At the Annual Town Meeting in May there will be three warrant articles proposed by the Planning Board (PB). One would limit drive-through establishments in town; the other two amount to “housekeeping” changes.

Planning Board Chairman Joe Sudol. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

The amendment on drive-through facilities is being added out of concern that they are not covered in the town’s Protective Bylaw. Planning Board Chairman Joe Sudol told the Press recently, “Drive-through facilities … are presumed to be prohibited except where they would be an accessory use to an allowed main use.” As an example, he said, a restaurant could include a drive-up window considered to be a normal accessory to the establishment. “However,” he added, “what must be considered is that over time what is considered a ‘normal accessory use’ changes. Leaving the bylaw as-is would allow fast-food facilities to include a drive-through, or any other permitted [entity] to include a potentially undesirable drive-through that could be considered accessory to its use.” Sudol noted that the amendment would not prohibit a fast-food restaurant, but would prevent fast-food restaurants from having drive-throughs.

The Planning Board recently posted a survey on the town website to gather input from townspeople on what they want regarding drive-through regulations. The results raised concerns for Land Use Administrator Liz Allard. “I get the sense that there are still some residents of Harvard that do not fully understand the reasoning behind the drive-through bylaw proposed by the Planning Board or, in fact, the ramifications of not approving the proposed amendment,” she said in a recent interview. “Currently, if an applicant can prove that a use, such as a drive-through, is accessory to the primary use of a proposed building, then that use would be allowed ‘by right’ under the current Protective Bylaw.”

As an example, she said that if a Starbucks applied to the Planning Board to open a shop with a drive-up window, that drive-through would be allowed under the current bylaw. However, the proposed bylaw amendment would not allow Starbucks to have a drive-through, because it would limit the use of drive-throughs to banks or other financial institutions and pharmacies, which have to meet specific conditions, such as setbacks from abutting residential properties.

There is also proposed language in the amendment placing limits on the distance of drive-throughs from residential properties and from the other drive-throughs in the area.

‘Housekeeping’ warrant articles

One article proposes to replace the current hand-prepared mylar zoning map with a color, digitized zoning map that has been prepared by the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. Unlike the previous map, the electronic version requires no manual updating, is easier to read, and provides an improved method for maintaining historical records. The map was prepared at no cost to the town.

A request from the Agricultural Advisory Committee to the Planning Board led to the article proposing an increase in size for signs with directions to farms and other agricultural businesses. The change would increase the allowable size from 3 square feet to 4 square feet.