Erving Planning Board targets old mill site with new zoning overlay district

ERVING — December 17, 2020 — Erving Planning Board advances mill redevelopment overlay and FEMA flood bylaw update. The board moved forward at its December 17 remote meeting on two zoning initiatives aimed at the town's spring annual town meeting, with no formal votes taken on substance. Town Administrator Brian Giard outlined the planned unit development overlay as a tool to enable mixed reuse — housing, office, and collaborative space — of the former International Paper mill site on Paper Mill Road, a four-story building dating to 1902, without constituting illegal spot zoning; the board debated but did not resolve whether the overlay should extend to the French King district or river lots near the Renovators complex. Planning Assistant Mariah reported that Erving's floodplain maps have not been updated since 1982 and that FEMA is targeting a 2022 digital conversion for Franklin County, the last county in Massachusetts without digital flood maps. Member Debra Smith and Mariah are preparing draft revised zoning maps for the board's review at the next meeting, with a public hearing targeted for March.