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.
The Planning Board met in the Town Office Building Monday, November 15, 2004.
Present: George Wadsworth, Chairman; Amy MacNab, Vice-Chairman; Angela Scieszka, Clerk; James Kimball and Rob Wilson.
Absent: Aboud Al-Zaim and John Bear.
Staff: Christine Stickney, Planning Director and Barbara Ripley, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 PM.
OPEN FORUM
Joint Meeting with ZBA: Ms. MacNab said that she would like to discuss the roles of the ZBA and Planning Board with regard to site plan review. Ms. Stickney said that this joint meeting has been scheduled for December 6, and that the ZBA has asked for an agenda.
MBTA: Mr. Kimball said that he attended a meeting of the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority. Decreased ridership has become a big issue for the MBTA and has caused serious financial problems. Another issue is safety. There were two accidents at railroad crossings on the North Shore in recent months.
JOINT MEETING WITH THE LOCAL HOUSING PARTNERSHIP (LHP)
Representing the LHP were: Bill Campbell (Chairman), Diane Bartlett (Vice-Chairman), Barbara Kelly, Rob Wilson, and Bud Childs.
Mr. Campbell explained that the LHP is an outgrowth of the Community Development Committee. The partnership’s main function is to find solutions for housing needs. One housing issue is that the State would like each town to have 10% of its housing stock to be “affordable”. Beyond the State’s requirements, Duxbury has real housing needs. Some of these are:
· Entry-level homes in Town begin at around $500,000.
· Many Town employees cannot afford to live in Town. For example, there are 22 teachers and 125 other school employees earning less than $50,000.
· Older residents are being taxed out of their homes.
· The loss of older residents is a financial loss for the community, since older residents help support the schools, without adding to the school population.
Some actions being taken by the partnership include:
· Preliminary discussions with John Keith of Keith Properties about a possible expansion of rental housing at Island Creek.
· Preliminary discussions about developing affordable housing on Town-owned property on Lincoln Street.
Mr. Wadsworth said that he feels that too much is being made of the issue of Town employees not being able to afford to live here. He said that it is not unusual for people to live in a Town other than where they work. Ms. MacNab said that she is not a big advocate of the “entitlement mentality.” She said that there are creative ways for people of moderate means to obtain housing in Duxbury. On the other hand, she said, a diverse housing stock is a good thing for everyone.
Ms. Scieszka said that she would like to see the focus of the partnership focus on other types of housing options as well as on subsidized housing. She said that it was clear from the Community Development Committee visioning sessions that people would like to see more affordable housing without jeopardizing the character of the community. She said that it might be more possible to attain this by integrating affordable housing within the community through zoning changes or deed restrictions, or other such mechanisms, than to have large sections of affordable housing like Island Creek. She was hoping that the focus of the group would be on developing a certified plan.
Mr. Campbell responded that the partnership plans to look at whether something can be done with existing sub-standard lots. Ms. Kelly added that the partnership is considering the option of allowing accessory apartments, which would increase the amount of affordable housing being counted by the State.
Ms. MacNab repeated Ms. Scieszka’s concern about the importance of having a certified plan. If a Town demonstrates progress in creating affordable housing with a certified plan, the Town can be protected from Chapter 40B applications.
Ms. Stickney said that a certified plan would require the Town to produce 37 units in one calendar year, which is difficult since we produce less than twenty-five market rate units annually. If the Town files a plan for 37 units, but then fails to produce them in one year, the protection against Chapter 40B filings is not attained. Therefore, the development of a plan should go hand-in-hand with the development of proposals for housing initiatives, so that initiatives are ready to go on-line when the plan is filed, and the one-year deadline can be met.
Mr. Wadsworth said that he has seen non-profit entities successfully produce affordable housing in other towns, by purchasing land for that purpose. Also, Mr. Wadsworth said that he likes the idea of having large homes with multiple units in them.
Ms. Scieszka said that a non-profit entity could be enabled to take advantage of housing opportunities the way that the Wildlands Trust takes advantage of open space opportunities.
