Becket Planning Board
Approved Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Planning Board Members Present: Gale LaBelle ,Marty Schlanger , Robert Ronzio, Beth VanNess.
Planning Board Members Absent: Ann Krawet, Howard Lerner.
Members of the public present: Mike Parsons, Pranam Lipinski, Jeanne Pryor, Jeremiah Pollard, Ronald Fortune, Karen Karlberg.
Meeting opens at: 7: 04 pm
Chairperson , Gale LaBelle, opens the meeting and announces that agendas are on the table for anyone who wants them. She advises that the meeting is being held in accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A and the by-laws of the Town of Becket. A decision to issue a special permit requires a minimum of four positive votes from a five member board. The board has 90 days to make a decision after the close of a public hearing and 14 days to file paperwork with the Town Clerk once a decision is made. Any Appeals of decisions can be made only to the court and must be made pursuant to Section 17, MGL 40A as amended, and must be filed within 20 days after the date of filing of the decision with the Town Clerk.
Approval of Meeting Minutes from November 9th , 2011- Mr. Martin Schlanger advises that he is unable to sign the meeting minutes from November at this time, stating that the minutes do not reflect what the opinion slips, actually submitted by the board members, at the time of the public hearing for Mr. Troy Casey , actually stated. It is suggested that Mr. Robert Ronzio’s original opinion slip replace the one re-written after the hearing had closed. Ms. LaBelle tables the approval or amending of the meeting minutes until the end of the meeting.
Form A, presented by Mike Parsons-
Mike Parsons approaches Planning Board and presents the board members present with the plans that he has prepared. Board members read and review plan prepared.
Name of Applicant- Pranam Lipinski
Board members present and review the plans submitted; members confirm road frontage as well as acreage.
Ms. LaBelle polls the board for a vote:
Mr. Robert Ronzio- Approve
Mr. Martin Schlanger-Approve
Ms. Beth VanNess- Approve
Gale LaBelle-Approve
Unanimous Approval, board members date and sign plan presented.
Public Hearing- Mr. Ronald Fortune, property located on Andrews Road, applicant requests a Special Permit.
Ms. LaBelle explains to Mr. Ronald Fortune, applicant, as well as Mr. Jeremiah Pollard that the planning board only has a four member board present this evening. Ms. LaBelle goes on to inform the applicant if he chooses to go ahead with the hearing at this meeting, then all four members would have to approve the application in order for him to receive his special permit requested. Ms. LaBelle goes on to offer the option of waiting until the January 11th meeting, at which time a five member board should be present and at that time, he could get a denial vote from one member and still receive the special permit requested. Mr. Pollard asks Mr. Fortune if he would like to wait until next month, Mr. Fortune confirms. Mr. Pollard asks the board if he can however give them a little of the information that they
have prepared for the meeting, Ms. LaBelle confirms.
Mr. Pollard advises that his client is applying for a special permit under section 3.4.2 of the bylaws. He explains that he has spoke with the building inspector, William Girard, regarding this manner and was told by him that a special permit from the planning board was necessary . Mr. Pollard states that he does not agree with the building inspector, however has to go through the procedure in order to get a building permit. Mr. Pollard passes out copies of “Special Permits, Massachusetts Zoning Manuals” . Mr. Pollard reviews section 8.13.2; Agricultural Uses with board members present. Mr. Pollard confirms that under this section, his client has enough land. Mr. Pollard also states that his client would consider putting up a saw mill in the future. Mr. Pollard passes out a map for board members to
view, explaining how the property had been sub-divided. Ms. LaBelle informs Mr. Pollard that the board will have to do a bit of research and review the bylaws as well. Member of the public, Ms. Karen Karlberg asks where the entrance and the exit to the property are located; Mr. Ronzio advises that they are both on Andrews Road. Ms. Karlberg informs board members that there is a road that exists, however is not shown on the map, she states that this road is frequently used by trucks and that the area is also quite wet. Ms. Karlberg advises that the applicant should also consult the Conservation Commission. Mr. Ronzio agrees, stating that the Conservation Commission may request a wetlands biologist to be brought in.
Mr. Pollard states that he thought that Mr. Girard would be present for the meeting, and would like it if he would attend the meeting on January 11th. The secretary states that she will let Mr. Girard know of this request. Mr. Ronzio brings up the issue of abandonment when speaking of the barn on the property and that this may also be an issue to consider. Mr. Fortune advises that the barn has not been abandoned and that he will obtain the electric bills to prove that. Ms. LaBelle states that she will be contacting legal counsel and have some of her questions answered by the next meeting date. Mr. Ronzio also requests that the applicant bring forth any documentation that they may have stating that the property is actually considered one parcel of land, as stated earlier. At this time, Ms. LaBelle continues the
public hearing until January 11th, 2012.
Public Participation-None
Old Business-None
New Business- Mr. Ronzio informs board members that he and Ann Krawet attended a Planning Board meeting in the town of Blandford. Mr. Ronzio explains that the reason they did not send back a signed waiver is because they misplaced it during a recent move. Mr. Ronzio confirms that we have, since then, resent the letter and waiver. Mr. Ronzio also suggests that we should take a look at and review their new Solar Bylaw, stating that their setbacks are further than ours.
Mr. Ronzio advises of some changes that have been made to the Open Meeting law. He explains that there is a provision that allows for remote access, when a vote is needed, as long as a quorum is present, then one individual can vote from a remote location. Mr. Ronzio explains to the board that if this is something that they would want to go with, then they would have to adopt the provision to do so. Ms. Karlberg expresses concern for this possible new provision, stating that it may be difficult for a person who is not actually in attendance and is not seeing all of the maps, photos , etc. that are being presented at the time of the meeting. Board members discuss this concern along with others, stating that in some cases, a continuance might be necessary.
Lastly, board members briefly discuss the setbacks regarding wind turbines. Ms. LaBelle states that this topic has been in the newspaper quite often lately.
Secretary passes out the new Conflict of Interest Info. packet to board members that need to complete the online training. Board members accept and review.
Budget-. Read and Reviewed.
Correspondence- Read an Reviewed
Ms. LaBelle brings the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission’s grant to the table for discussion. She asks the board members what they think they may be able to use some of this grant money for in the upcoming year. Some of the suggestions discussed by the board include: a stable bylaw, revising the fee schedule, a waste water plant and a dog park.
Approval of November Meeting Minutes- Continued- Mr. Ronzio makes a motion to withdraw his statement that was submitted after the meeting and in place of it, fill in with the original opinion slip filled out on the evening of the public hearing for Mr. Troy Casey, Mr. Martin Schlanger seconds the motion; Unanimous Approval.
Mr. Robert Ronzio makes a motion to adjourn the meeting , Ms. VanNess seconds motion: Unanimous approval. Meeting is adjourned at 8:30 pm.
Schedule next meeting for January 11th, 2012
Respectfully submitted,
Heather Hunt
Administrative Assistant
Signed______________________________ Date_______________
Gale LaBelle
Signed______________________________ Date_______________
Robert Ronzio
Signed_______________________________ Date______________
Martin Schlanger
Signed______________________________ Date_______________
Beth VanNess
| 