HANSON PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of the Meeting of
June 5, 2002
I. CALL TO ORDER - 7:32 p.m.
Members Present: Philip Lindquist, Chairman
Gerard LeBlanc, Vice Chairman
Gordon Coyle, Clerk
Joan DiLillo, Member
David Nagle, Member
Others Present: Town Planner Noreen O’Toole
Administrative Assistant Barbara Ferguson
II. REORGANIZATION OF BOARD
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole welcomed David Nagle as a new member and conducted the annual reorganization of the board.
Nomination of Gordon Coyle for the position of Clerk: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: Joan DiLillo
Vote: 5-0
Nomination of Gerard LeBlanc for the position of Vice Chairman: Joan DiLillo
Second: Gordon Coyle
Vote: 5-0
Nomination of Philip Lindquist for the position of Chairman: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: Gordon Coyle
Vote: 5-0
III. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Zoning Bylaw Committee
Gordon Coyle said that he would be willing to continue as a member of the Zoning Bylaw Committee serving as the Board’s representative rather than as a citizen-at-large. The Board will attempt to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David Harris with a new citizen-at-large.
Master Plan Committee
No changes in membership.
Hanson Trails Committee
No change in membership.
Drainage Committee
Gordon Coyle agreed to continue serving as the Board’s representative to the Drainage Committee.
IV. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
Acceptance of Minutes of Meeting of May 15, 2002
Motion to Accept the Minutes of the Meeting of May 15, 2002: Gordon Coyle
Second: Joan DiLillo
Vote: 4-0-1 (David Nagle abstaining)
V. TOWN PLANNER’S REPORT
Master Plan Committee
Ms. O’Toole said the Master Plan Committee did not meet on May 29, 2002 as a quorum was not achieved.
Hanson Trails Committee
Ms. O’Toole said the Trails Committee met on May 22, 2002. The items discussed included Biodiversity Day, grant programs, Camp Kiwanee and the distribution of petitions in favor of a state purchase of Northland Cranberry land. Some officials in both towns, she said, are still concerned with the potential loss of the roll back tax.
Zoning Bylaw Committee
Ms. O’Toole said the Zoning Bylaw Committee met on May 20, 2002 and discussed possible bylaw amendments relative to corner lots, hammerhead lots, and inlaw apartments. She said the committee was inclined not to support a change in corner lot provisions or get involved in inlaw apartment regulations but did favor following the requirements of each district for setbacks rather than the 50 feet now in effect for hammerhead lots. Planning Board members did not support the proposed hammerhead lot change. On the agenda for discussion at the next meeting on June 17, 2002, she said, will be home occupations and campers and trailers. Gerard LeBlanc suggested that the committee also give consideration to some regulation of temporary tarpaulin garages.
Old Colony Planning Council Joint Transportation Committee
Ms. O’Toole said the Council would be holding its annual dinner at the Halifax Country Club on June 6, 2002 and that she would be attending.
Other Matters
Ms. O’Toole shared with the Board a memorandum she sent to the Board of Health on May 28, 2002, with a copy to the Board of Selectmen, indicating that the health board regulation which prohibits the burial of stumps on site appears to be in conflict with the town’s gravel removal bylaw. She said the Board of Health has advised her that it will be taking action to correct the conflict at the next town meeting.
Ms. O’Toole told the Board she and Michael Perrault of P.M.P. Associates of East Bridgewater, the Board’s review engineer for the subdivision, had met with Robert Doolittle, the new owner of Anne Marie Lane. She said responsibility for the easement and the balance in the escrow account needs to be transferred to the new owners from the prior owner. The new owner, she said, was the developer of Tiffany Lane in Hanover.
VI. APPOINTMENTS
Robert Carling
Attorney Joseph Hannon
Adequate Access, Pine & Fuller Streets
The Board met with Robert Carling, son-in-law of property owner Joan Campbell, and her attorney, Joseph Hannon of Dartmouth, for a continuing discussion of a request for an adequate access determination for Lot 16 at the intersection of Fuller and Pine Streets. Attorney Hannon and Mr. Carling first met with the Board on May 15, 2002 and in the interim members made individual visits to the site.
