Bellingham Planning Board Approves Two Zone-Freeze Subdivisions, Updated Housing Plan

BELLINGHAM -- January 9, 2025, Bellingham Planning Board unanimously approves two zone-freeze subdivisions and an updated Housing Production Plan at its January 9 meeting. Town Planner Rob Lusiér guided the board through definitive subdivision approvals for 306 Maple Street and Harford Avenue, both filed solely to freeze existing zoning, after lengthy discussion over whether four waiver requests from Allen Engineering's Mike Dryden needed a formal vote; the board declined to act on the waivers and approved both decisions as written. Consultant Gino Carlucci presented the updated Housing Production Plan, reporting that Bellingham already holds 759 state-recognized affordable units against the 673-unit threshold required to maintain the 10 percent benchmark based on the 2020 census denominator of 6,732 total housing units, meaning zero additional affordable units are required through 2030. The board amended one line in the plan, replacing the word "discriminatory" with "counterproductive" in a passage criticizing bedroom restrictions on multifamily housing, before forwarding the plan to the Selectboard. The board also opened a new public hearing for a proposed 6,480-square-foot two-story office building at 123 Mendon Street, owned by DNC Ponte Enterprise LLC, and continued it to February 27 pending stormwater peer review.