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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 3/19/1997RECEIVED TOWN Ci..� RIBS OFFICE PLANNING BOARD MINUTES March 19,1997 97 MAR 28 AM 8.30 S W D FiEi Present: Thomas French, Chairman; Bernie Dolan; Marydee Flynn and T��r3'i' ACNUS D McShane. Also present was Shaun Burke, Director of Planning and Development. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. Motion: To nominate Mrs. Flynn Acting Clerk. (Dolan- McShane) 3 -0 -1 with Mrs. Flynn abstaining. PASSES Ralph Penney, formerly of the Planning Board and recently elected to the Charter Review Commission, was present to advise board members that he has officially resigned as a member of the Planning Board. He said how much he had enjoyed working with everyone on the board and that he hopes to be back when the charter review process is concluded. The board thanked him for his service and wished him luck in his new position. Correspondence 1. Letter from Acting Town Manager Richard Boucher regarding meeting with the Finance Committee Saturday, March 22nd, from 8:00 a.m. to noon to discuss cuts to the budget. Discussion followed about the need to maintain funding for secretarial services. Motion: To have Mr. Burke attend the Finance Committee meeting to present the need to restore funds cut from "Scheduled Overtime" to pay for secretarial services for evening meetings of the Planning Board. (Flynn- Dolan) 4 -0 PASSES Board members stated their intent to also attend the meeting, if possible. 2. Letter from Jay Zola regarding modification of Fram Estates plan. Requested was a waiver to go from an 18 inch monolithic Cape Cod berm to a 12 inch berm; waiver of the requirement for two sidewalks, eliminating one and keeping the sidewalk located on the Sharon side of the road. Also requested was permission to close on four properties within the site prior to the installation of sidewalks. Peter DeGirolamo explained that the 18 -inch berm shown on the plan was in error, and that the 12 -inch is the standard and what was used in Massapoag Estates and on Maple Street. He also explained the request for the sidewalk waiver, stating that two sidewalks on a 2�Pfoot wide paved dead end road serving nineteen homes is overkill and stated that they would be willing to do something else in return for the waiving of one sidewalk. Board members agreed that it would be best for them to go out and take a look at the site prior to making a decision. Mr. DeGirolamo said that he is usually there and would stake it out to give them a better idea of what they're looking at. 3. Minutes of February 19, 1997, previously amended and approved, were signed by Mrs. Flynn as Acting Clerk. 4. Minutes of March 5, 1997, will be reviewed and voted on at the next meeting. 5. Memo from Town Manager re: Finance Committee memo 6. Copy of letter to Selectmen re: cut in scheduled overtime account 7. Memo from Lee Azinheira and Scott Leite re: GIS 8. Notice from Paul Folkman re: construction start up for Fram Estates 9. Letter from James C. Starr re: vernal pool certification - board members discussed the location of the pools and that they would be endangered species sites which cannot be built on. 10. Letter from Town Council re: public hearings on zoning amendments 11. Public Hearing Notices - Easton Planning and Zoning Board (11 notices) 12. Public Hearing Notice - Norton Planning Board 13. Public Hearing Notice - Foxboro ZBA 14. Public Hearing Notice - Attleboro ZBA 15. Mass Highway continuing education schedule 16. Notice from NMS Tobacco Control Program re: smoking legislation 17. Workshop notice - Citizen Planner Training Collaborative 18. Seminar notice - Mass. Assn. of Mediation Programs and Practitioners 19. MAPD March meeting notice 20. SRPEDD meeting notice 21. New England Economic Indicators 22. Planning magazine 8:00 p.m. - Continuation of Mayhew Farm Public Hearing The chairman reopened the public hearing for the Mayhew Farm Cluster Development Special Permit. Mrs. Flynn read a letter received from the applicant requesting a further continuance, due to the fact that only four board members were present, and an agreement signed by the applicant to extend the statutory time limits for holding such a hearing. Motion: To continue the public hearing until April 9, 1997 at 8:30 p.m. (Dolan- McShane) 4 -0 PASSES Correspondence (Continued) 23. ZBA Application of Black Hawk Realty Trust for modification of conditions of the Special Permit granted for Old Colony Motors at 66 West Street. The applicant requested a modification of condition #2 and wanted to substitute a six foot fence for the plantings required. The board reviewed the plan and determined that the modification requested is for the property line on the west side of the site. Motion: To send a negative recommendation to the ZBA for the following reasons: a) The Planning Board strongly feels that the plantings would be an attractive asset to the area and in keeping with what was approved b) A fence would be detrimental to the area c) The entire building was constructed without amenities and the excuse given for not planting trees is that they won't survive according to some "expert " - -with no substantiating evidence. The board 11 believes the solution would be to find trees that would survive. t" d) Buffering requirement for the front of the property has been totally ignored e) The application is poorly explained in that modifications are not identified on the plan. f) The applicant has failed to provide curbing necessary for safety purposes g) The applicant has failed to provide any of the plantings necessary for buffering or aesthetic purposes (Dolan- McShane) 4 -0 PASSES 24. Letter from Selectmen to P.M.P. Associates