Zoning Recodification 

The Town of Wrentham was awarded $75,000 through the Economic Development Bill to update its Zoning Bylaws. 

Background

The Massachusetts Zoning Act, MGL Ch. 40A, defines Zoning as "the ordinances and bylaws adopted by municipalities to regulate the use of land, buildings, and structures to the full extent of the independent constitutional powers of cities and towns to protect public health, safety, and general welfare of their present and future inhabitants." Zoning regulations guide how and where growth occurs in a community. 

This guidance is done by establishing requirements for minimum lot size, street frontage, density, parking, open space and signage to name a few. Certain uses may be permitted as of right, while others require the issuance of a special permit. Zoning helps avoid placing incompatible uses, such as heavy industry and residential development near each other. 

Wrentham adopted its first zoning bylaw in 1956, and has made many changes since that time. The Town "recodified" the zoning bylaw to the electronic format found on eCode in 2020, there were no substantial changes made as part of this transfer. The Town's recently completed Master Plan (Vision of Tomorrow) includes recommendations relative to zoning, land use, resilience, and economic vibrancy while maintaining the classic New England charm and beauty of Wrentham.

The process for amending zoning bylaws is set forth in MGL Ch. 40A, Section 5. This requires that the Planning Board hold public hearings on proposed amendments prior to them being voted on at Town Meeting. 

Project Information

The Zoning Recodification Working Group is made up of representatives of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, the Zoning Enforcement Officer and the Director of Planning & Economic Development. The Working Group is working with the Town's legal consultant to recodify and update the Zoning Bylaw. In an effort to make the information as digestible as possible, the project will be broken into multiple phases with public information meetings at appropriate stages throughout the project. 

Phase 1 will consist of the easiest changes; changes such as renumbering, relocation within the bylaw, deletions, creation of charts, and other cosmetic changes. The result of Phase 1 will be a new Zoning Bylaw that has all of the basic provisions of the old Zoning Bylaw; the text will be transferred, repositioned, and renumbered, with minimal new information added. 

Phase 2 will consist of changes to bring the bylaw into legal conformity. These changes will reflect new case law or statutes, resolution of internal inconsistencies, new definitions, addition of routine planning provisions. This phase may require the engagement of subject matter experts to undertake technical reviews of existing conditions and/or demographics and/or geographical studies.

Town of Wrentham Zoning Bylaw, Town Code Chapter 390, Articles 1-21, November 2022