Swampscott shares Humphrey Street vision

SWAMPSCOTT – The goal of a new zoning proposal is to create a more livable, walkable Humphrey Street, and several local business owners and leaders at a forum Thursday seemed to like the idea.”I opened a boutique in town and think this town is so beautiful, but we need to bring more people here and have people here,” said Katerina Nenshati, owner of Kat’s Unique Boutique on Humphrey Street. “I don’t know why this hasn’t been done before.”The Planning Board is proposing a Humphrey Street Zoning Overlay District that establishes design standards and provides development incentives for projects that follow certain guidelines in an effort to make the area a unified, vibrant downtown. The district would run along Humphrey Street from Monument to Commonwealth avenues and include Blaney and a portion of Redington streets.Town Planner Pete Kane and Planning Board Chairman Angela Ippolito hosted a presentation on the proposal Thursday at Town Hall for Humphrey Street business owners, about eight of whom attended the meeting.Kane and Ippolito presented the proposal as the culmination of at least a decade worth of studying done by town various committees.The overlay district proposal is not a zoning change or mandate, the officials said. Rather, it is an effort to allow development according to guidelines and standards that local citizens have identified as important to an area with the town’s highest density of old and new buildings, glimpses of the ocean, and the area that connects Swampscott’s beaches with its businesses, civic buildings and other amenities.”This is not a mandate,” Kane emphasized. “You don’t have to go and tear down your building and rebuild it according to the bylaw – we’re not proposing an urban renewal project, not installing a trolley line, or planning street widening.”Ippolito concurred.”We looked at what we’d love to see and said here’s what you can do and here’s some incentive to do it,” Ippolito said.Some of the mentioned guidelines and incentives Kane mentioned included that businesses have primary entrances open onto the sidewalk; parking lots must be behind or beside buildings; and setbacks can be increased if the developer includes a plaza area for outdoor seating.Chris Bibby, of Bibby Real Estate in Lynn, suggested that this plaza idea also be encouraged for development along the waterfront, a feature unique to Swampscott’s downtown.Leslie Gould, president and chief executive officer of the Lynn Chamber of Commerce, suggested that these guidelines be coupled with financial incentives for participating businesses – for example, a tax incentive for facade improvements according to guidelines. She also suggested adding public art, such as banners emblazoned with a particular symbol of the town, as a way to symbolize that one has entered Swampscott.”You can create a charming entrance to the hamlet of Swampscott,” Gould said.Kane and Peter Spellios, a longtime zoning board of appeals member and selectman candidate who attended the meeting, both mentioned tax or other financial incentives could be available.Kane also noted that the overlay district proposal addresses limited parking – always a contentious issue among Humphrey Street business owners – by offering developers a payment in lieu of parking, the money from which could be used to purchase and maintain nearby municipal lots.But before any of this, the proposal needs to pass Town Meeting on May 4. Ippolito recommended that business owners reach out to fellow businesspeople and neighbors on Humphrey Street about the proposal. Meanwhile, another information session will be held for residents at 7 p.m. April 16 at the Swampscott Senior Center.”We’re trying to reach everybody so that they know what the opportunities are,” Ippolito said.