Williamstown Planning Board to draft cottage court bylaw for September review

WILLIAMSTOWN -- August 8, 2023, Williamstown Planning Board advances cottage court bylaw and targets Water Street for mixed-use zoning reform. Chair Ken Kuttner and Member Roger Lawrence surveyed cottage court ordinances from five jurisdictions and committed to circulating a draft bylaw before the September meeting, along with real Williamstown lot case studies to test density standards in the four-to-15-units-per-acre range. Member Cory Campbell separately proposed expanding residential development in the town's business zones, arguing it is "better to build up than to build out," with the board quickly coalescing around Water Street as the priority corridor. Planning Director Andrew Groff confirmed that serious developer inquiries about Water Street have reached his office since Cable Mills opened and agreed to meet with Campbell to identify specific zoning impediments before September. Member Peter Beck, participating remotely, outlined a narrow manufactured-homes-as-ADUs proposal as a fallback after a broader manufactured housing article failed at the most recent town meeting, drawing public comment from resident Corinne DeMeo Wall, who cited Williamstown's workforce housing shortage and the legacy of the demolished Spruces mobile home park.