By Eliza Rosenberry
In a wide-ranging discussion at its June 13 meeting, Planning Board members debated how best to approach diversification of Bedford’s in-demand housing stock, including multifamily properties and affordability concerns.
Diverse types of housing designed to meet a range of residents’ needs has been a key component of the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, which stated, “the range of available housing stock does not match the widening array of needs among various Bedford household income and age groups.”
Planning Director Tony Fields introduced the topic by describing some recent confusion related to how the town allows for the creation of two-family residences, or duplexes. He said some residents are planning to bring forward proposed changes in order to clarify the relevant zoning bylaws. Specifically, he reported that residents have been put off by a sprawling new duplex on North Road.
Zoning laws in Bedford provide two ways to create a two-family residence from an existing single-family lot: converting existing single-family houses that predate 1945, or new construction on a lot in existence since 1992. There is uncertainty regarding whether the second provision requires the lot to have been vacant, which Fields mentioned the town’s counsel has advised.
On North Road, an older home which had been used unofficially as a two-family dwelling for decades was recognized by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) as a two-family under the first zoning provision. Then, that building was torn down to make room for the new duplex, an approach approved by the ZBA in a unanimous decision in July 2014.
“Some observers have questioned the process,” Fields wrote in an email to TheCitizen, “others maybe simply have a knee-jerk reaction to the size of the new structure, but multiple people have expressed interest in amending the bylaw to ‘prevent’ or better control the next application.”
Board members acknowledged the bylaw may need clarification, but said a diversity of residences — like duplexes and accessory dwelling units — are key in providing housing diversity. When such housing is available, senior citizens, middle and lower income residents, young families, and the local labor force can stay in or move to Bedford, a town that is prohibitively expensive even for many middle-class earners.
According to the Comprehensive Plan, “many residents ‐ perhaps 40% ‐ could not afford a dwelling in Bedford if they were entering the market today.”
Approximately 80 percent of Bedford’s housing stock is made up of single family homes, Fields estimated, and the real estate market here is widely understood to be competitive. The median list price for houses in Bedford has averaged $732,000 over the last year, according to data from the real estate website Zillow. And in recent years, some older and modestly priced homes have been torn down and replaced with very large and expensive houses, a trend which prompted new special permitting for nonconforming lots.
Planning Board Chair Shawn Hanegan suggested this trend is exclusionary, observing that any existing housing diversity in Bedford, specifically through some of these older houses, is “bleeding out.”
“Are we just blocking people from coming into town because they can’t afford it?” Hanegan asked.
He went on to note that even the small cottage-style properties at the new Depot Crossing development sold for more than $700,000. Those houses were created through Planned Residential Development (PRD) zoning, one goal of which is to provide for alternative housing types.
Board members also discussed a desire to have housing that is affordable for municipal employees, like first-year teachers and firefighters, as well as downsizers and other groups.
A significant factor driving the competitive real estate market is Bedford’s excellent schools, the Board agreed. Lloyd said families who prioritize schools may “mortgage themselves to the hilt” or squeeze an entire family into a small home in order to get into Bedford’s school district. She therefore proposed that the Board should not concern itself with the impact of new development on school enrollment, an issue which is often raised by residents at public hearings but on which the Board cannot base its decisions, and instead focus on encouraging adaptable types of housing.
“Over time, demographics ebb and flow,” Lloyd said. “Adaptability, to my mind, is the key.”
She particularly encouraged the Board to consider expanding zoning options for accessory dwelling units, or in-law apartments.
Though the Planning Board has a heavy workload with its ongoing Great Road rezoning project, the Board decided to continue discussions on housing diversity and will hear from the residents who plan to propose bylaw changes.
“It was a highly prioritized item when we came out of the gates with the Comprehensive Plan. So it should be, I think, on the forefront of what we’re doing moving forward,” said Board member Jeff Cohen.
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