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 05/10/04
The Planning Board met in the Town Office Building Monday, May 10, 2004.
Present: Amy MacNab, Vice-Chairman; Angela Scieszka, Clerk; Aboud Al-Zaim, John Bear, James Kimball and Rob Wilson.
Absent: George Wadsworth, Chairman.
Staff: Christine Stickney, Planning Director and Barbara Ripley, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 PM.
OPEN FORUM
Web Page: Ms. Stickney and Ms. Ripley said that the current Zoning Bylaws, the proposed Housing and Economic Plan, and all approved 2004 Planning Board minutes have been posted on the Town of Duxbury web page.
ANR PLAN OF LAND: JOHNSON/Tremont & Tobey Garden Streets
Mr. Mark Casey of South Shore Survey, Inc., represented the applicant. He explained that the owner of #594 Tremont Street would like to create an additional building lot on his property.
Ms. MacNab commented that on corner lots, there must be 200 feet of frontage on one road. She asked Mr. Casey to show how the frontage was calculated. Mr. Casey demonstrated that more than 200 feet of frontage exists on Tobey Garden Street for the corner lot.
Ms. MacNab also commented on the fact that the new lot will have a small portion within the Aquifer Protection Overlay District (APOD). She said that she studied the current Zoning Bylaw for guidance on how to deal with lots with split zoning. In the case of a lot with an existing home, the bylaw says that the zoning in place where the house sits is the zoning that applies to the lot. However, the Bylaw is less clear for vacant lots. Mr. Casey said that he spoke with Duxbury’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, who said that since the majority of the lot is outside the APOD, that the APOD zoning requirements will not apply. Ms. MacNab said that it is possible that the existence of APOD zoning on the land may lead to a restriction on the number of bedrooms.
Mr. Casey commented that it is impossible to know precisely where the APOD line falls on the property. He said that there are no contour lines associated with the zoning maps for APOD. However, he said that he is confident that the line shown on the plan very closely approximates the APOD line.
Ms. MacNab asked where the driveway is for the existing home. Mr. Casey said that the driveway is off Tobey Garden Street. Board members said that the address should reflect its legal access.
Mr. Wilson made a motion to endorse the plan as not requiring approval under subdivision control law. Mr. Bear provided a second for the motion. Under discussion of the motion, Board members agreed that they would like staff to make the following comments to the Zoning Enforcement Officer about the lots:
The garage straddling the “new” property line should be razed or relocated prior to issuance of any permits.
The existing dwelling (#594) takes its access through frontage on Tobey Garden Street and should have its street identification so designated off Tobey Garden Street rather than Tremont Street.
The new lot has a small portion of its area subject to the Aquifer Protection District Overlay and according to the applicant's representative's remarks at the Planning Board meeting, this line is difficult to designate on the ground and can vary with interpretation. With this in mind the Planning Board expressed their concern with the design of a Title V system and suggested the Board of Health may want to consider placement of a restriction on the number of bedrooms.
The vote in favor of the motion was unanimous (6:0).
WORKING SESSION OF THE PLANNING BOARD: PROPOSED HOUSING AND ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN
Ms. Stickney provided the Planning Board with a proposal for Section Four of Duxbury’s Community Development Plan. The Community Development Committee (CDC) is developing the Community Development Plan with funds provided through Executive Order 418. Mr. Wilson has served as the Planning Board’s representative on the CDC, and Ms. Stickney is an ex-officio member. Section Four is the Housing & Economic Development Action Plan. Ms. Stickney explained that there will be a public presentation of the proposed plan on May 12. (Whether there will be additional public sessions will depend on the outcome of the May 12 meeting.) The CDC will then take the public input, and vote on final changes to the proposed plan.
Ms. MacNab said that she was very impressed with the proposed housing plan (Section 4.1). She said that it included every option she could possibly think of for the provision of affordable housing. She also liked the fact that each option was accompanied by information about towns that have tried the options. This provides a useful reference, she said.
Ms. Stickney further explained that the CDC initially intended to develop a plan that could lead to having 10% of Duxbury’s housing stock as affordable. After much discussion, it was decided to abandon that specific number, and simply develop strategies that would lead to providing more affordable units.
Ms. MacNab said that one concern she has is the number of new committees that are suggested. Ms. Stickney responded that the new committees will formalize what is actually happening in Town now. However, if they are formalized, the Town will get more credit from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for implementing housing strategies.
Mr. Al-Zaim said that while he basically liked the plan, he had a few negative comments. First, he did not feel that it read smoothly. Second, he did not like that the housing section began with all the impediments to developing affordable housing in Duxbury (lack of public transportation, lack of sewer system, etc.). He felt that these are concerns of most South Shore towns, and not specific to Duxbury. He said that Strategy 6 (Revising zoning bylaws, etc.) should be eliminated, since this has already been done during the Zoning Bylaw revision process. Finally, he felt that the plan should prioritize options.
Ms. Scieszka said that while this isn’t really a plan, that it is a perfect first step toward making a plan. It simply lists all of the options. Now, the options can be prioritized.
Ms. Stickney said that the plan serves as the baseline for a Housing Plan to be submitted to the State. The CDC would like to see the Housing Plan developed by the Housing Partnership, under the joint direction of the Board of Selectmen and the Planning Board. Mr. Bear commented that it could be difficult for the Housing Partnership to work for two “bosses”.
It was the consensus of the Planning Board that the Housing Action plan was received favorably. Additionally, the Planning Board commented that it would be easier to review the Plan in the context of the rest of the sections, which they have not received. Finally, the Planning Board commented that the options in the Plan should be prioritized.
Discussion then turned to the proposed Economic Action Plan (Section 4.2). Ms. Stickney explained that, when she applied to the State for the EO418 funds, the hope was to use all the money to work on the housing plan. However, the State felt that the Town was lacking in an economic development plan. So, this had to be done. Ms. Stickney said that a major recommendation of the Economic Action Plan is the establishment o an Economic Advisory Committee. It is assumed that the Committee will work on issues such as helping to find a suitable replacement for the Grand Union Supermarket (formerly the A&P), which has recently left Duxbury. Ms. Stickney also said that committee members were surprised to learn that there are 500 businesses in the Town of Duxbury.
OTHER BUSINESS
4.1: Community Preservation Act: Ms. Stickney provided the Planning Board with the policy brief from the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, entitled: “Maximizing the Trust”. This was a proposal to divert CPA funds to non-CPA funds. However, this initiative has failed at the state level.
4.2: Schedule of Meetings: Ms. Stickney provided the Board with a proposed summer meeting schedule. This was approved by the Board.
4.3: Draft Special Town Meeting Warrant (6/14/04): Noted by the Board.
4.4: Reminder of 5/12/04 CDC Workshop: Noted by the Board.
4.5: Minutes 5/3/04: Ms. Scieszka provided corrections to the draft minutes. Mr. Wilson made a motion to accept the minutes of 5/3/04, as corrected by Ms. Scieszka. Mr. Bear provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (6:0).
4.6: Planning Commissioners Journal: Noted by the Board.
ADJOURNMENT
The Planning Board meeting was adjourned at 9:13 PM. It was noted that there are no significant agenda items for the meeting of May 17. Ms. Stickney will confer with Mr. Wadsworth about a possible cancellation of the meeting. If that meeting is cancelled, the next meeting of the Duxbury Planning Board will be held on May 24, 2004 at 7:30 PM in the Duxbury Town Offices.
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