What
Are Planned Residential District's (PRD's)?
The
purpose of the PRD regulations is to provide a town a mechanism
to encourage  a more flexible approach to development
and
a greater variety of housing styles than the underlying zoning
allows.
A planned residential district as defined in Hurley’s
zoning code is a large, self-contained property, separate from
adjacent
properties, that could accommodate 50 or more residential units
and has at least 200 feet of frontage
and direct access
to a state or county highway.
First,
Change the Definition of a PRD
In
Hurley, other large properties can accommodate 50 or more
single family residences. Zoning allows the properties to be
sub-divided into house lots, but because they don't lie on county
or state
roads, they won't qualify for Planned Residential Development
status. In
addition,
under current zoning, several smaller
parcels that can be sub-divided into
ten or more house lots are scattered
throughout town.
These
properties lend themselves to alternative types of 'smart development'
designed to foster open space
conservation and housing diversity.
We
believe the town can benefit from these alternatives. The
first step toward utilizing them depends on
redefining the criteria for a PRD.
Source:
State of Massachusetts. OSRD: Open Space Residential Design
PRD Regulations Can Encourage Mixed Housing
To maintain a healthy community with a diverse
population, we can identify incentives in PRD regulations
to encourage developers to include a
percentage of universally accessible housing. Universally accessible
design provides comfortable living space for any person and
necessary accommodations for the
elderly and disabled.
Likewise,
we can design incentives to
encourage developers
to include a percentage of units within reach of
those with moderate or fixed incomes. The Town can determine
the system and criteria for allocating those units.
We Need a Town Center
Because Hurley has no town center and limited commercial space,
our PRD regulations and planning process should encourage
developers of over 50 units
to incorporate commercial
services for the use of the surrounding community.
The Town should also look
for an opportunity to develop a 'faux'
town center in a large PRD.
Include Design Standards that Support our
History and Goals
 The committee also recommends that the town adopt design
standards for PRDs. They could, for example,
build on our history as an early Dutch village in a rural area.
They should incorporate best practices
for conservation development; require sidewalks to
encourage walking; and build
connections to community facilities like the rail
trails and parks. Large developments
should incorporate community-accessible open space.
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