For the purpose of this ordinance, the Town of West Springfield
is hereby divided into the following 20 zoning districts:
Full Name
|
Short Name
|
---|
Residence A
|
RA
|
Residence A-1
|
RA-1
|
Residence A-2
|
RA-2
|
Residence B
|
RB
|
Residence C
|
RC
|
Neighborhood Business
|
NB
|
Business A
|
BA
|
Business A-1
|
BA-1
|
Business B
|
BB
|
Business B-1
|
BB-1
|
Central Business
|
CB
|
Industrial
|
I
|
Industrial Park
|
IP
|
Industrial Park - Light
|
IP-L
|
Special Use (Technical)
|
SU-T
|
Special Use (Office)
|
SU-O
|
Special Use (Multifamily)
|
SU-M
|
Special Use (Mobile Home)
|
SU-H
|
Planned Unit Development
|
PUD
|
Recreation
|
REC
|
[Amended 3-15-2021]
The following overlay districts are hereby established:
Full Name
|
Short Name
|
---|
Water Supply Protection
|
WSP
|
Flood Hazard
|
FH
|
Age-Restricted Housing
|
ARH
|
Memorial Corridor
|
MC
|
Billboard Overlay District
|
BOD
|
For the purpose of this ordinance, the Town of West Springfield
has established these zoning districts for the following purposes:
A. Residence A (RA). The purpose of the RA District is to provide for
residential areas that allow for lower density residential areas primarily
for single-family dwellings.
B. Residence A-1 (RA-1). The purpose of the RA-1 District is to provide
for residential areas of medium density primarily for single-family
dwellings.
C. Residence A-2 (RA-2). The purpose of the RA-2 District is to provide
for residential areas of higher density primarily for single-family
dwellings.
D. Residence B (RB). The purpose of the RB District is to provide for
residential areas of higher density primarily for single-family and
two-family dwellings.
E. Residence C (RC). The purpose of the RC District is to provide for
residential neighborhoods of higher densities that allow for a mix
of residential and professional office uses.
F. Neighborhood Business (NB). The purpose of the NB District is to
establish a small business district in residential areas that permit
a number of selected small businesses that could provide limited services
to the surrounding neighborhood.
G. Business A (BA). The purpose of the BA District is to provide areas
for a wide range of retail uses/services and commercial activities,
of higher densities, along primary roads to serve as business highway
corridors within West Springfield. BA Districts are especially capable
of accommodating high-volume traffic-generating uses, such as drive-through
restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, and drive-in banks.
H. Business A-1 (BA-1). The purpose of the BA-1 District is to provide
a mixed-use area, of medium density, containing a wide variety of
institutional, civic and professional/business uses with multifamily
residential uses and a limited quantity of commercial uses. This district
is applied to the area of the West Springfield Town Center abutting
Park Street and Park Avenue.
I. Business B (BB). The purpose of the BB District is to provide a higher
density area for a mix of business and industrial uses.
J. Business B-1 (BB-1). The purpose of the BB-1 District is to provide
a higher density area for a mix of industrial, multifamily residential
and limited commercial uses.
K. Central Business (CB). The purpose of the CB District zoning is intended
to emphasize the unique character of the Elm Street/Westfield Street
section of West Springfield by encouraging a mix of public service
uses with commercial uses of neighborhood and community scope. Requirements
within the district also attempt to encourage retention of the area's
pedestrian-oriented characteristics but do not discourage access by
motor vehicles, provision of adequate parking or limited regional
services. However, uses which require large expanses of land, interrupt
pedestrian shopping and circulation patterns or otherwise interfere
with the goals, subgoals and policies contained in this section are
discouraged.
L. Industrial (I). The purpose of the I District is to provide a high-density
area for industrial uses, both heavy and light uses.
M. Industrial Park (IP). The purpose of IP Districts is to encourage
the environmentally and socially sound development of industrial activities
and various complementary or compatible uses.
N. Industrial Park - Light (IP-L). The purpose of the IP-L Districts
is to encourage the environmentally and socially sound development
of small-scale industrial activities and various complementary or
compatible uses.
O. Special Use (Technical), Special Use (Office), Special Use (Multifamily),
and Special Use (Mobile Home). The purpose of all Special Use Districts
is to encourage the flexible, orderly and rational development of
larger parcels of land, i.e., five acres or more.
