BARRINGTON -- The great debate over limiting the height of many homes and reining in "tear-downs" will have to wait a while. The Town Council put off consideration of proposed regulations that have spawned advocacy groups on various sides of the issue.
The council postponed a review of a regulation that would have people voluntarily agree not to knock down historic homes to build larger ones in their place.
The proposals may not be back on the table until after the May Financial Town Meeting and, perhaps, until the town has someone in place full time to review it. Indeed, last night's unanimous decision to "table" the proposals seemed to boil down to: How can Barrington put new height- and tear-down-limiting rules in place without hiring a full-time town planner to analyze them?
The ordinance would lower the allowable house height from 35 feet to 30 feet on lots within areas classified as an R-10 zone under land-use regulations. Proponents see a way to help preserve the town's old New England charm and architectural character, while opponents of the ordinance as proposed warned there would be adverse effects, including on property values and on homes that must already give up space because they are in flood zones.
Council president Jeffrey Brenner expressed concern that "misinformation" has spread about the proposal, taking on a life of its own. He also said there were personal attacks he felt were inappropriate.
For Councilor Kate Weymouth, there seemed to be lack of communication among boards. She said "the waters are muddied to the point where the original focus is lost." Not having a town planner, she said, helped breed misunderstanding.
"I think it would be a disservice to all citizens with an opinion on this issue to move forward with discussion and certainly to vote on this," Weymouth said, "given the absence of an educated and thoughtful consensus."
As in other affluent suburbs across the country, Barrington is looking into how to deal with the effects its own popularity. Under the previous Town Council, a Zoning Rewrite Committee examined ways to rein in what some people feel are excessively extravagant homes.
Brenner said the Zoning Rewrite Committee "served honorably and served with distinction" in taking a first crack at "a very complicated issue. having virtually no resources."
Generally, there has been an effort to deal with the phenomenon known as "tear-downs," in which someone buys a house and then knocks it down to put a bigger one in its place.
Some other proposals include a voluntary anti-demolition ordinance, under which some 1,600 homes built before 1945 would be eligible for the restriction. Another proposal would use a formula for any new construction that would regulate houses sizes. A house would be limited to a certain percentage of lot size.
Staff Writer Michael P. McKinney can be reached at (401) 277-7447 or at mmckinneATprojo.com.
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