P&Z considers reg changes to facilitate new construction

CORNWALL — At another monthly meeting with no new or pending applications, Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission resumed discussion of ways to spur development in town.

“This is a big concern,” said Chair Anna Timell during the May 13 meeting.

Timell identified three regulations that could be changed toward this end: minimum setbacks, buildable areas and subdividing lots.

Time was spent discussing restrictions for buildable areas, particularly related to the “rectangular requirement.”

“The current definition of buildable area,” Timell explained, is “a rectangular area of a lot with a minimum dimension of 100-feet per side that contains no wetland soils, water bodies, water courses, utilities or access easements, rights of way or a naturally occurring slope exceeding 25% as measured using two-foot intervals.” All homes must be contained within a rectangle that meets these criteria.

Members of the Buildable Area Subcommittee reviewed proposals that could facilitate home construction.

Commissioner James LaPorta said, “It’d be great if we didn’t have the rectangle because sometimes a corner doesn’t quite fit, but it’s still a buildable area and we could probably put a house there.”

Subcommittee members suggested permitting “any type of polygon” with a minimum width of 100-feet and a total area of 20,000 square feet, while still adhering to the other buildable area requirements.

“You can have any shape,” LaPorta said, “If you can still have a 100-foot diameter circle that would fit anywhere.”

“It’s not the final solution but it adds to solving this problem” of sparse development in town, said Commissioner Stephen Saccardi.

P&Z requested Land Use Consultant Janel Mullen reframe the definition of a buildable area in accordance with the discussion for review by the Commission.

As for changes to setbacks and subdivisions, differing opinions among commissioners yielded little movement.

Discussion is expected to resume at the next meeting June 10.