Ms. O’Toole told Board members that she had obtained a map from the Board of Assessors which was registered in 1950 showing the lot in question as part of a larger parcel accessed from Reed Street over a right-of-way. At the previous meeting Attorney Hannon presented the Board with a 1942 map showing a paper street called Fuller Street which he said separated Lot 16 from the rest of Mrs. Campbell’s property, thus negating the issue of contiguous ownership.
Where both maps predate the adoption of zoning by the town, some members questioned whether Lot 16, despite meeting the pre-1955 zoning criteria, would qualify as a “grandfathered” lot. Attorney Hannon said that responsibility for determining the “grandfathering” status of the parcel belongs to the Building Inspector. The sole responsibility of the Planning Board, he said, is to determine whether the access to the property is adequate noting as he had at the previous meeting that the Board had previously determined that Fuller and Pine Streets provided adequate access to a neighboring lot.
Board members questioned how fire apparatus could access the property and Attorney Hannon replied that Fuller Street could be extended to provide a turnaround. The extension would not provide access to any other lots, he said, because the 1927 lots on the other side of the upper end of Fuller Street have been combined into one lot.
Vice Chairman Gerard LeBlanc said that the addition of another house would cause Fuller Street to degrade more quickly. Based on his site visit, he said the street has drainage problems. Mr. Carling said that his mother-in-law grades Fuller Street on a yearly basis. Vice Chairman LeBlanc said that regrading and drainage would be needed to solve the problem of water on Fuller Street which has no place to go but onto a neighbor’s property.
At the conclusion of the discussion Board members agreed that access is inadequate unless the paper street is upgraded with conditions including the installation of catch basins for improved drainage. Under the Board’s policy regarding adequate access determinations, an engineered plan would be required prior to authorization to proceed. A final determination on access would be rendered once the approved improvements have been completed.
It was decided that Town Planner Noreen O’Toole would draft a letter to Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer Michael Kennedy advising him of the Board’s opinion on access and requesting information on the “grandfathering” status of the property. If a house is ultimately built on the property, the Board said, the frontage should be on Pine Street.
Motion that the access to Lot 16 at the intersection of Pine and Fuller Streets is inadequate without an upgrading of the roadway to a frontage on Pine Street: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: Gordon Coyle
Vote: 5-0
Form A/ANR
East Washington Street, Land Planning, Inc.
The Board reviewed a Form A/ANR Plan of Land, dated May 30, 2002, submitted by Land Planning, Inc. for Ernest R. Archibald, Trustee. The property, located at the corner of East Washington and Whitman Streets, is shown on Hanson Assessors’ Map 106 as Lot 9. The plan calls for the division of the parcel into three lots with 30,010 square feet for Lot 1, the parcel with the existing dwelling; 34,503 square feet for the new Lot 2; and 63,999 square feet for the new Lot 3 including 28,509 square feet of upland. The property is located in a Residence A District.
Motion to approve the FormA/ANR for a Plan of Land, dated May 30, 2002, submitted by Land Planning, Inc. for Ernest R. Archibald, Trustee: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: Gordon Coyle
Vote: 5-0
VII. NEW BUSINESS
Letter from Attorney William Tuttle
Memo from Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis
Lot 7, Map 93, Acorn Road
The Board noted a May 29, 2002 letter to town officials from William R. Tuttle, Esquire, of Abington, representing Melody Lindsay of 1135 Whitman Street, relative to her rights in relation to Lot 7, Map 93, Acorn Road and a May 16, 2002 memo from Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis stating that any non-public-record requests for action relative to the property in question must be submitted by her attorney to the town’s attorney.
Catherine Road Inspection
Land Planning, Inc.
The Board noted a June 5, 2002 letter from Land Planning, Inc. of Hanson, the Board’s review engineer for the Catherine Road subdivision, recommending that the Board require a revised asbuilt plan before approving a bond release. Town Planner Noreen O’Toole advised Board members that developer Joseph Nisby was scheduled to appear before them at their June 19 meeting.
