Planning Board Meeting
December 16, 2008
Minutes
Members Present: Leslie-Ann Morse-Chairman, Debbie Abbott, Michael Cole, Peter McDonald, Craig Nightingale, Don Andersen, Howard Sandler, Tom Johnson-Alternate
Members Absent: Richard Morello-Alternate
Staff Present: Sarah Raposa-Town Planner
Board of Selectmen Liaison Present: Martin McDonald
Residents Present: Pam Hesse, Fred Fenlon, Phil Hesse, Dawn Skiba, Paul Lothrop and others.
Leslie-Ann Morse, Chairman, opened the meeting at 4:00 pm and asked if there were any opening statements.
Wind Facilities Bylaw:
The Planning Board reviewed edits made to the proposed Wind Facilities bylaw made at the December 2, 2008 meeting. The Planning Board will formally vote on sending it to the Board of Selectmen on December 30, 2008.
Municipal Wind Facilities Bylaw:
Chairman Leslie-Ann Morse presented a draft municipal wind facilities bylaw to the Planning Board for discussion. Key points made by members of the Planning Board were: setbacks, height and districts. A new definition should be added to Section III of the Zoning Bylaw for "Municipal Wind Facilities." Other questions regarding ownership and noise were raised by the Board. Selectman McDonald said he was pleased that the Planning Board drafted the bylaw, but District E should be included and possibly District F as well. Paul Lothrop asked whether it mattered if a manufacturer's recommendation for a larger setback than 150% mattered to the Planning Board. Vice-Chairman Mike Cole responded that it did and would be reviewed under the Site Plan Approval provision in the Bylaws (Section XIII). He also asked for clarification on Section C,
Paragraph 2, third line (tower height). The Town Planner said that it was framed by the definition of height already in the bylaw. The Planning Board recognized that it could be confusing and proposed changes be made.
Timeline for ATM Warrant Articles:
A timeline was discussed for public hearing this winter: If the PB delivers the articles to the Board of Selectmen by December 31, 2008 they will have 14 days to review. That would mean the Planning Board could have a public hearing in mid-February for the proposed wind articles and another public hearing the following week for the other articles. There would be another month for revisions. The Town Planner proposed that the Planning Board schedule a public hearing for Wednesday, February 17, 2009 (legal ad to paper by January 20th) and February 24th and again on March 18th. If needed, it would be ideal if the February 18th public hearing is continued to the time/date certain to avoid lost time and publishing costs. The warrant goes to the newspaper and printer by April 10, 2008 so the Planning Board must be done with hearings and edits by
then. The Town Planner will check the meeting calendar and reserve the Earle Mountain Meeting Room.
Amended Zoning Bylaw:
The Town Planner presented organizational and formatting edits to the Planning Board for review. The changes appear to be non-substantive, but the Town Administrator advised the Town Planner to bring them to the Planning Board for Town Meeting consideration. The Planning Board reviewed the changes and found them to be primarily scrivener's errors and formatting that does not derogate from the intent of the bylaws themselves. The Town Planner was advised to review the ATM Warrant article for the affected sections.
Rezone:
The Planning Board discussed the proposed rezone of the following parcels: Map 08 Parcel 120 (Transfer Station), Map 08 Parcel 089 (Department of Public Works) and Map 08 Parcel 125 (New Bedford Gas & Electric/NStar) from their current zoning districts to Industrial District C and to amend the Town of Eastham Zoning Map to reflect this change. Key issues with this rezone are keeping it separate from the proposed wind bylaws and spot zoning. The Town Planner will send first-class abutters notifications as a courtesy.
Section XIII.B.:
The Planning Board discussed the proposed Zoning Bylaw change for §XIII.B. The Planning Board discussed the various scenarios that may be affected by the current versus proposed language. The Town Planner has notified the Zoning Board of Appeals of the proposal and expects ZBA input at the appropriate time.
Section XII.G.:
The Planning Board discussed the proposed Zoning Bylaw change: G. The Planning Board when sitting as a Special Permit Granting Authority under Sections XIII and XX and XXI of this by-law may impose a reasonable fee on the applicant for the employment of outside consultants. Upon the selection of an outside consultant by majority vote of the Planning Board, the applicant has 30 days to appeal the selection to the Board of Selectmen pursuant to the grounds set forth in M.G.L. c. 44, sec. 53G.
The Planning Board decided to keep it on the back burner and review depending on what passes and whether a municipal scale turbine bylaw moves forward.
Lighting Bylaw:
The Town Planner presented the draft language for a warrant article regarding lighting that is based on Orleans' bylaw that would be added to the criteria listed in Commercial Site Plan Approval (but would apply to Residential Site Plan Approval as well). Also presented were definitions that would be added to Section III.
The Planning Board generally liked the idea of addressing the issue of lighting within Section XIII rather than adding a new section to the bylaw. The proposed language differs from Orleans in that no new committee would be formed and there is no provision for bringing existing lighting into compliance. Vice-Chairman Mike Cole proposed deleting "by the Building Inspector" to which the rest of the Board agreed.
Parking Section:
The Town Planner presented the following draft language for a warrant article regarding adding language to the parking section (Section X): Areas in front of garage doors shall not count in parking space calculation.
The Town Planner explained that other communities consider similar language in order to be more explicit when applicants are calculating parking requirements. The Planning Board will include the language for public hearing this winter.
Sign Code:
The Planning Board discussed the status of suggested Sign Code revisions from the Chamber of Commerce. The Planning Board has been so preoccupied with the wind facilities bylaws that it has been moved to the back burner.
Parking Table and Use Table:
The Town Planner told the Board that she is working on creating tables and matrices to help make the bylaw an easier document to read, however it is not as easy as it seems.
Sections VI and IX:
The Town Planner asked the Planning Board if they had or come up with any suggestions for making Sections VI and IX easier to understand. The sections can be confusing and full of gray areas. The planning Board agreed and will review.
Future Meetings:
The next Planning Board work session is December 30, 2008. The Town Planner told the Board that there are no new cases for January so the Board may consider having a work session that night.
Howard Sandler confirmed that he will be present at the Board of Health meeting on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 3:00 pm. Two other Planning Board members said they may attend as well. The Town Planner will post a Planning Board meeting with the Town Clerk as a precaution in the event that a quorum is present.
The Town Planner told the Board that the Town of Brewster Planning Board will be reviewing a wind turbine at a public hearing on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 and it may be interesting to attend.
Adjournment:
A Motion to adjourn was made by Howard Sandler and Seconded by Mike Cole.
The Vote: All in Favor.
Meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Craig Nightingale, Clerk
Eastham Planning Board
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