CHILMARK PLANNING BOARD
Meeting Minutes
Monday, April 9, 2012 @ 4:30 PM
Present: Janet Weidner, chair, Dan Greenbaum, John Flender, Cathy Thompson, Andrew Fischer, Rich Osnoss, Jennifer Christy, Administrative Assistant
Public: John Abrams, Thomas Bena, Jessica Roddy, Sergio Modigliani, Wendy Weldon, other cameraman, Chuck Sullivan, Mrs. Modigliani
Not Present: Mitch Posin
Meeting was called to order by Chairman Janet Weidner at 4:35 p.m.
Chair Weidner alerted all present to the fact that the meeting will be filmed by Thomas Bena and his cameraman. She read aloud the Open Meeting Law section pertaining to filming and audio-taping open meetings in Massachusetts.
Mr. Bena addressed concerns regarding future commercial use of the film and offered to “blur” the faces of anyone who does not want to appear in the film.
Architects:
Mr. Modigliani was recognized and asked for the chair to recognize John Abrams as the beginning input from the architects.
Mr. Abrams stated his view that the board may be facing an opportunity to do more than propose “piecemeal” adjustments to the zoning bylaws. Mr. Abrams suggested the bylaws be wholly revised to be “impact-based” rather than continually added on to, creating a cumbersome document. He noted the recent successful revision of the WT zoning bylaws and urged the Board to revise Chilmark’s zoning bylaws intelligently with the goals of what the townspeople want Chilmark to look and be in mind. Mr. Abrams further urged the Board to refrain from proscribing design, as Nantucket has done, and reiterated his suggestion to address impacts, positive and negative, in the revision of zoning bylaws.
Chair Weidner agreed that looking at the whole bylaw was a good idea and that it was an idea the Planning Board had visited before, but expressed concern about the time needed to accomplish something of that scale.
Mr. Abrams stated help would be needed to complete a whole planning/revision process. He suggested contacting a colleague of his, planner Joel Russell (413-584-7228).
There was continued discussion regarding WT’s recent 1-2 yr. process of bylaw revision and the pros and cons of Aquinnah’s DCPC. Floor area/plot size ratio and “impact fees” (such as affordable housing lots) were mentioned as possible ways the town may deter or benefit from large house projects. Mr. Abrams again urged the Board to not regulate based on one set of aesthetics and to work deliberately rather than in knee-jerk fashion.
There was discussion regarding the powers of particular town entities: Squibnocket Pond District Advisory Committee (SPDAC) and the Site Review Committee.
There was further discussion regarding the definition of an overlay district (district with supplementary regulations to those of the underlying zoning districts and to other town regulations) and Districts of Critical Planning Concern (DCPC, a special area on MV, temporary moratorium while regulations are developed, then town adopts regulations for the District, so long as the proposed regulations are in conformance with the guidelines in the designation.)
Discussion continued regarding the usefulness of creating a DCPC or moratorium now to halt large projects that may be built during the next 1-3 yrs while bylaw revision may be progressing. Mr. Bena stated his concern that large projects will continue while the Board works on planning. Mr. Abrams stated his belief that the town would get mired in a DCPC controversy that would take away from the energy needed to plan comprehensively. Ms. Weldon characterized the differing approaches as action and reaction and stated she would like the Board to plan rather than react to a large house. Discussion continued regarding the correct way to proceed: designate a DCPC and then comprehensively plan or forgo designation and focus solely on comprehensive planning.
Chair Weidner thanked Mr. Abrams for his contributions to the discussion.
Detached Bedroom/Accessory Structure:
Chair Weidner opened discussion.
Ms. Thompson suggested discussion on this topic be postponed.
Mr. Sullivan noted the existence of detached bedroom bylaws in OB and EDG. He also noted the difficulty for architects/builders in getting permits for these structures because there isn’t a uniform way to calculate the area of a structure.
Further discussion is postponed.
Massachusetts Estuaries Project, Wendy Weldon(of the Squib. Pond Dist. Adv. Comm.):
Ms. Weldon detailed her fundraising efforts and announced that $16,475.00 had been raised so far. She announced a meeting of SPDAC on Tuesday, April 10 at the Town Hall.
Mr. Fischer lauded the project and expressed his interest in the information a project like this might provide. He noted the project may provide a useful baseline of information for the future.
Ms. Weldon explained her intention to stand at Annual Town Meeting to amend the Questions on the warrant to reflect the funds raised to date. She expressed dismay with the problem of how to communicate the change in dollar amounts to those voters who will participate at the Annual Town Election, on Wednesday, April 25, looking at ballots printed with “old” numbers, but may not have attended the Annual Town Meeting, on Monday, April 23.
Ms. Weldon approached the Board regarding another topic concerning her proposed revision to the covenant with other landowners at Squibnocket. It was suggested the Board ask Ron Rappaport what it requires to change a covenant. Chair Weidner suggested the issue be revisited in 2 weeks.
Minutes:
Minutes were reviewed from March 26. Approved with amendments.
With no more business to discuss, Chair Weidner adjourned the meeting at 6:17 pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jennifer Christy, Administrative Assistant.
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