The Rochester Planning Board says it’s time to attract commercial development and free up zoning restrictions in the town center.

And to make that happen, the board and Town Planner John Charbonneau have a “Village Center District Overlay” in mind.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved a letter drafted by Charbonneau addressed to the 72 property owners near the town’s center—Plumb Corner Mall—asking for their cooperation with the project.

The letter will be sent next week.

The boundaries for the village overlay are still a work in progress, but the areas the board are considering for the project include Plumb Corner Mall, Dexter Lane, Marion Road and Mary’s Pond Road.

The goal of the project, Charbonneau said, is two-fold.

The new village overlay would be for “mixed use,” which allows both residential and limited commercial use.

The project, he said, would remove zoning restrictions for what owners can do with their property, as well as attract commercial developers to the town.

“The agricultural residential zoning, as it is now, is restrictive on what the owners can do,” Charbonneau said. “The idea is that this can make their property more valuable by removing some of those restrictions. They can do more with their properties with mixed use.”

Mixed use zoning can also mean higher property values, Charbonneau said.

According to Charbonneau, the letters will elicit enough feedback to move forward with the project or review their plans if not met favorably.

“By sending out letters and getting responses, we will be able to define the area more and sit back and decide what we have,” Charbonneau said. “We’re almost there.”

The taxes for property owners near the town center will not change because the project does not require any rezoning.

With more commercial business in town, however, Charbonneau said it would mean a few more taxpayers taking on the burden.

Until the board receives feedback from the letter, the boundaries of the village overlay are still in question.

Board member Gary Florindo said the land of a former Rochester airport on Marion Road would be attractive to commercial developers.

“That’s a big chunk of land over there,” Florindo said. “It’s sizable enough for somebody to do something with it.”

The site of the former airport has not been included in the village overlay.

Planning Board Chair Arne Johnson said that while the land may attract developers, it would take away from development in the center of town.

According to Johnson, the land may best serve the town in the future after residents and officials have a better idea of what to do with the property.

“We want to encourage mixed use zoning there,” Johnson said. “It might not have much business, but it could have affordable space and maybe some offices.”

Charbonneau agreed with Johnson, saying the board’s goal is to encourage development in the town’s center first.

“To have something big there would take away from what you want to do here,” Charbonneau said.

Board member Susan Teal said her concern with including the airport in the village overlay is the distance from the town’s center.

“We want to keep walkability,” Teal said. “We want this to be in the center.”

Teal suggested downsizing the potential area for the village overlay if the project is met with opposition from residents.

The board will hold a public meeting with the property owners as well as host  workshops to discuss the plans for the village overlay over the next few weeks.

“We want to have a public forum to give other people in town a chance to speak up,” Charbonneau said.

The project, which is still in the development stage, will not be ready to present for voting at the May Town Meeting.

Johnson said he hoped to be ready for a formal presentation of the village overlay by the next Town Meeting.