GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Greenfield City Council voted on the zoning amendment to the Major Development Review (MDR) in Wednesday’s meeting. The motion to reduce the threshold to trigger a Major Development Review from 3,000 vehicle trips per day to 2,000, failed to pass in a split vote.
Councilors heard from Community & Economic Development Director Amy Cahillane and Planning Director Eric Twarog on the matter. Cahillane emphasized the importance of consistency in the zoning bylaw as a factor in attracting business to the city and not enacting changes when projects arise as it may be perceived as reactionary in nature. Twarog shared data from seven other communities in Massachusetts with Major Development Review thresholds, with only one other, Georgetown, mirroring Greenfield’s process with multiple triggers for a MDR.
According to Twarog, Greenfield first adopted the MDR in 1989 when the vehicle daily trip threshold was at 500, changing to 1,500 in 2006, and 3,000 in 2019 due to what has been known as “the library vote.” When an MDR is triggered, a project must submit further information on a traffic study, fiscal impact statement, enhanced environmental review, among other aspects. Twarog shared that a project subjected to an MDR has not been rejected since its adoption in 1989.
Projects that have planned entrances on a state-owned road must submit their project to MassDOT who have their own MDR threshold of 2,000 car trips per day. The amendment would have brought the city in line with this state threshold, however only the planned Starbuck’s at the current Friendly’s location would have potentially been subjected to an MDR if the threshold had been lowered to 2,000.
Although the amendment did not pass the council vote, it could be brought back to council as it received a positive recommendation from the Planning Board.