Ms. MacNab said that CPZBIC (Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Bylaw Implementation Committee) developed a large number of options for zoning bylaw changes. Then the group met and provided relative weights for the options, to help the group determine its focus. This might be a helpful strategy for the LHP.
Ms. Bartlett asked the Planning Board about what their vision would be for the Lincoln Street Town-owned property, if that property were developed for affordable housing. Mr. Wadsworth said that he would like to see a large colonial style house with multiple units. Ms. Scieszka said that she would need to know more about the land in order to determine her preferences.
Ms. MacNab said that the Town is losing its stock of small houses on small lots because the property owners are successfully getting special permits to expand these homes to a much larger size.
The Planning Board thanked the group for coming, and the groups agreed to meet again in the future.
CONTINUED PUBLIC MEETING: ADMINISTRATIVE SITE PLAN REVIEW SNUG HARBOR BOATWORKS---FORMER GOODRICH LUMBER SITE/ Railroad Avenue
Present for the applicant were:
Paul Brogna, P.E., Seacoast Engineering
Jeff Grey, Principal, Snug Harbor Boatworks
Jon Daley, Snug Harbor Boatworks
Also present was Mr. Morgan LeMarche, representing the owner of the retail/apartment complex at Millbrook Square.
Mr. Brogna explained that the applicant has now met with the ZBA, the Conservation Commission and the Planning Board, and feels that he is getting mixed messages. He said that the Conservation Commission would like to see some of the asphalt removed from the property, specifically within the buffer zone and the 25-foot “no-touch zone.” (This area is behind the existing building.) The Conservation Commission might also like to see vegetated swales under the boat storage areas, similar to what is being proposed for the Bayside Marine project. The ZBA would like to see the site coverage ratio move closer to fifty percent than its current rate of close to 90%. However, the applicant’s understanding is that the Planning Board would prefer to see pavement, so that run-off can be
collected and treated.
Mr. Brogna also mentioned that he met with the Town’s DPW Director, Tom Daley. Mr. Daley said that the Town should contribute to dealing with the run-off from Railroad Avenue which is collecting on the Goodrich property. Ms. MacNab commented that, in the past, applicants have been happy to do off-site work that benefits the Town and their property.
Mr. Wadsworth said that, if vegetated swales are used, it would be beneficial to make sure that the boats are not stored at the facility during the growing season.
Ms. Scieszka said that she was unsure of how to comment at this point. No plans have been provided for study. Mr. Brogna said that the applicant needs some direction about pervious and impervious coverage before being able to develop plans.
Ms. MacNab said that she is delighted that the ZBA would like to see coverage reduced to fifty percent. She said that she fully supports this.
Mr. Wilson asked if any of the abutting parcels, also owned by Mr. Goodrich, could be added to the total land amount and therefore reduce site coverage. Mr. Brogna responded that this is not on the table at this point.
Mr. Wadsworth explained that the Planning Board would like to see impervious site coverage reduced. However, he said that the Board has to look at the ways the site is being used. If the area in back of the building is being used as a driveway to the boat storage area, it should be paved. This allows pollutants to be collected and treated. If it is left as dirt or gravel, it will eventually become packed down, and become impervious anyway.
Ms. Scieszka said that the decisions of the Conservation Commission are sacrosanct with regard to development within the buffer zone and “no-touch” zones. However, Mr. Wadsworth added that the Planning Board will want to see that there is a full understanding of the activity planned for the area. If the activity will make the area impervious, the Planning Board will look for pavement. Ms. MacNab re-emphasized that she will be looking for a limit of 50% site coverage.
Mr. Grey asked which Board will have the final say about site coverage. Board members responded that the site coverage issue is up to the Planning Board.
MOTION: Ms. MacNab made a motion to continue the public meeting to January 10, 2005 at 8:30 PM, with plans due to the Planning Office on 12/27/04, and with the decision date for the application by the Planning Board extended to February 10, 2005. Mr. Wilson provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (5-0).
