2017-03-22 BOS Packet - Released

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Planning Board Report on Article 41 —Revise Definitions Page 2 session on January 18, 2017, in Battin Hall, in the Cary Memorial Building. Finally the Board held the public hearing required by MGL Chapter 40A, on February 15, 2017. The motion proposed under this article reflects the input and feedback from the public, Town staff, and the Planning Board. PROPOSED MOTION Part 1.That the Zoning Bylaws of the Town be amended by deleting and replacing the following definitions in Section 135-10.0 of the Zoning Bylaw: Attic • Existing: A space directly under a sloping roof which is unfinished and which is not accessible by an approved stairway and is not designed or intended to be used for human occupancy. • Proposed: A space between the top of the floor joists of the top story and the bottom of the roof rafters that cannot be accessed by a stairway compliant with the building code. Basement • Existing: A space in a building which is partly below and partly above the level of the adjoining ground and having at least 1/2 of its floor-to-ceiling height above the average natural grade and a floor-to-ceiling height of seven feet or greater. • Proposed: A space in a building having its floor surface entirely below average natural grade and a height of at least six feet eight inches from its floor surface to the bottom of the joists above. Crawl space • Existing: A space in a building similar to a basement or a cellar which has a floor-to- ceiling height less than seven feet. • Proposed: A space in a building having its floor surface entirely below average natural grade and a height of less than six feet eight inches from the floor surface to the bottom of the joists above. Gross Floor Area • Existing: The sum, in square feet, of the horizontal areas of all stories of a building or several buildings on the same lot measured from the exterior face of exterior walls, or from the center line of a party wall separating two buildings. Gross floor area shall also include garages, basements, cellars,porches and half stories, but shall exclude crawl spaces, attics, and decks. Where the text of this bylaw refers to floor area, the term shall mean gross floor area unless the term net floor area is used. • Proposed: The sum, in square feet, of the horizontal areas of a building (or several buildings on the same lot) measured from the exterior face of the exterior walls, or from the center line of a party wall separating two buildings, including garages, basements,porches, and half stories. In half stories, all floor area where the headroom is greater than five feet, measured from the top of the floor joists of the top