SOUTH HADLEY — Town Meeting members will discuss eight bylaws to update the flexible development zoning bylaw, create animal impoundment guidelines and remove lawn care requirements during a special Town Meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School on Mulligan Drive will begin at 6 p.m. While bylaws occupy most of the warrant, four capital purchases will be considered as well: an additional $182,000 for Buttery Brook Park renovations, $46,000 to purchase an electric school van, $640,000 to replace a 20-year-old wastewater vactor truck, and $740,000 to purchase trash and recycling carts for the new waste disposal system beginning July 1, 2025.

Bylaw amendments

The four zoning bylaw changes all aim to encourage developers to choose a flexible development project over traditional subdivision developments, Town Planner Anne Capra explained during an Oct. 29 public hearing on the warrant.

Flexible development is a zoning tool that conserves the most vital resources of a parcel, such as important natural resources or aesthetic views, while expanding residential housing.

“Because it’s only been used three times, we find this bylaw is not very effective at conserving open space and creating new housing units,” Capra said. “Which is why the master plan and housing production plan recommend the Planning Board take this up and work to amend the bylaw to incentivize its use.”

The first bylaw alters the flexible development rules, increasing density bonuses, shrinking the minimum parcel size requirements and allowing site plan review for projects that use this bylaw.

Capra explains that developers who want to build on a parcel that’s 3 acres or larger — a change from the 5-acre minimum — will need to complete a resources assessment identifying primary and secondary conservation areas. Depending on the percentage of land conserved on the parcel, developers can receive slight increases in the amount of units allowed, as well as extra bonuses for affordable housing units and units under 700 square feet.

The second bylaw defines common open space in town under a single bylaw, expanding the definition to include wild lands as well as passive and active recreation areas.

The third bylaw allows for flexible developments to build a common driveway rather than a subdivision road, while the fourth bylaw removes the open space requirement from large multifamily developments.

Other bylaw changes

Town Meeting members will also vote on four general bylaws — for unhitched trailers, animal impoundment regulations and nuisance violations.

Town Administrator Lisa Wong said that unhitched trailers on public ways have become an issue from time to time, and without a bylaw the town has no enforcement on the matter. The drafted bylaw would prohibit unhitched trailers on public ways, with several exceptions for permitted use or loading and unloading.

The animal impoundment bylaw outlines the conditions upon which an animal may be impounded and what is required to get the dog back. Wong said South Hadley does not have a pound, so the town would have to contract with an outside facility.

The final two bylaws concern the town’s nuisance bylaw. One would add enforcement fines for nuisance violations and another would remove the property maintenance sections.

The two bylaws were tabled at May’s annual Town Meeting after residents raised concerns about the noise section of the nuisance bylaw. Changes to the noise section are not on the warrant for Wednesday’s meeting as they still require more discussion, Wong said.

“The question about the decibels and the noise created a lot of conversation and needed further study, and still needs further study, so it’s not being considered at this time,” Wong said.

Capital requests

While the funds to purchase trash carts are on Wednesday’s warrant, Wong said the Select Board is still discussing the size of the trash and recycling carts. The request for $740,000 is the maximum amount needed to buy the carts, regardless of size. The board is leaning toward two, 95-gallon carts for every household, giving condominium complexes that lack the storage space and garages the option for smaller carts.

Wong added that she’s open to speaking with single-family households and other types of residential communities on their cart size preferences.

“This is your opportunity to trash talk with the town administrator, and I encourage you to contact my office,” Wong said.

Left-over funds from a dozen or so projects, Wong said, will be reallocated to both Buttery Brook Park renovations and a new electric van for the school district.

Town Meeting already allocated $712,000 toward multiple small projects in the park, like recreational trails, pickle ball courts and playground expansion. According to Wong, the scope of the renovations is quite large and requires an extra $182,000 to complete.

The schools also requested a van to transport students to school, and found an electric option for $46,000 more than was previously allotted.

The final item is a wastewater vactor truck, which sucks sludge and sewage out of areas and discharges it where appropriate. The town’s current vactor truck is 20 years old, Wong said, and needs replacing to maintain adequate levels of service.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.