjacent lots or premises.
(2) The special permit granting authority may relax setback requirements to accommodate joint driveways in cases where it is deemed advantageous to the town.
(3) Existing businesses are encouraged to consolidate existing access points, especially in cases where separate parcels are assembled under one (1) purpose, plan, entity or usage.
(4) Businesses shall be permitted one (1) access driveway by right. Two (2) driveways shall be permitted only when deemed necessary by the SPGA and shall be clearly marked "entrance" and "exit."
(5) Driveways shall be designed to provide exiting motorists with safe sight distance.
(6) Internal circulation shall be provided, to the greatest extent possible, among adjoining premises to encourage internal property-to-property pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular movements.
(7) An occupancy permit shall not be issued for proposed developments requiring access on a state highway until a permanent state curb cut permit is issued and all necessary site improvements are completed.
(8) All access drives shall be separated by at least one hundred twenty (120) feet in the C-H District and V-B District, as measured between the center line of each access drive at the street line. This standard may only be modified in cases where the SPGA believes it is in the best interest of the town to do so.
D. Parking design standards.
(1) The Town of Brewster recognizes that reliance on rigid parking and loading lot standards precludes the development of parking lots that are sensitive to the town's historic and rural character. Yet, it also recognizes that some standards for parking and loading lot design are required, provided that they can be administered with flexibility given the individual requirements of development proposals and the parcels on which they are proposed.
(2) The SPGA is authorized to relax any and all of the numerical standards established by Section 179-23 (Parking and loading lot standards), provided that the SPGA believes that:
(a) Such relaxation will not conflict with the minimum standards established by this Article or the purpose of this Article; and
(b) It will result in a development that is at least as beneficial to the Town of Brewster as the development without a relaxation of the numerical standards.
(3) The following guidelines are set forth to assist the applicant and the SPGA:
(a) Loading and unloading areas shall be provided of a sufficient size to accommodate the numbers and types of vehicles likely to use the premises, given the nature of the development proposed. Loading and unloading areas shall be located and designed to allow vehicles to safely maneuver to and from a public right-of-way and to prevent obstruction or interference with a public right-of-way, parking space or parking aisle.
(b) Loading areas shall be provided to the rear of the lot, wherever possible.
(c) Parking areas shall be located to the side or rear of the structure. No parking is permitted in the required front yard setback for the structure.
(d) To the extent possible, parking areas shall be shared with adjacent businesses and should be situated to the side and rear of the lot (frontage on Route 6Ashall be considered the "front" of the lot).
(e) In cases where shared parking is provided, the SPGA may permit a reduction in necessary spaces since complementary uses may require less total parking area than each use individually.
(f) Bicycle users shall be accommodated by provision of on-site bicycle parking storage and bicycle and walking paths.
(g) Drainage facilities shall be designed and constructed for parking areas in such a way as to contain and treat storm water runoff on the premises, as well as comply with design standards referred to in Section179-57 of the Zoning Bylaw.
E. Landscaping, design and appearance standards.
(1) A landscaped buffer strip shall be provided adjacent to any public road to visually separate parking and other uses from the road, where feasible and without interfering with vehicular or pedestrian safety. The buffer strip shall be approximately fifteen (15) feet in depth and planted with a combination of grass, medium-height shrubs [approximately two to eight (2 to 8) feet tall, evergreen varieties preferred] and shade trees(planted at least every forty to sixty (40 to 60) feet along the road frontage]. Trees and shrubs shall be setback at street and driveway entrances, exits or intersections to allow adequate sight distance and ensure vehicular and pedestrian safety while entering or exiting the site. Applicants are encouraged to review Brewster's Sight Line Bylaw, Chapter 157, Article VI, of the Town Code, prior to designing parking lot landscaping plans.
(2) A landscaped buffer strip of approximately ten-foot depths hall be provided adjacent to adjoining uses, excluding areas providing shared access and parking. The buffer strip shall be planted with a combination of grass, medium-height shrubs (evergreen varieties preferred) and shade trees.
(3) Large parking areas shall be interrupted with landscaped islands such that no parking surface exceeds sixty (60) feet in width, not including the area(s) used for parking aisles/stalls. A minimum of one (1) shade tree shall be provided per five (5) parking spaces to be placed in a protective pervious plot of at least sixty (60) square feet in area.
(4) Exposed storage areas, machinery, service areas, truck loading areas, utility buildings and structures and other unsightly uses shall be screened from view from neighboring properties and streets using plantings, a wall or tight fence complemented with plantings or through some other means deemed acceptable to the permit granting authority.
(5) All landscaped areas shall be maintained. Shrubs and trees which die shall be replaced within one (1) growing season.
(6) Buildings and architectural design shall be compatible with the character and scale of the adjacent roadway and surrounding neighborhood.
(7) Structures shall be sited so as to allow separations between buildings, particularly to encourage open space in the site and reduce massiveness in the project.
(8) The use of bituminous paving shall be minimized.
(9) Old, well-established trees shall be protected by siting buildings and parking around or within the existing landscape.
(10) Building design shall adhere to the guidelines of the Brewster Historic District Committee in locations subject to review by the Committee. Of significant concern to the Committee are the issues of mass and size, impact of projects on sites and settings, harmony of design and detail within the project and setting and compatibility of projects, while encouraging variety and diversity.
Section 179-68. Severability. The provisions of this Article are severable from each other, and the invalidity of any provisions or sections shall not invalidate any other provision or section thereof.
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