Greenfield Planning Board Votes to Initiate Hearing on Downtown Zoning Fix

GREENFIELD -- March 18, 2026, Greenfield Planning Board moves to fix a downtown zoning conflict that caps multifamily buildings at 35 feet. The board voted unanimously at its March 18 meeting to initiate a joint public hearing with the City Council's Community Development Committee, targeting May, on a zoning amendment to Section 200-5.3A that would free multifamily housing in the central commercial and other non-residential districts from the dimensional requirements of the RA residential zone, requirements that Planning Director Ella Meyers called a direct contradiction of a prior council vote raising the downtown height limit to 80 feet. Members noted that the Hope Street development, a closely watched multifamily project, is currently restricted to 35 feet under the uncorrected code. The board separately tabled a proposed shelter-facility zoning definition after Meyers reported that the Massachusetts Attorney General's guidance makes clear that nonprofit shelters offering life-skills training are Dover Amendment-protected uses that the city cannot subject to a special permit, and that virtually all real-world shelters fall into that category.