Minutes of Meeting— January 29, 2008
The Hudson Planning Board met at the Town Hall, 78 Main Street, Hudson, Massachusetts.
At 7:00 p.m., Robert D’Amelio called the meeting to order.
Present: Robert D’Amelio, Rodney Frias, Tom Collins, Dirk Underwood, James Vereault, Jennifer Burke, Town Planner and Teresa Vickery Clerk
Saratoga Drive/Crestview Drive – Site Plan Review Cont.
Present was: Brian Grossman, Atty. at Law
Atty. Grossman stated that all the information requested by SEA had been submitted to Ms. Burke on January 24, 2008.
Mr. D’Amelio addressed two questions that were asked at the last public hearing. The first was regarding whether or not the Board could compel the applicant to seek to enter into roaming agreements with other carriers or locate on another carriers existing tower. Mr. D’Amelio referenced a legal opinion that was received from Town Counsel dated December 19, 2007 stating that the Board could not compel co-location or roaming agreements. The second question asked was if there was adequate coverage from competing carriers could the Board deny the applicant coverage. Mr. D’Amelio again referencing Atty. Cipriano’s letter stated that Omnipoint has the right to equal access under the law.
Mr. D’Amelio updated the public as to the status of the outside consultant that was hired for peer review by the Town. He noted the formal review from the consultant will be completed in the beginning of February.
John Murray, 14 Champlain Drive encouraged the Board to require that the breakpoints for the fall zone of the tower be reviewed again. Mr. D’Amelio agreed and told him that the Board needed to wait for the consultant’s review.
Jim Boyle, 25 Cortland Drive asked what the minimum height requirement of the tower is. Mr. D’Amelio referred to the minutes from the previous public hearing. He noted that Ms. Lewis stated that she would return with 60 and 80 foot coverage plots for the Board. However, these have not been provided.
Mr. Boyle asked if Omnipoint looked into attaching on the Parmenter Road tower in order to fill in the coverage gap. Ms. Burke explained that because this is not part of the wireless communication overlay district it is assumed that this option was never investigated by the applicant.
Andy Massa, 15 Michigan Drive asked if the Selectmen chose not to sign Omnipoint’s lease could the applicant then investigate other sites outside the overlay district. Mr. D’Amelio informed him that the towers that are located outside the district were erected before the overlay district was designated at the May 2000 Town Meeting. Mr. D’Amelio went on to explain that all Town boards and committees cannot accept any application without the owner’s permission, in this case it was the Board of Selectmen.
Linda Wilson, 58 Lakeshore Drive stated that she does not have any coverage at all in her neighborhood and hopes that the gaps in service will be filled in.
Don Colletti, 11 Champlain Drive stated that he had a letter from Senator Kennedy stating that Ms. Lewis’ claim that Omnipoint cannot locate on the existing water tower due to concerns that arose from the 9/11 tragedy was untrue. Ms. Burke then informed him that Ms. Lewis had called after the last meeting to notify her that she was wrong and this was not the case.
Bill Wade, 6 Crestview Drive contends that the Town has the right to fight this application on the grounds that there is space on the Crestview tower for another carrier to locate on. Mr. D’Amelio stated that the Board will request the Atty. Cipriano be present at the next meeting to address this issue. Mr. D’Amelio believes that he and Mr. Wade are interpreting Atty. Cipriano’s legal opinion differently.
Atty. Grossman informed the Board that the reason Omnipoint has not proposed attaching to the existing water tower is that the Request for Proposal (RFP) did not allow the option to attach to the water tower. Therefore, in order to change these requirements a new RFP would need to be drawn up. Omnipoint’s application is well within the requirements outlined in the RFP. Atty. Grossman reiterated that Omnipoint is simply responding to the terms of the RFP.
Mr. D’Amelio requested a copy of the RFP and explained that copies would be available in the Selectmen’s Office by Friday.
Mr. Massa believes that the Selectmen were approached by Omnipoint and that the specifications of the RFP were driven by their needs/wants.
Marco Calvanese, 8 Champlain Drive asked why continue the discussion when the tower clearly does not meet the requirements of the fall zone. Mr. D’Amelio explained that the next step in this process would be a fall zone waiver granted by the Zoning Board.
Mr. Wade asked that the Board investigate whether the Crestview Tower was granted a waiver for its fall zone area. He stated that area around the tower is 45 sq. ft and to his knowledge was never granted a waiver.
Edward Pagliuca, 48 Ontario Drive asked Mr. D’Amelio if he was satisfied with the timeline with regards to the responses by Omnipoint. Mr. D’Amelio had echoed his concerns, however, after reviewing a timeline he was satisfied with Omnipoint’s response time.
Judith Sabourin, 14 Michigan Drive asked if the Town would be willing to allow attachments. Ms. Burke told her that Tony Marques has been opposed in the past but she would investigate this option.
Mr. Pagliuca asked if Mr. Marques could attend the next public hearing. Ms. Burke said that she would ask him.
Mr. Frias explained that the Planning Board is specifically limited to site plan review and that the scope of the Zoning Board is much broader.
Bob D’Amelio, seconded by Rodney Frias, made a motion to continue the public hearing for Saratoga Drive and Crestview Drive until March 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous
ANR – Woodrow Street
Present was: Arthur Redding, Redco Realty Trust
Tom Collins recused himself.
The ZBA has previously approved a variance for the frontage area on July 19, 2007; the plans reflect this change.
Rodney Frias, seconded by Dirk Underwood, made a motion to accept the plan entitled “Plan of Land in Hudson, MA” as drawn by Inland Survey Inc. dba Zanca Land Surveying, Stow, MA dated January 7, 2008 and Authorize the Agent to Sign.
Vote: 4-0-1, Tom Collins not voting
Tom Collins returned to the Board
Planner’s Report
Tom Collins recused himself
Oak Ridge Estates
Ms. Burke is in receipt of a request for a time extension to complete the subdivision.
Rodney Frias, seconded by Dirk Underwood, made a motion to grant an extension until March 31, 2009 to complete the Oak Ridge Estates Subdivision.
Vote: 4-0-1, Tom Collins not voting
Tom Collins returned to the Board
Old North Woods
Ms. Burke informed the Board that the proposed street name for Old North Woods is Ellsworth Way. The DPW as well as the Fire and Police Chiefs had no issue with this name.
Rodney Frias, seconded by Bob D’Amelio, made a motion to accept the street name for Old North Woods as Ellsworth Way.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous
Street Acceptance – Freeman Circle
Ms. Burke informed the Board that Charles Freeman would like the street acceptance placed on the May Town Meeting Warrant.
Rodney Frias, seconded by Dirk Underwood, made a motion to place Freeman Circle on the May Town Meeting Warrant for street acceptance.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous
Ms. Burke informed the Board that she had recently been approached by a developer who is interested in developing the parcel of land owned by Irene Gerwick off of lower Main Street. The developer had asked whether the Board would consider a ‘lollipop’ shaped road as opposed to a cul-de-sac. The Board suggested that the developer come before them with a preliminary set of plans.
Minutes
Tom Collins, seconded by Dirk Underwood, moved to approve the minutes of January 15, 2008, as written.
Vote: 3-0-2, Mr. D’Amelio and Mr. Frias not voting
Adjournment
James Vereault, seconded by Dirk Underwood, moved to adjourn at 8:45 PM.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous
Cc: Town Clerk
Department of Public Works
Jeff Wood, Building Commissioner
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