re: fee waiver request for residential compound Mr. Burke advised the board of a request to participate with Norton in submitting a joint grant application to the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). This had been initiated by Norton Town Manager Walter Lindberg in a conversation with our former Town Manager in the belief that the two towns share common goals in developing and accessing land in the area of Great Woods. Board members discussed the advisability of participating at this time without having the opportunity to sit down with Norton officials to define and establish common goals. There was general agreement that the area will see development; however, Mansfield is more interested in preservation of the area and the perceived benefit of our participation would be to have some say in what is going to happen. Consensus was that the grant as prepared by the Norton Town Planner is pro - development and sends the wrong message to EOEA regarding Mansfield's interests. Mr. Burke suggested that Norton has to do something at the intersection of Routes 123 and 140 and that Mansfield needs to be involved in order to bring our concerns to the table as an equal partner. Mr. French agreed that we need to be involved. Mr. McShane expressed concern that the grant application is for transportation planning and does not reflect Mansfield's concerns. Mrs. Flynn felt it would be better to wait until the next grant period and meet with Norton officials in the interim to establishs� goals. Motion: The Planning Board does not the support the joint grant application at this time, but would be interested in meeting with Norton officials to identify mutual concerns and would also be interested in participating in a joint grant based on shared goals at a future date. (McShane - Dolan) 3 -1 with French opposed. PASSES Site Plan Review - Expansion of Clemmey Parking Lot on South Main Street Dan Clemmey and Kenneth McKenzie of Dunn- McKenzie were present to ask for a positive recommendation for the site plan presented to expand the number of parking spaces at the South Main Street lot adjacent to Great Woods. The proposal is to expand from the current 197 spaces to 400, using the existing pavement. Mr. McKenzie stated that they have another plan allowing for 892 cars which is going through MEPA. 12 them to do so, since the access road path into Great Woods is just a few feet from their lot and that pedestrians do not have to go into the street to get to that path. Mr. McShane expressed continued concern regarding the lack of landscaping, stating that his sense is that the opportunity to require landscaping was missed at the time the original plan was approved and that this approval will only exacerbate an already bad situation. Mr. Clemmey responded that the State has a permanent easement at his site and that he only owns a portion of the front area. Mr. McShane countered that the applicant could do the landscaping by rimming the parking lot to block visibility of the site from the road. Mr. McShane listed the following concerns: 1. Lack of landscaping 2. Pedestrian access to the facility and the lack of a pedestrian access plan 3. Bathroom facilities not sufficiently identified on plan 4. Trash receptacles not identified on plan 5. His belief that there should be spaces reserved for Mansfield residents 6. Lack of a de -icing plan or notation on the plan that the site is not going to be used during the winter months. 7. Access to spaces 366 -394. Would rather see additional paving than crushed stone so people know they are to stay on the paved area. 8. Need for an additional fire hydrant to be shown on the plan 9. Need for clarification of the state curb cut issue Mrs. Flynn asked if the square retention basin was on the original plan and was told it was. Motion: To send a negative recommendation to the Building Inspector with a copy to the Board of Selectmen based on the issues listed above. (McShane - Flynn) 2 -2 with French and Dolan opposed. Mr. French said that he is viewing this strictly as a zoning issue and the need to address staff comments and that he would be willing to consider a positive recommendation with staff comments being addressed. Motion: To send a positive recommendation to the Building Inspector with the concerns about landscaping being addressed by asking the Building Inspector if landscaping is required due to the presence of a storage barn, with the open air parking lot being an ancillary use, and the need for permanent toilet facilities being a part of the structure. (Dolan- French) 2 -2 with McShane and Flynn opposed. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a copy of the minutes for the portion of the meeting dealing with this issue. (McShane - Flynn) 4 -0 PASSES 14 Around the Table Mr. French asked if we have heard any new on the train station proposal and asked if perhaps we could send a letter to Barbara Hyland. Mr. Dolan asked that Mr. Burke let him know what time he would be meeting with the Finance Committee on Saturday. Mr. French, returning the train station issue, asked that in addition to the letter to Mrs. Hyland we also send a letter to Senator Keating and Representative Porier, letting them know that we haven't heard anything, asking them what's happening, and requesting that they please be sure the MBTA does something "nice." Mrs. Flynn noted that they attorney representing Mr. Campbell for a variance on Oak Street had stated that the Planning Board had not given any reason for its negative recommendation. Mr. Burke said that this was not the case. Motion: To adjourn at 11:05 p.m. (Dolan- McShane) 4 -0 PASSES Date of Next Meeting: March 26, 1997 ignature of Clerk 15 3X -7 /; �1 Date o Approval pproval