Hamilton Planning Board Closes Public Hearing on Downtown Zoning Overhaul

HAMILTON -- June 17, 2025, Hamilton Planning Board closes public hearing on downtown rezoning, sets up July 14 town meeting vote. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to end its public hearing on a two-article zoning overhaul designed to satisfy the state's Chapter 40A, Section 3A multifamily housing mandate, with a joint meeting alongside the Select Board scheduled for June 24 to finalize the board's formal recommendation. Town counsel explained that Appendix A, requiring only a simple majority, creates three new downtown subdistricts where multifamily housing is the sole permitted use as of right, while Appendix B, requiring a two-thirds supermajority, then restores all other uses and adds two additional districts; if Appendix A passes but Appendix B fails, existing downtown businesses would become nonconforming. The board voted 7-0 to reduce the multifamily overlay district's maximum building footprint from 8,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet per structure, with consultant Matthew confirming the change does not affect state compliance modeling. Members also approved an Approval Not Required plan for 305 and 323 Willow Street, adjusting a longstanding boundary between two family-owned parcels ahead of a pending sale of the Welch and Lampson oil business.