HANSON PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of Meeting of
DECEMBER 13, 2000
Members Present: Chairman Philip Lindquist
Vice Chairman David Harris
Gerard LeBlanc, Clerk
Joan DiLillo, Member
Members Absent: Gordon Coyle, Member
Others Present: Town Planner Noreen O’Toole
Administrative Assistant Barbara Ferguson
I. CALL TO ORDER - 7:35 p.m.
II. APPOINTMENTS
Attorney Kathleen O’Donnell
Kopelman & Paige, Town Counsel
The Board met with Attorney Kathleen O’Donnell of Kopelman & Paige, Town Counsel, to discuss grandfathered lots, paper streets, private ways, and determination of adequate access.
Also present for the discussion were Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis, Selectman Catherine Kuchinski, Building Inspector Michael Kennedy, and Zoning Board Vice Chairman Gaytha Wallace.
In his opening remarks, Chairman Philip Lindquist noted the adequacy of a way comes under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board. He said that, following approval of a general bylaw in 1998, the Board instituted procedures for determining access.
The first step, he said, is that the petitioner comes in and provides the Planning Board with information from which a determination is made as to whether there is access to a parcel. If the roadway is deemed inadequate, he said, the Board then requires the petitioner to indicate intended road improvements using the existing Planning Board Rules and Regulations as criteria.
If the plan is approved, Mr. Lindquist said, the petitioner is required to establish an escrow account with the town from which payments are made to the engineering firm selected to represent the Planning Board on the project. Once the work is completed to the Board’s satisfaction, he said, the petitioner can then go to the Building Inspector for a building permit and the money remaining in the escrow is returned to the petitioner.
Mr. Lindquist said that the Board has come to the conclusion that it might be prudent to hold a public hearing to make sure that the neighbors are aware of the plans proposed for road improvements in their area.
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole told Attorney O’Donnell that the Planning Board was interested in learning what its legal rights are regarding adequate access determinations.
Attorney O’Donnell said that the applicant should be required to provide proof that the street proposed for access is both on a plan and physically in existence. Although a hearing is not legally required, she said, it would be wise for the Board to hold one, when a paper street is involved, to receive input from abutters and determine there is no question that rights to pass over the way have not been exhausted through adverse possession.
She said that the Board should ask for a certificate of title from the applicant’s attorney, proving for the record, the client’s legal right to use a paper street. Any disputes that might arise over adverse possession, she said, would have to be settled in Land Court before the issue could be revisited by the Planning Board.
Adverse possession against a town is not allowed, Attorney O’Donnell said, unless the property is acquired by tax title and the town is not doing anything with it. Whatever rights the Monponsett Association had, passed to the town when that property was taken, she said. The town would only own to the middle of a paper street, she said, if a parcel were taken, giving the town the same rights as any other property owner.
Vice Chairman David Harris asked about ancients ways and was told they are generally paths often created by Indians following deer. They follow the easement by prescription idea, she said. There is nothing on the record, she said; there has been no dedication to a public way.
Mr. Harris then asked Attorney O’Donnell to reiterate the procedure the Planning Board should be following to determine adequate access, and she said the Board should first require the applicant to confirm his or her legal rights to improve the road. She recommended that a public hearing be held even though it is not required. She agreed with Mr. Harris that the Board has the authority to allow modifications to the plan submitted.
Chairman Lindquist asked about encouraging a developer to confer with other lot owners on a private way for an extension of improvements. She said that the usual way that improvements are made to a private way is through a homeowners’ association. Typically, she said, there is a lien on the real estate and new owners know that, as a member of the association, they have an annual betterments related annual cost.
Attorney O’Donnell said the routing process for determining adequate access should be as outlined in an April 16, 1997 letter to the Planning Board from Attorney Cheryl Ann Perry of Kopelman & Paige. Mr. Linquist noted that the procedure was not followed by a prior Building Inspector with lots approved for housing without an adequate access determination by the Planning Board. This resulted, he said, in the Planning Board placing an article before Town Meeting to strengthen its authority. Attorney O’Donnell agreed that the adequacy determination is the Planning Board’s responsibility. Mr. Lindquist asked Attorney O’Donnell
if she would review the verbage of the existing bylaw to determine if it is still needed.
Zoning Board Vice Chairman Gaytha Wallace said that her board frequently receives special permit requests from owners of grandfathered lots who claim they should be allowed to include ownership to the middle of a paper street to reach the statutory requirement of 5,000 square feet. Mrs. O’Donnell said that the lot acreage as it appears on the deed is what must be considered by the Board during its deliberations.
Mr. Lindquist then asked about the acceptance of roads in a development and was told by Attorney O’Donnell the developer can reserve his ownership of the roadway by deed. If he does not do that, she said, then a deed must be obtained from every abutter. If the developer defaults and the town finishes the road, she said, the town could take the road by eminent domain.
Selectmen Catherine Kuchinski questioned why the names of streets in subdivisions do not come before the Board of Selectmen for approval. Mr. Lindquist said the Planning Board had not received replies from the Selectmen in the past but would be more than willing to reinstitute the process. Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis noted that some communities require that new streets be named after the town’s historical figures.
The Board thanked Attorney O’Donnell for her input. Vice Chairman David Harris warned her that problems with paper streets in the Monponsett area will necessitate her assistance from time to time in the future.
III ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
Regular Meeting of December 6, 2000
Motion to accept the minutes of the Meeting of December 6, 2000: David Harris
Second: Gerard LeBlanc
Vote: 4-0
IV. NEW BUSINESS
P.M.P. Construction Observations
Request for Partial Release of Bond for Joshua Lane
Meadowbrook Estates
The Board noted the December 6, 2000 Construction Observation from its engineer P.M.P. Associates indicating that the roadway at Meadowbrook Estates was paved without prior notification. Bernard Munro of Land Planning, Inc. reminded the Board that the base coat was applied previously and that the latest coat was an overlay coat to correct alligatoring. Chairman Philip Lindquist asked Town Planner Noreen O’Toole to find out what the temperature was on December 6, 2000. The Board said that it would be unwilling to release the bond at this time. The issue will be revisited at the next meeting.
P.M.P. Associates, Technical Review
Litchfield Lane & Irene Circle
Due to the lateness of the hour the Board decided to read the review at home.
Letter to Rosen Realty Regarding Cores
Cranberry Estates
The Board reviewed a letter sent by Town Planner Noreen O’Toole to Rosen Realty on behalf of Chairman Philip Lindquist advising that cores would be required to evaluate paving that was not observed.
V. OLD BUSINESS
Planning Board Budget for Fiscal 2002
Chairman Philip Lindquist signed the Planning Board Budget for Fiscal 2002.
Town Planner Performance Evaluation
Administrative Assistant Barbara Ferguson collected Town Planner Performance Evaluation Forms from Board members with the scores to be announced at the next meeting.
VI. TOWN PLANNER REPORT
Hanson Trails Committee
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole reported that the Hanson Trails Committee met on December 11 to discuss a grant application that is due in January.
In-Law Apartment Committee
Ms. O’Toole said that the In-Law Apartment Committee will be meeting on December 18. The Board stressed that any proposal drafted by the committee must ultimately come before the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee. Ms. O’Toole said she plans to set up a meeting of the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee in January.
VII. ADJOURNMENT - 9:40 p.m.
Motion to adjourn: David Harris
Second: Gerard LeBlanc
Vote: 4-0
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