Does the town have a right to implement a policy to protect neighborhood character and historic homes even if some of the owners of those properties are against the policy? The Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) is currently wrestling with that idea due to an application for a village district to be landed on High Street and John Street.

The applicant behind the proposal is the town’s Historic District Commission (HDC). The PZC will hold be a second continuation of a public hearing over the proposed establishment of the village district at Town Hall on Monday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. The past two installments of the public hearing have drawn interest from members of the public who live on those streets, many of whom are opposed to the application.

A petition of 15 people who live in the area and are against the application was submitted to the PZC at a January meeting. Those opposed to the application have cited reasons such as a fear the creation of a village district would limit the amount of control they had over any future changes to their property, confusion as to where the boundaries of the district would fall, and a reluctance to take direction on their properties from an applicant that would not be a part of the district itself.

Those in favor of the application say that by implementing the village district it would help preserve the character of the neighborhood, which they argue is one of the key gateways to the downtown area.

At a regular meeting of the HDC on Jan. 21, a handful of concerned citizens attended the meeting to learn more about the proposal. At that meeting, HDC Chairman Larry Ouellette explained more context of the application.

Ouellette said that the proposed district does not change any of the permitted uses, parking regulations, or dimensions currently allowed in the zone. What would change is that any visible changes to the exterior of a property in the district would need to be looked over by the town’s Design Review Board before the change oculd be made.

There would be no increase in taxes or forced building as a result of the application, Ouellette said. The design review board would check to make sure that any proposed changes to a property keep within the general appearance and size of the rest of the houses in the neighborhood.

While the HDC is behind the proposal and part of the goals of the village district is to protect the historic homes in the district, Ouellette emphasized that the village district is not in fact a historic district. A historic distract has much more stringent ownership criteria than a village zone. The most stringent guideline of the village district is that the Design Review Board would need to review planned changes to the exterior of a house.

If the village district is approved, the HDC would have no involvement with the district, which was a misconception that some people had at the earlier public hearings.

Some opponents of the district said that rather than implement a village district, the town should be more concerned with enforcing blight regulations than telling property owners what they can and can’t do with their own properties.

According to Ouellette, the history of the application dates back to around 2014 when the town did a survey of the former Unilever property and the surrounding area that includes High Street and John Street.

“The study looked at what would be the best way to develop and to preserve the area,” Ouellette said.

Once the study was completed, Ouellette said that the PZC asked the HDC develop regulations to assist with the preservation of the area, which is what led to the eventual application for the village district.

“This was not a shoot-off-the-hip proposal,” Ouellette said.

The public hearing over the proposed establishment of the village district will be held at Town Hall on Monday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.