SPECIAL PERMIT RECOMMENDATION: COGHLAN - 3 Orchard Lane
Ms. Scieszka requested clarification on the nature of the application. Ms. Stickney explained that the homeowners are requesting an amendment to the original special permit for the Weston Farms cluster subdivision. The original special permit required a deed restriction on this house (as well as others) with regard to footprint size. The Planning Board was highly involved in this special permit, because it was a cluster subdivision.
MOTION: Ms. MacNab made a motion to send the following recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the special permit application for 3 Orchard Lane.
“This property was part of a Special Permit and therefore subject to the covenants and restrictions of that Special Permit. The Planning Board strongly recommends denial of the proposed expansion to this property. A deed restriction was placed on this property deliberately, as part of a negotiation process that permitted density, size, and setbacks to vary from zoning requirements, while considering health, safety, and environmental issues as well as other factors. An approval of this application would, in the opinion of the Planning Board, be in direct conflict with the content of the Special Permit and the conditional approval it received. In addition, the Planning Board believes that the total number of bedrooms in Weston Farms currently exceeds the amount allowed by the
original Special Permit.”
Mr. Wilson provided a second for the motion, which passed unanimously (5-0).
LOT RELEASE REQUEST: BROOK ROAD SUBDIVISION
Ms. Stickney explained that the Mr. Chafik Hamadeh has submitted a written request for the release of Lot C in the Brook Road subdivision. When Ms. Stickney explained to Mr. Hamadeh that the Board might prefer to wait until the As-Built plans have been submitted and approved, Mr. Hamadeh indicated that he would have no problem waiting for that time.
MOTION: Mr. Wilson made a motion to retain Lot C under the Planning Board covenant until such time as the As-Built plan has been submitted and approved. Ms. MacNab provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (5-0).
(Ms. MacNab left the meeting at this point.)
(It was agreed to postpone the working session regarding the CPZBIC Exit report, a proposed traffic study, and proposed warrant articles to the next Planning Board meeting.)
OTHER BUSINESS
Webster Point: The Board was provided with correspondence from the applicant’s engineer to Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder at the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. This correspondence was intended to address concerns illuminated through the Environmental Notification Form review process.
Ms. Stickney said that the information provided in the correspondence is highly inadequate. The plan being described is NOT the plan which is currently being litigated. The Town’s concerns remain unaddressed. It was agreed that Ms. Stickney should draft a letter with the above comments to Secretary Herzfelder, which Mr. Wadsworth could approve and sign.
ZBA Decision – 93 Gurnet Road (Mastomarino): The Planning Board considered this application on September 13, 2004. The Planning Board deferred judgment on the application to the ZBA. However, the Board noted that because of the angle in which the house sits on the lot, that the proposed deck will infringe further into the southerly side yard setback by a half of foot and less encroachment will occur on the northern property line side yard setback with proposed extension. The ZBA approved the application. Ms. Scieszka commented that she had recently thought of a solution to this problem. The deck could have been moved back one foot. She said that this is something to keep in mind for the future.
Engineering Invoices:
MOTION: Mr. Wilson made a motion to pay Mainstream Engineering invoices #20473 (for Snug Harbor Boatworks---$348.00) and #20475 (for Bayside Marine---$1,732.25). Ms. Scieszka provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (4-0)
Freeman Farms Slope Easement: Mr. Cushing sent a letter to the Planning Board dated 10/27/04, stating that the Planning Board had changed the allowed uses in the Town’s slope easement, and requesting a meeting with the Planning Board to discuss it. Planning Board members commented that Mr. Cushing no longer owns the property. It was agreed to seek Town Counsel’s opinion on the matter.
Minutes:
MOTION: Mr. Wilson made a motion to accept the minutes of November 1, 2004 as submitted. Mr. Kimball provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (4-0).
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM. The next meeting of the Duxbury Planning Board will be held on Monday, November 22, 2004 at 7:30 PM in the Duxbury Town Offices.
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