P. Planned Unit Development (PUD). The purpose of the PUD District is
to promote greater flexibility in land use and building design by
permitting modification of the specific provisions of this ordinance
for designated areas that will be developed as a single entity, provided
that the development is compatible with the surrounding land uses
and consistent with the Town's Master Plan. A planned unit development
is also intended to provide for a mixture of land uses, including
residential, commercial and/or industrial; the creative use of open
space; the protection of natural resources and environmentally sensitive
areas; and greater amenities to the occupants and users of the development.
Q. Flood Hazard (FH). The purposes of establishing the Flood Hazard
Overlay District are to:
(1) Ensure
public safety through reducing the threats to life and personal injury
due to flooding.
(2) Eliminate
new hazards to emergency response officials.
(3) Prevent
the occurrence of public emergencies resulting from water quality,
contamination, and pollution due to flooding.
(4) Avoid
the loss of utility services that, if damaged by flooding, would disrupt
or shut down the utility network and impact regions of the community
beyond the site of flooding.
(5) Eliminate
costs associated with the response and cleanup of flooding conditions.
(6) Reduce
damage to public and private property resulting from flooding waters.
R. Water Supply Protection (WSP). The purpose of the WSP District is
to promote the health, safety and welfare of the community by protecting
and preserving the surface resources of the Town and the region from
any use of land or buildings which may reduce the quality of its water
resources.
S. Recreational (REC). The purpose of the REC District is to promote
the sound use of the community's waterfront for passive and active
recreational uses and to preserve the scenic qualities of the Connecticut
and Westfield Rivers and the public's ability to enjoy visual and
recreational access to the rivers; promote the creation of natural
buffer area or greenbelt along the length of the river, punctuated
by public access areas and open spaces; protect life, public safety
and property from flooding hazards, and preserve natural flood storage
areas; preserve environmentally sensitive areas, such as fisheries
and wildlife habitat, along the river; and prevent water pollution
caused by erosion, sedimentation, nutrient or pesticide run-off, and
poorly sited waste disposal facilities.
T. Age-Restricted Housing (ARH). The purpose of the ARH Overlay Zoning
District is to encourage the development of affordable and market-rate
housing for individuals aged 55 and over, by allowing for a greater
variety of building types at a higher density than would normally
be allowed; by allowing greater flexibility in site planning so as
to promote the sound development of land which reduces residents'
burdens of property maintenance and which reduces demands on municipal
services; and to promote flexibility in land use planning in order
to improve site layouts, protect natural features and environmental
values and utilize land in harmony with neighboring properties.
U. Memorial Corridor (MC). The purpose of the MC Overlay District is
to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the public and secure
public benefits by the following means:
(1) Minimizing
adverse land uses and community impacts on locations within proximity
of a gaming establishment;
(2) Encouraging
economic stimulus through appropriate commercial development; and
(3) Recognizing
the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds as a regional community
asset by formalizing the list of historically permitted uses and providing
supplemental standards of use that would apply within the Fairgrounds
Subdistrict of the Memorial Corridor with the long-term goal of broadening
and enhancing the year-round use of the site and related facilities
so that it may continue to effectively benefit and serve the Town
of West Springfield and New England region over the long term.
V. Billboard Overlay District (BOD). The purpose of this district is
meant to manage the placement, operation and maintenance of billboards
and digital billboards. The Billboard Overlay District is a set of
requirements which are superimposed as shown on the approved Zoning
Map as the designated Billboard Overlay District. The BOD shall establish
reasonable standards in accordance with the following purpose and
intent:
[Added 3-15-2021]
(1)
Responsibly address the changing technology of digital displays.
The Town desires to regulate this technology as applied in the use
of billboards and digital billboards.
(2)
Allow new technologies of billboards and digital billboards
in a designated area to maximize the economic and public safety benefits
to the Town.
(3)
Regulate the quality, scale, and impact of billboards and digital
billboards in designated areas.
(4)
Encourage the siting of billboards and digital billboards in
such locations that can provide the optimal site to display public
service announcements in emergency situations to enhance the safety
and welfare of the general public.
(5)
Preserve the residential character of the Town by designating
defined areas of locations where billboards and digital billboards
will be allowed.
