Burlington Town Meeting Okays High Rise Industrial Zoning Changes

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington town meeting voters approved four zoning bylaw articles related to the high-rise industrial zoning district, at Monday's meeting. One amendment changed the district's dimensional rules, while the other three added parcels to the district, doubling the number of parcels covered by the rules. The articles were geared toward driving life sciences development in the town, according to the articles' advocates.

The four articles were all passed unanimously or near-unanimously, prompting Riemer & Braunstein attorney Robert Buckley to remark that it was the first time he'd ever gotten unanimous approval at a town meeting.

The largest change to district's rules reduces the maximum height from 155 to 90 feet. The article also shrinks the minimum setbacks and eliminates the required 50 feet gap between buildings. The setback changes raised some concerns for voters, but town Planning Director Kristin Kassner explained that the parcels in question have odd shapes that will be hard to develop with large setback requirements.

Up to two levels of parking, based on distance from residential zones, will not be counted toward the building's height limit. According to a presentation to the selectmen, structured parking is often critical for life sciences uses, as a perk for employees. Encouraging structured parking would also allow for more greenspace, advocates noted.

Kassner and Buckley argued that while life sciences have grown massively in the region over the last decade, Burlington has been left out. These articles, as a piece of the Life Science Initiative, would help draw the industry to town, they said.

David Webb, a precinct 7 town meeting member and a member of the land use committee, said he voted for the articles in committee and encouraged the body to vote for all four.

"The buildings that would be developed would not be too high, there would be less traffic if anything than a regular office building, and more green space depending on how structured parking goes," Webb said.

The zoning map articles rezoned the following parcels as high-rise industrial: 3 Van de Graaff Drive, 60 Blanchard Road and 400—600 Summit Dr. All three are visible from I-95. The full warrant is available here.

Board of Health Chairman Ed Weiner also explained to town meeting voters that the board of health had recently passed a biological safety regulation, so that any company coming to town working with biological materials would get their approval.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.