Letter from Board of Selectmen
Reorganization of the Board
The Board noted a May 28, 2002 memo from Management Assistant Meredith Scozzari advising that the Board of Selectmen reorganized on May 21, 2002 electing Daniel Webster, chairman; Stephanie McSweeney, vice chairman; and Peter Jones, clerk. The other members are Catherine Kuchinski and Robert Forte.
Inspection Report from Merrill Associates, Inc.
Hemlock Hills
The Board noted a May 31, 2002 inspection report from Merrill Associates, Inc. of Hanover, its review engineering firm for the Hemlock Hills subdivision, which recommended that drainage pits within the subdivison be revised to comply with the recommended 2 foot separation from groundwater.
Inspection Reports from P.M.P. Associates, Inc.
Meadowbrook Estates & Millennium Estates
Due to the lateness of the hour, the Board took home to review May 8, 16, and 17, 2002 inspection reports for Meadowbrook Estates from P.M.P. Associates, Inc. of East Bridewater and April 24 and May 2, 9, and 29, 2002 inspection reports from P.M.P. for Millennium Estates. Ms. O’Toole told the Board there was a miscommunication between a representative of P.M.P. and the contractor installing the sidewalk which resulted in the sidewalk being four inches above grade for a distance of 1,000 feet. No grades were shot, she said, until the job had been completed. Following a lengthy onsite conference she attended which included the developer and representatives from P.M.P. and the developer’s engineering firm, Ms. O’Toole said, it was agreed the
developer would see that the situation was corrected.
VIII. CONTINUATION OF OTHER MATTERS
Colonial Heights
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole told the Board that the basins on Valley Forge Road in the Colonial Heights subdivision have been cleaned temporarily correcting a flooding problem. The new owner, she said, is investigating the drainage system to see if there is a problem that is contributing to the accumulation of excess water in the Valley Forge section.
Cranberry Estates
Ms. O’Toole said she has been investigating the cost of netting for the bottom of the drainage basin in the Cranberry Estates subdivision to slow the flow.
Stonewall Estates
Ms. O’Toole told the Board that she has assigned a new engineering firm to handle the construction stage of Stonewall Estates off Whitman Street. The new firm will be ET Engineering of Easton.
Dunham Farm
Ms. O’Toole advised Board members that representatives would be meeting with them informally at their next meeting to review a proposed Chapter 40B project at 902 Main Street. A comprehensive permit will be sought through the Board of Appeals for Dunham Farm, an age restricted community. The preliminary site plan, prepared for J.T. Callahan by P.M.P. Associates of East Bridgewater, indicates 52 units of which 13 would be affordable. The Board’s initial reaction was that the project is too dense. Members noted the lack of drainage and grading detail.
IX. OLD BUSINESS
Letter from Tedeschi-Gray LTD to Town Planner
Exposed Cable, Lot 1, Alden Way
The Board noted a letter from Kenneth Gray, president of Tedeschi-Gray Limited, received in the office on May 16, 2002 regarding the exposed cable on Lot 1 in the Alden Way Subdivision.
Special Permit Adult Communities
Rules & Regulations for Filing
Application Form & Fees
Due to the lateness of the hour, the Board took no action on rules and regulations, an application form and fees for special permit filings for Adult Communities.
X. ZONING HEARING
Application of the First Congregational Church for a variance/special permit for percentage of maximum gross coverage and site plan approval to allow the construction of a 41.5’ x 66’ addition at 639 High Street, Map 064, Lot 0010, Hanson Assessors Map.
COMMENTS:
Board should check with applicant’s engineer to determine whether the proposed drainage system is adequate to accommodate the flow.
Board should ask for drainage layout of parking lot with calculations.
Board should determine whether permission has been obtained to connect drainage into system on a private way.
XI. ADJOURNMENT - 10 p.m.
Motion to adjourn: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: Joan DiLillo
Vote: 5-0
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