Planning Board plans to present a clearer zoning map to voters
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The revised zoning map is available online at the town's Web site. Voters must approve the new map although there are no changes to the actual zoning districts. COURTESY PHOTO

The Planning Board is making an effort to clarify the existing zoning map the town is using to determine the districts in town.

The board has worked with the town's land records, the existing zoning map and the GIS Department of the Montachusett Regional Planning Council (MRPC) to create a clearer map of the zoning district, said Town Planner Alicia Altieri.

"It's the existing zoning," she said. "The goal was to get a base map that is as accurate as possible."

The board will be presenting an article at a special town meeting, which is expected to be held this fall. The article will ask voters to adopt the new zoning map in place of the map currently inserted in the Zoning Bylaw, which was prepared in the 1970s.

The new map is color code with parcel numbers and clearer street names printed on it. The map also places the town's industrial zoning in the correct place and fixes other errors or changes from the original map created in the 1970s.

"Even though it is the same zoning voters need to approve," Altieri said.

Any comments on the proposed Zoning Map can be directed to Alicia Altieri, at (978) 874-7414 or townplanner@westminster-ma.gov.

The pending map is available online for review.