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On Monday, July 1, the Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals discussed a new firearms business zoning bylaw after the Select Board’s version of a bylaw failed at the May 2024 Annual Town Meeting. Chair John Riordan stated that a draft of the bylaw was circulated to members of the board, and that he would scheduled a dedicated meeting to discuss the draft at a future date. He indicated a preference to host that meeting when fewer residents are on vacation and they can have broader participation from the public.
Member Frank Riepe introduced the broad framework of the draft bylaw, while indicating that he was working with an ad-hoc committee of private citizens to develop the draft.
The new bylaw would locate firearms businesses, under a special permit, in the area currently known as ID-6. ID-6 is an industrial district south of the Town Transfer Station on Boston Post Road.
Rather than relying on setback distances for protections, the draft bylaw would simply designate a single district (a new “Industrial District Special Use”) for firearms businesses where ID-6 is today. The prior approach by the Select Board allowed firearms businesses in all Industrial Districts under special permit. However, when the Select Board layered on required setbacks from sensitive uses, it left only ID-4 (near Land Rover and Soul of India on Boston Post Road) as a viable location for firearms businesses based on nearby existing uses in and around Sudbury.
The new approach may raise questions about spot zoning, for which the Zoning Board of Appeals will likely need to have a compelling answer in order to gain the support of other Town boards like the Select Board and Planning Board. The Select Board regularly discussed its desire to avoid “spot zoning” when developing their version of the bylaw.
The city of Beverly, MA offers the following definition of spot zoning: “Spot zoning occurs when just one parcel or a small area is singled out to allow more flexible development than the surrounding area, particularly when planning documents (such as master plans or area plans) call for either completely different zoning or the rezoning of a larger area.” (Page 4)
The land in ID-6, according to Riepe, is more tucked away than what was previously proposed by the Select Board, though it’s still very close to the Mass Central Rail Trail, which was a criticism of the Select Board’s prior approach. In a copy of the draft bylaw, which was provided by the Town of Sudbury, the approach varies from the Select Board bylaw in several other ways.
The current draft would eliminate ID-6 as an ID category, and relabel that area as “IDX-1” which would stand for “Industrial District Special Use.” The bylaw would then list the permitted and prohibited uses for the district. In the current draft, the permitted uses include firearms businesses, manufacturing, warehousing, sales of industrial/agricultural tools and equipment, repair of commercial vehicles and commercial landscape uses. That protects the existing businesses in the district and adds firearms businesses.
The prohibited uses include many of the sensitive uses that the Select Board tried to protect with setbacks in their version of a bylaw. The new draft would prohibit housing, daycares, banking, farm stands, restaurants, healthcare services, athletic facilities and meeting halls.
Other provisions of the draft bylaw address the weaknesses members of the Zoning Board of Appeals perceived in the Select Board’s proposed bylaw. That includes increasing the limits of liability in the insurance requirement from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 and listing the Town of Sudbury as an insured party. The video surveillance provisions also add a requirement for a direct connection to the Sudbury Police Department in order to accelerate alerts to a break-in or theft.
Perhaps the most notable change is that the current draft would make the Zoning Board of Appeals the special permit granting authority for firearms businesses. The Select Board opted to make itself the special permit granting authority in their draft bylaw, a choice that held together a three-member majority in support of their bylaw.
The draft bylaw was characterized as a very early draft during Monday’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, so much could change between now and the next discussion.