The mission of the Town of Duxbury is to deliver excellent services to the community in the most fiscally responsible and innovative manner while endeavoring to broaden our sense of community and preserve the unique character of our town.
Minutes 5/3/04
The Planning Board met in the Town Office Building Monday, May 3, 2004.
Present: George Wadsworth, Chairman; Amy MacNab, Vice-Chairman; Angela Scieszka, Clerk; Aboud Al-Zaim, James Kimball and Rob Wilson.
Absent: John Bear.
Staff: Christine Stickney, Planning Director and Barbara Ripley, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:36 PM.
OPEN FORUM
Duxbury Crossing Comprehensive Permit Application: Mr. Kimball and Ms. Scieszka reported that they attended the site walk on May 1, 2004. They said that the group observed a box turtle (endangered species) on the site. Also, they noted that a large area has been disturbed for a perc test. The applicant is taking down a large hill. The applicant reports that all the material will be staying on site, so he is not subject to applying for an earth removal permit. The area of planned disturbance is just under the 30,000 SF threshold, so he will not need to apply for a tree-clearing permit from the Planning Board. Finally, the haybales for the area are placed just outside the reparian buffer, so approval from the Conservation Commission is not required. Mr. Kimball said
that the re-grading will change the site permanently. Ms. Scieszka said that the Town should have a plan from the applicant for where the fill will go. Mr. Wadsworth said that this is not the jurisdiction of the Planning Board, and that the appropriate people are aware of it: The Building Inspector, the Conservation Agent, and the Town’s Consulting Engineer.
South Shore Coalition: Ms. Scieszka reported that the Coalition is looking for topics for future workshops.
Jaycox Property (Chapter 61A Land): Mr. Wadsworth said that there is one piece of information missing which will determine whether the property can generate one or two buildable lots. This piece of information is the exact location of the zoned wetland line. Once this is determined, the value of the property will be more clear.
PLANNING BOARD UPDATE: WHITEPINE LANE
The developers, Mr. Yoon and Dr. Lonigro, were present.
The bounds have been located, and revised as-built plans have been submitted to the Planning Office. The remaining items are the landscaping and the roadway maintenance escrow. Dr. Lonigro said he would take personal responsibility for getting the landscaping work done within two-four weeks.
Ms. Stickney said that the DPW Director did not provide an estimate for the roadway maintenance fund. He said that he would never take over the maintenance of a private way. However, Board members reiterated that they are simply looking for advice as to whether $10,000 is an appropriate amount to reserve for the next five years, before the roadway maintenance is taken over by the Homeowners’ Association. Ms. Stickney was asked to check with the DPW Director again, and to get approval from Town Counsel as to the form of escrow documents.
Ms. Stickney noted that there are exposed wires in the back of the subdivision, and that the Town’s consultant must review the as-built plans.
It was agreed to review progress on the above items on June 7, 2004 at 8PM.
SPECIAL PERMIT RECOMMENDATION: HEAP R.T./130 King Caesar Road
The applicant’s engineer, Mr. Paul Brogna, was present. He explained that the property has been sold by Heap R.T. to Mr. and Mrs. John McLaughlin. Mr. McLaughlin was present.
Ms. Stickney explained that the Planning Board considered this special permit application on 4/5/04. Several questions were raised, and it was decided that it was necessary to speak with the applicant’s engineer.
Ms. MacNab noted that the McLaughins also own the abutting property. She asked whether, if the house on 130 King Caesar Road is razed, that the property will automatically merge with the abutting property, since they are under common ownership, and are nonconforming as to size.
Mr. Brogna said that there is 8% site coverage under the existing conditions. He said that the proposed dwelling would raise site coverage to 14.9%. Mr. Al-Zaim questioned whether the ROW can be included in the lot area.
Ms. MacNab asked whether, since it is a teardown, the new structure could be built to conform to setback requirements. She said that with teardowns, the Board likes to see as much conformity as possible. Mr. Brogna said that if current setback requirements were complied with, the house could only be twenty-five feet wide, which is small by today’s standards. Ms. Scieszka said that it is good to have a variety of home sizes in Town. We can achieve this by conforming to zoning. Also, she commented that this is a very small lot, so it is appropriate to have a small dwelling, especially since there is no adjacent roadway to add space between the large homes.
Ms. MacNab made a motion to defer judgment on the application to the ZBA, while noting the following Planning issues:
The new structure should comply with current setback requirements. Also, since the ROW is not for the exclusive use of the property owner, the ROW area should not be included in the lot area calculation for the purposes of site coverage calculation.
The Planning Board discussed the potential of lot 180-095-004 combining with lot 180-095-005 once the structure on 180-095-004 is demolished because they are both held in common ownership.
Mr. Wilson provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (6-0).
SPECIAL PERMIT RECOMMENDATION: PAUL & CHRISTINE HARRINGTON/ 80 Seabury Point Road
Ms. Stickney provided a memorandum to the Board, dated 4/30/04. She noted that the site has had two Orders of Conditions issued in the past. She suggested that the proposed expansion and internal renovation (change in the number of rooms) be reviewed with the Conservation Department and the Board of Health to determine if they are in compliance with their recent permits relative to the restrictive number of bedrooms.
Ms. Scieszka said that she wonders why the house was originally allowed to be built so close to the road. She wonders whether there could have been any conditions placed on the property as a result of being allowed to build so close to the road. She also asked whether anyone had found any height calculations in the application materials. Mr. Kimball pointed out the height calculations. Ms. Scieszka commented that they do not appear to have been calculated per the method in the Zoning Bylaw.
Mr. Wadsworth said that Ms. Stickney’s memorandum is very good, and it might be a good idea to forward it to the ZBA, with the additional comment that height calculations should be checked in order to assess any view impairment. Mr. Wilson agreed.
Ms. Scieszka made a motion to defer judgment on the Special Permit application to the ZBA, while forwarding the 4/30/04 Planning Director memorandum for their consideration. Furthermore, the Planning Board notes that the height measurement for the proposed structure should be taken as outlined in the Zoning Bylaw.
Mr. Wilson provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (6:0).
SPECIAL PERMIT RECOMMENDATION: SCOTT DOYLE/ 149 Abrams Hill Road
Ms. MacNab made a motion to defer judgment on the Special Permit application to the ZBA, as no Planning issues are seen. Mr. Wilson provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (6-0).
OTHER BUSINESS
Brewer Lane and Elm Street: Board members noted the e-mail correspondence, dated 4/29/04, from the DPW Director, describing an approximate time table for work on these two streets. Planning Board members expressed disappointment that this work cannot be done sooner.
Minutes: Ms. MacNab made a motion to accept the minutes of 4/26/04 as written. Mr. Al-Zaim provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (6-0).
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 PM. The next meeting of the Duxbury Planning Board will be on Monday, May 10, 2004 at 7:30 PM in the Duxbury Town Offices.
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