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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaster Plan Council 04/30/1987TOWN OF MANSFIELD j MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL I ���1� �� ; MINUTES OF MEETING el JUN 1 9 1987 f Date of meeting: April 30, 1987- _. E `I.y RK Members Present: Kelli Spedden Stephen Calvint - - Steven Chapman Joanne Colella Paul Folkman Larry Harrington Bill Madan Ralph Seifert Allen Willis The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM. A motion was made by Mr. Seifert to approve the minutes of the April 2 meeting, seconded by Mr. Calvin and passed by unanimous vote. Rande Wilson, Town Manager, spoke to the Council about a proposal received from Connery Associates to pick up on the Master Plan process and complete it. Mr. Wilson noted that the bottom line figure of this proposal was about $40,000, which is not currently in the Master Plan budget. He added that he had amended a sewer line item at Town Meeting to include $40,000 of available sewer plant funds for a sewer master plan update; that item failed to pass at Town Meeting. If it had carried, the completed base line work would have met some of Connery's needs. The Council discussed the reasons for the failure of this item at town meeting, including confusion on the part of the voters as to whether a sewer Master Plan update would duplicate work being done already by the Council, and confusion as to how the Council viewed the item. It was restated and agreed upon that at Town Meetings the Council membership would consider Mrs. (Spedden) Baker, the Chairman, the spokesperson for the group. The Council discussed the possibility of asking for reconsideration of this article at the end of Town Meeting, concluding that the resulting sewer master plan would dovetail well into the Town Master Plan and provide base maps which would be available to this Council. A motion was made by Mr. Harrington that Town Meeting be asked to reconsider the sewer master plan update, and was seconded by Mr. Willis. This motion passed by unanimous vote. Presentation by Consultant Mr. Robert Catineau of Connery Associates began his presentation of the Affordable Housing Plan for Mansfield, which had been sent to the majority of the membership before this meeting, by stating that this was a draft of the "final" plan, including details on those items the Council had indicated it would like to move forward on, and adding that his purpose at this meeting was to answer questions about the draft. Questions and comments included: - Appendix A, page 5, item f, should be corrected to read Bristol North Registry of Deeds. - Re: Cluster Development, the Council discussed requiring developers to do a rough traditional layout of a development to determine the number of units allowable on a plot, rather than try to establish a formula to control the amount of wetland that could be considered "open space." TOWN OF MANSFIELD 2 MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 4/30/87 Further questions and comments on Cluster Residential Special Permit: - The Council considered changing the words "may" to "shall" in Appendix A, item 8, but decided that "may" would allow the Planning Board the necessary flexibility. - Appendix A, page 3, item 9d, should have a period after the word "direct" and the remainder be a new sentence. - Appendix A, page 3, item 9e, section 1, could be three paragraphs, and in the last sentence, replace "school site purposes" with "public need purposes." - There was discussion as to whether "open space" should be required to always remain "open space." - Council members felt a need to define "open space" in regard to cluster, as to whether it could include recreational areas, passive or active, and to also define "common space." - The Water Protection Advisory Committee has discussed recommending that 30% of development be left in its natural state. - A sentence could be added to Appendix A, page 3, item 9b, to define a formula to allow this percentage. - After discussing the conveyance of land from cluster developments to the town for "public need," it was noted that any building done on such land would require Town Meeting vote, and thereby would provide for public review. Questions and Comments on Incentive Bonus Amendments: - The "Incentive Bonus" amendments could lead to confusion, and the decreasing of allowable units to increase back to present numbers could be replaced by instead allowing 10% more for these incentives. Neither of these met with overall support. - Mr. Catineau stated that the second alternative incentive bonus amendment in this draft might be the more palatable, since it has less of a drop in allowable units to begin with, and only provides incentives for affordable housing. He added that eliminating an incentive bonus amendment entirely would be having no affordable housing study. - The incentive system could apply to any type of development, not just cluster. It could provide less units, creating less growth, which might appeal to some residents while still providing some affordable housing through those developers who use the incentive system. - Mr. Catineau suggested holding off on further discussion of densities until further work is done on the Master Plan, and areas where more growth and areas where less growth are desired are better defined. Questions and comments on Accessory Apartments Amendments: - Could regulations be written to allow accessory apartments in areas not on town sewer, but having systems capable of handling an apartment? - Both sides of parking areas could be required to be screened rather than calculating which side of a parking area is closer to a lot line. - The length of validity of occupancy permits was discussed as a way to assure that units remain owner -occupied, decreasing to less than 3 years was discussed, as was increasing to longer than 3 years. - The Council discussed changing the original square footage requirement (item B, Section 3N, 4), to a slightly smaller figure. It was decided to ask the Building Inspectors advice. - The Council discussed whether apartments in garages are allowable. TOM OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 4/30/87 Questions and convents on Alternative Housing: - The Council would like the language clarified. - In item 2, delete "by the Housing Authority." - Item 1, re "mobile hones," because of public sentiment in favor at the April 2 Public Hearing, the Council would like to see a bylaw allowing mobile hones. - Mr. Catineau discussed adding a mobile hone provision to the Cluster section. The Council coplinented Mr. Catineau on the report, and he stated that Connery Associates would now rewrite it to reflect the continents at this meeting. The Council discussed conducting a field trip to visit mobile hone developments in the region to gain insight as to their good and bad features to better develop a good plan for allowing them in Mansfield. Mr. Seifert agreed to make the arrangements for such a trip, and the possibility of creating a video was discussed. Correspondence A letter was received from Mr. Richard Gordan requesting a copy of IEP's last proposal. A letter dated April 14 was received frau Mr. Doug Amino, stating that due to other responsibilities he felt it necessary to resign from the Council. Correspondence was received from the Environmental Lobby of Massachusetts about upcoming events. Notice of a hearing on April 28 on the realities of achieving fair and affordable housing was received. Old Business The Council discussed Planning Board articles before the Town Meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Madan that the Council should be consistent with last year's decision not to support any zoning changes until the Master Plan update is copleted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Seifert and passed by unanimous vote. New Business The Council was advised that the Planning Board had appointed, though not unanimously, a member to replace Mr. Amino. After some discussion of the January decision not to appoint new nembers unless the member resigning was the Board of Selectmen or Planning Board representative, it was unclear as to how the Council would be affected by this development. Mr. Richard Gordon, a resident in the audience asked to be recognized and circulated among the membership pictures he had taken of a mobile home park in Lakeville. Mr. Chapman advised the Council that he had tentatively set a date of May 21 to make a short presentation to the Jaycees on the Master Plan Advisory Council, where it is at present, and what direction it is taking. 3 TOWN OF MANSFIELD MASTER PLAN ADVISORY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING - 4/30/87 New Business (cont) LA After some discussion of members making presentations to other organizations on the subject of the Master Plan; it was felt that it would be better to wait until the process were further along, especially until after a new consultant is named to complete the Plan. A motion was made by Mrs. Colella that all members postpone any presentations until after a new consultant is hired. The motion was seconded by Mr. Harrington and passed by unanimous vote. At 10:00 p.m, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Seifert, seconded by Mr. Harrington, and passed by unanimous vote. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Hillman, Secretary