SOUTH HADLEY — A committee studying rezoning along Routes 202 and 33 will host the first of four public forums on Monday to gauge resident opinions on growth and development along the town’s most heavily trafficked corridor.

Monday’s forum, hosted by the South Hadley Route 202/33 Rezoning Advisory Committee, will take place at the Senior Center, 45 Dayton St. That forum will be followed by a virtual meeting on Oct. 16 and two meetings at the South Hadley Library on Nov. 14 and Jan. 16. All of the forums start at 6 p.m. and will last roughly two hours.

Anne Capra, the town’s director of planning and conservation, said that the forums mark the next step in the rezoning process that will eventually lead to recommendations for Town Meeting members to vote on next May.

“We are seeking site-specific feedback from people about which sites are best suited for redevelopment and what those uses should be, where traffic calming and control measures should be implemented, where sidewalks and other paths should be located to better facilitate pedestrian and bike circulation, and any other feedback they want to offer about how the corridor should support both business and residential uses in a compatible way,” she added.

Using the initial corridor study from 2022, the committee has been working with Innes Associates to examine possible uses and zoning types for the 1-mile stretch of road.

This section of roadway links South Hadley to Granby in the north and Chicopee in the south. The corridor contains a broad mix of residential, commercial and open space and recreation uses.

The intersection of Routes 202 and 33 at the heart of the corridor is centered between the Plains Elementary School and the Big Y shopping Plaza.

Capra said the dimensions of many plots in the corridor are below standard since zoning codes expanded minimal lot size after South Hadley’s neighborhoods were constructed.

“Many of the neighborhoods in town were constructed in the 1950s on small lots with single-story ranch style homes, or similar,” Capra added. “The result is that under the current zoning, you couldn’t build a neighborhood today with those lovely small lots with charming small homes. So there is a disconnect and we first need to understand what the existing conditions are to be able to draft standards to achieve the physical layout and uses people express that they want.”

While Capra said the goal is to present the committee’s recommendations at the next annual Town Meeting, the rezoning committee will not rush the process.

“We want to progress at a pace that works for the community so everyone has a chance to be involved,” she said.

Residents who can’t attend a forum can share their thoughts on an interactive project website through the online mapping exercise: community.innesassocltd.com/south-hadley

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