Town of Hadley, MA Establishment of Districts

For purposes of this bylaw, the Town of Hadley is hereby divided into the following types of use districts:

District Name	Purpose
Agricultural-Residential - AR	To accommodate agriculture, horticulture or floriculture as well as single-family detached dwellings at lower densities, while providing protection for environmentally sensitive areas, agricultural resources, and other similar lands. These are areas where a full range of municipal facilities and services are not generally available.
Residential - R	To accommodate moderate-density, single-family residential development and complementary land uses
Limited Business - LiB	To accommodate very-low-intensity and limited commercial and office development and other complementary land uses that serve and are generally appropriate near residential neighborhoods
Local Business - LoB	To accommodate smaller business activity which is located at the edge of residential areas but which serves a larger trade area than the immediately surrounding residential neighborhoods
Business - B	To accommodate a wide range of retail uses and services and commercial activities in appropriate locations along primary roads within the Town and provide for the appropriate development and special requirements for the major business concentrations, which serve an area larger than the immediate neighborhood
Industrial - I	To accommodate a wide range of manufacturing, industrial, commercial, institution of higher learning and complementary land uses
Overlay Districts Because of their unique characteristics, the requirements in the Overlay Districts supersede the requirements of the underlying districts. To this end the number and types of uses allowed are restricted.
Aquifer Protection	To promote the health, safety and welfare of the community by protecting and preserving the surface and ground water resources of the Town from any use of land or buildings which may reduce the quality and quantity of its water resources
Flood	Consisting of those geographical areas which by virtue of their relationship to components of the natural hydrology of the Town of Hadley have substantial importance to the protection of life and property against the hazards of floods, erosion, and pollution and in general are essential to the public health, safety, and welfare
Wireless Communications Services	To establish a district in which wireless communications services may be provided with minimal harm to the public health, safety and general welfare by protecting the general public from impacts associated with wireless communications towers and minimizing visual impacts from wireless communications towers on Districts within Hadley
Farmland Preservation and Receiving Districts	To permanently protect farmland and agricultural soils, to protect farmland property values and provide a fair economic return to owners of property restricted from further development, to foster compact commercial and industrial development in central areas served by public infrastructure in the Town of Hadley
Municipal	To protect the health, safety, convenience and welfare of the public by facilitating the siting of municipal uses and facilities required for the safe and efficient operation of Town government
Village Center	A mixed-use commercial area within and adjacent to the town center promoting development in scale with the existing character of the village and encouraging new construction to be compatible with the scale of existing structures
Senior Housing	To provide a variety of housing choices for persons who are 55 years of age and older; to provide well designed, affordable homes for residents who wish to remain in the community; to recognize the importance of diversity and variety in the design of senior housing developments; to provide types of housing which reduce residents' burdens of building and yard maintenance and which reduce demands on municipal services; to promote flexibility in land use planning in order to strengthen neighborhoods, improve site layouts, and protect natural features and environmental values; to provide for a greater variety of uses and building types at a higher density than would normally be allowed, and allowing greater flexibility in site planning so as to promote affordable housing and the preservation of open space and historic resources within the development; and to provide for the review of all such proposals prior to construction, to ensure compliance with the above intent and objectives and to assure that the proposal will not result in or contribute to incompatible use of the land, pollution of the soil or groundwater, traffic congestion or inappropriate site development