Zoning Change Proposed for South Grafton

At one time, people worked, relaxed and shopped in the same neighborhood: The Fisherville and Farnumsville sections of South Grafton.

They also called the neighborhood home.

A business owner might have a store on the first floor and live on the second. His customers were also his neighbors.

And many of those neighbors worked at the Fisherville or Farnumsville mills and lived in housing the company provided for its workers.

Town Planner Stephen Bishop and other proponents hope a proposed zoning change will return some of that community feel back to the area, which in recent years has entered a phase of rebirth after a stretch of neglect.

A proposal to bring mixed use zoning to the area will be discussed at an informational meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the South Grafton Community House, 27 Main St., South Grafton.

This would be the first mixed zoning in Grafton.

The zoning change will allow people to purchase a piece of property to live in and to house their business, much as they could have 100 years ago.

By allowing this, supporters of the change hope people will be encouraged to take ownership of the property, because it will also be their home.

They would not have to buy one piece of property for a home and another for a business, Bishop said. There are currently a “not insignificant’’ number of rental properties owned by people from out of the neighborhood, or even out of town, Bishop said.

These changes mirror other efforts, most notably the new Mill Villages Park, to refurbish South Grafton and reinforce a sense of community.

The new zoning would not force any changes, Bishop said. But more options would be available, he said.

The effort, he hopes, would lead to a “more walkable community’’ in the neighborhood.

“We wanted to change the dynamic and stimulate reinvestment in the area,’’ Bishop said. “We’re creating the environment for change, not forcing people to make a change.’’

He stressed that any proposed businesses would remain subject to town regulations. This would not create a “free enterprise zone’’ where anything could be done.

Saturday’s meeting will be the first of a series of meetings to test public interest. The ultimate goal, if people support the plan, would be to bring the issue to the fall town meeting, Bishop said.

Grafton Community Television plans to videotape the meeting and rebroadcast it on Grafton Government Charter Channel 12/Verizon Channel 33 starting March 19. Specific broadcast times for the program will be posted on Grafton Community Television's official Web site.