The location and boundaries of Zoning District Map and overlay
districts hereby established are shown and on a series of maps entitled
"Zoning Map, West Springfield, Massachusetts." This map, including
overlays and amendments, shall be on file with the Town Clerk and
authenticated with the signatures of the Planning Board.
A. Flood Hazard Overly District Maps. The Flood Hazard Overlay District is herein established as an overlay district. Said Flood Hazard Overlay District is superimposed on certain portions of the principal zoning districts established in §
300-3.2 but do not alter the uses permitted therein. The district includes all special flood hazard areas within the Town of West Springfield designated as Zone A or AE on the Hampden County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. The map panels of the Hampden County FIRM that are wholly or partially within the Town of West Springfield are panel numbers 25013C0190E, 25013C0191E, 25013C0192E, 25013C0193E, 25013C0194E, 25013C0213E, 25013C0377E, 25013C0381E, 25013C0382E, 25013C0383E, 25013C0384E, 25013C0401E, 25013C0402E, 25013C0403E, and 25013C0404E, dated July 16, 2013. The exact boundaries of the district may be defined by the one-hundred-year base flood elevations shown on the FIRM and further defined by the Hampden County Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report dated July 16, 2013. The FIRM and FIS report are incorporated herein by reference and are on file with the Town Clerk, Planning Board, Building Official, and Conservation Commission.
B. Age Restricted Housing (ARH). The purpose of the Age Restricted Housing
Overlay Zoning District is to encourage the development of affordable
and market-rate housing for individuals aged 55 and over, by allowing
for a greater variety of building types at a higher density than would
normally be allowed; by allowing greater flexibility in site planning
so as to promote the sound development of land which reduces residents'
burdens of property maintenance and which reduces demands on municipal
services; and to promote flexibility in land use planning in order
to improve site layouts, protect natural features and environmental
values and utilize land in harmony with neighboring properties.
C. Water Supply Protection Overlay Map. The Water Supply Protection
District is herein established to include all lands within the Town
of West Springfield lying within the watershed areas of public water
supply reservoirs which now or may in the future provide public water
supply. The map entitled "Water Supply Protection District, Town of
West Springfield," on file with the Town Clerk, delineates the boundaries
of the district.
D. Memorial Corridor Overlay Map. The Memorial Corridor Overlay District
is herein established to include all lands within the Town of West
Springfield lying within the area shown on the plan entitled "Memorial
Corridor Overlay District," dated October 2013, prepared by Tighe
and Bond, on file with the Town Clerk.
E. Billboard Overlay District. The Billboard Overlay District (BOD)
is herein established to include all lands within the Town of West
Springfield lying within the area shown on the plan entitled "Billboard
Overlay District # 1," dated November 24, 2020, prepared by R. Levesque
Associates, Inc., on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
[Added 3-15-2021]
The location of the boundary lines of the districts shown upon
the Zoning Map shall be determined as follows:
A. District boundary lines on ways. Where the boundary lines are shown
upon said map within the street lines of public or private ways, the
center lines of such ways shall be the boundary lines.
B. District boundary lines on lot lines. Where the boundary lines are
shown approximately on the location of property or lot lines, and
the exact location of a property, lot or boundary line is not indicated
by means of figures, then the property or lot lines shall be the boundary
lines.
C. District boundary lines outside of street lines. Where the boundary
lines are located outside of such street lines and are shown approximately
parallel thereto, they shall be deemed to be parallel to such street
lines, and figures upon said map between such boundary lines and street
lines, such distances being measured at right angles to such street
lines unless otherwise indicated.
D. District boundary lines on rivers. Where the boundary lines follow
a river, the boundary lines shall be deemed to be at the limit of
the jurisdiction of the Town, unless otherwise indicated.
E. Location of district boundary lines. In cases which are not governed
by other provisions of this section, the location of said boundary
lines shall be determined by the distances in feet, if given, from
other lines upon said map, or, if distances are not given, then by
the scale of said map.
F. Determination of district boundary line. Whenever any uncertainty exists as to the exact location of a district boundary line, the location of such line shall be determined by the Inspector of Buildings; provided, however, that any person aggrieved by his decision may appeal to the Board of Appeals, as provided in §
300-15.8 of this ordinance.