Hamilton Planning Board circulates draft flexible development bylaw to local developers

HAMILTON -- January 19, 2021, Hamilton Planning Board circulates draft flexible development bylaw and weighs downtown rezoning expansion. Planning Director Patrick distributed the draft flexible residential development bylaw language to four developers, Larry Smith, David Trager, Peter Gardo, and Ben Carlson, and connected with Finance Committee Chair John Prulidge and member Dave Wenger for early review. The board debated extending the downtown business district northward along Bay Road to include the Winthrop School campus, the public safety building, and the Council on Aging site, but agreed the rezoning should be folded into a forthcoming master plan, with an RFP targeted for March and a consultant selection by May or June. Board Chair Brian Stein and member Bill Wheaton both cautioned that proposing a bare zone change without renderings or sketch plans would "create fear in people." A senior housing proposal at 133 Essex Street is expected to file formally next month, while the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary 40B conversion, a roughly 210-unit project with 25 affordable units, remains at least six months from a formal application after the seminary's originally preferred development partner fell out of negotiations.