Staff briefs commission on new state zoning law, seeks direction on middle‑housing and parking changes

Planning staff briefed the commission on the major requirements of Public Act 25‑1 and sought direction on how to draft the first round of local zoning amendments.

Moren (town planner) reviewed the act's principal near‑term obligations: local amendments to implement middle‑housing and mixed‑use provisions (sections 11–21 of the act), the prohibition on local minimum off‑street parking requirements for many residential projects, and the new summary‑review pathway that can allow projects meeting defined standards to proceed without a public hearing. Staff emphasized that some deadlines are imminent: certain amendments are effectively required by July 1, 2026, while the Capital Region housing growth plan has a June 1, 2028 adoption deadline; towns may elect to adopt the regional plan or prepare a municipal housing growth plan with supporting data.

Staff asked for policy direction on two early issues: whether Berlin should allow middle‑housing (two‑to‑nine‑unit structures) and/or mixed‑use development in its commercial zones, and whether to apply the statute's "summary review" pathway broadly or limit it to specific zones. Commissioners discussed tailoring the new rules by zone (for example, keeping mixed‑use/middle‑housing in established commercial/transit corridors but not in every commercial parcel), and requested draft text that centralizes definitions (section 11) and references them from relevant zones rather than duplicating provisions across district sections.

Staff said it will prepare draft text amendments and definitions for the commission, post proposed language for the July 9 meeting and suggested an additional work session in mid‑July (July 16) to review the drafts. Staff also noted the scale of the task and invited the commission to consider retention of outside consultant support for heavier drafting and analysis.

Next steps: staff will circulate draft amendments and a packet of comparative language from other towns, schedule a work session in mid‑July, and post necessary items for the July 9 meeting to meet the first round of statutory deadlines.