HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 4/2/1997RECEIVED
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES 97 APR 24 PM 3. 17
April 2, 1997 H ` ,S ! E L D
Present: Thomas French, Chairman; John Sullivan, Clerk; Planners Bernie Dolan ��� S�C`'JSETTS
Marydee Flynn, Duane Frederick and Thomas McShane. Also present was Shaun Burke,
Director of Planning and Development.
Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. French opened the meeting, a roundtable discussion with the builder /developer
community regarding the proposed Scheduled Development by -law. He explained that
this discussion was being conducted as part of the public hearing process prior to the
Planning Board's recommendation at the Annual Town Meeting. Mr. French asked Paul
Folkman, at whose request the meeting was being held, if he had a proposal or a list of
questions which they would like to have the board address.
Mr. Folkman said that he does not have a prepared proposal, but that the group in general
is interested in finding a common ground, with the understanding that each side would be
giving up something, and that the final proposal would be one which everyone could live
with. He stated that his company is presently building an average of twenty -five homes
in Mansfield on an annual basis and that a limitation of twelve permits per year would
pose a hardship. He also stated the concern that the perception is that the by -law was
drafted based on the number of children coming out of these houses and their effect on
the school system. At the same time, the term "dwelling units" is used in the by -law and
applies equally to a one bedroom home and a five bedroom home. He stated that the
proposed by -law is not addressing that issue and that it could also affect the affordability
of houses. The third concern stated was that the building business is cyclical and a permit
roll -over should be considered when the full allotment is not used.
Mallory Digges of O'Brien and Meeks also addressed the cyclical nature of the business,
as well as her concern that the by -law was proposed without discussion with the building
community and does iim address the number of years families living in the new houses
would have school -aged children and the number of years they would be paying real
estate taxes and not be using the school system. She also pointed out that the growth of
Mansfield was predictable with its location at the crossroads of Routes 95 and 495 and its
availability of commuter rail.
Mr. French asked those developers present how many houses each of them builds per
year in Mansfield. They responded with various numbers from one to forty, based upon
the economy and demand, restating the cyclical nature of the industry due to economics.
In response to Ms. Digges' comments regarding the predictability of growth, Mr. Burke
outlined a number of attempts to slow growth over the years. He pointed out that in 1986
the Town Meeting appropriated money to put together a Master Plan; at the 1989 Town
Meeting the cluster by -law adopted; at the 1994 Town Meeting larger lot sizes were
i approved; an attempt to impose impact fees to help defray the cost of service demands
was approved at the local level, but died on Beacon Hill. He pointed out the building of
the new Jordan - Jackson School, the increased demand on other town services such as
police and fire, and the increase in the traffic using the roadways. He stated that the town
does not have the ability to directly charge new users to get them in line with those who
have paid taxes to the town for a number of years and built up equity.
Mr. Folkman responded that the town is only looking at the government part of the
argument and not recognizing the impact on the private sector in limiting growth. He
cited the economic benefit to businesses in town and employment opportunities created
for those living in town.
Mrs. Flynn noted because Mansfield grew so rapidly, we are still immature as a
"bedroom suburb" and we don't have growth statistics based on longevity.
Mr. Folkman stated the importance to the building community to have a grandfather
clause as part of the by -law. He also suggested that a means to slow growth might be to
give developers the ability to contract with the Planning Board for the length of time
allowed to build out a new subdivision, as opposed to the current eight year completion
which encourages rapid buildout.
Mrs. Flynn responded that builders and developers are not always the same person and
that with developers controlling grandfathered lots and a mass of builders trying to build
out subdivisions, the end result could be a decline in the quality of homes built and
artificially inflated prices.
Mr. Feck and Mr. Folkman pointed out that there are still many family -owned lots which
families would like to hold onto for the future, but are often forced to sell them or build
on them sooner than they want to in order not to lose their grandfathered protection.
Mr. Burke advised those present that the eight -year buildout is a State law and that the
Town could get an exemption only with a Home Rule Petition, which he believed to be
unlikely. He also noted that the Planning Board does not change zoning - -Town Meeting
does.
Richard Devine of 6 Morgan Road suggested that the builders have not presented a
number which would not produce a burden on the town and that the line has to be drawn
somewhere and that escalating rates is not the solution.
Mr. McShane stated that he doesn't agree with the "115" number and noted that this
proposal initially came from the Board of Selectmen, not the Planning Board. As
Planning Board members, he suggested that it is the board's role to see if we can support
it. He continued, saying that the Mullen study has been our resource and uses sixteen
Motion: To continue the hearing until April 16, 1997 at 7:30
(Dolan- Frederick) 6 -0 PASSES
This portion of the public hearing was closed at 9:50 p.m.
Board members discussed various methods of determining the impact of building on the
tax rate from the residential and industrial side and to what extent industrial development
offsets the impact of residential growth. Leonard Flynn commented that the need for
office buildings is decreasing with telecommuting and that the estimated actual value of
industrial land in Mansfield has gone down 50 percent from its high point. He also stated
that the best market now for the industrial park is distribution centers.
Mr. McShane asked if we have an analysis of what's out there for grandfathered lots and
how much longer each of them has to be built. Mr. Burke replied that it's available, but
needs to be updated. Board members also suggested that we need a definition of
"independent living" units.
Motion: To adjourn at 10:20 p.m.
(Dolan - Sullivan) 6 -0 PASSES
Date of Next Meeting: April 9, 1997
�� 3197
ignature of Clerk Date of Approval