WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Though its work is not completed for the proposals it hopes to bring to this spring's annual town meeting, the Planning Board recently started talking about an idea it wants to work on for the 2023-24 cycle.
Ken Kuttner and Roger Lawrence at the board's January meeting gave their colleagues a presentation on the concept of cottage courts and suggested a bylaw could be crafted to allow that style of housing in town.
Cottage courts are relatively small clusters of homes, typically 500 to 800 square feet, grouped together on a single residential lot.
"They're not 'tiny houses,' " Kuttner said. "Typically, they're single family but sometimes duplexes. … One of the distinguishing features is they have a common area, sometimes a community building. You can get densities of maybe 10 to 15 dwelling units per acre, which is pretty good."
The concept of cottage courts, also known as "pocket neighborhoods," has been explored elsewhere in the commonwealth as a potential solution to local shortages of affordable housing. Kuttner talked about successes with the model around the country and noted that the concept was utilized in California in the early 20th century.
Kuttner said while not necessarily "affordable housing," in the sense of income-restricted homes, the market-rate cottage court homes might be a more affordable alternative.
"In theory, they should be [attainable] thanks to small lots, small structures and economies of scale from building multiple units at the same time," Kuttner said.
"Suppose we allowed manufactured homes and cottage courts. You could imagine synergies between the two. That would be something where you could achieve some real cost savings."
One of the warrant articles the board has been working on to send to May's annual town meeting would allow manufactured homes, by right, on single-unit lots in the town's residential districts.
Lawrence pointed out that the cottage court housing, if allowed, could be developed in a cooperative ownership structure.
"If folks who wanted to live in small homes wanted to pool their resources, they could gain an efficiency of scale," Lawrence said.
Town Planner Andrew Groff advised the board that the cooperative ownership structure is allowed by right already in the commonwealth and not a local zoning consideration that would need to be addressed in the town's bylaw.
The cottage court concept would require a zoning change, primarily to address the density restrictions in the bylaw.
Kuttner showed the board a sample ordinance from Langley, Wash., that allows, "one dwelling unit per two 2,904 square feet of lot area (15 units per acre)." The Washington city's ordinance also caps the unit size in the pocket neighborhood, requires minimum common areas and mandates that parking be screened.
The board agreed that he and Lawrence should begin drafting a proposed bylaw for Williamstown that the board could take up at some point in the next few months and begin developing for the 2024 annual town meeting.
As for this year's town meeting, the board in January worked on hammering out the language for an FAQ document to inform residents about the proposals the panel does plan to bring as warrant articles. It also talked about other modes of outreach the board can employ in advance of the May meeting.
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Williams Grads Reminded of Community that Got Them to Graduation
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
The graduates heard from two speakers — Phi Betta Kappa speaker Milo Chang and class speaker Jahnavi Nayar Kirtane. The keynote speaker, Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was unable to attend and recorded his speech for playback. See more photos here.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College said goodbye Sunday to its graduating seniors.
And a representative of the class of 2024 took the time to say goodbye to everyone in the community who made students' journey possible.
Milo Chang, the Phi Beta Kappa speaker for the class and one of two students to speak at Sunday's 235th commencement exercises, explained that the term "Williams community" applies to more than those who get to list the school on their resumes.
"It includes everyone who has shaped our experiences here, from loved ones back home to the dedicated staff members who make campus their second home," Chang told his classmates. "During my time at Williams, we've seen this community step up in remarkable ways to support us."
Chang talked about the faculty and staff who gave their time to operate the COVID-19 testing centers and who greeted students before they could take their first classroom tests in the fall of 2020, and the dining services personnel who kept the students fed and somehow understood their orders through the masks everyone was wearing when this class arrived on campus.
And he shared a personal story that brought the message home.
"We often underestimate the power of community until we experience a taste of its absence," Chang said. "I remember staying on campus after our first Thanksgiving at Williams, after most students went home to finish the semester remotely. I remember the long hours sitting in empty common rooms. I remember the days you could walk through campus without seeing another student.
Williams College said goodbye Sunday to its graduating seniors. And a representative of the class of 2024 took the time to say goodbye to everyone in the community who made students' journey possible. click for more
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Dylan Turner went 2-for-3 with an RBI to give his team a 3-0 lead in the fourth, and then he left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings to secure a 3-2 win over rival Drury in front of a big crowd at Joe Wolfe Field in the Class C Championship Game. click for more
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