Town of Lenox
Planning Board
Minutes
November 14, 2006
Land Use Meeting Room
Members present: Chair Kim Flynn (KF), Steve Sample (SS), Joe Kellogg (JK), Pam Mackie (PM), Kate McNulty-Vaughan (KM-V)
6:00 p.m. Approve minutes and other business:
· Minutes submitted for approval:
1. June 12, 2006-SS made motion to approve, PM seconded. Vote 3-0 with JK and KF abstaining as they were not present at that meeting.
2. August 22, 2006-Previously approved with edits. Corrected minutes signed by KF.
3. September 12, 2006-JK made motion to approve, PM seconded. Approved 5-0.
4. October 10, 2006-SS made a motion to approve, JK seconded. Approved 5-0.
5. October 24, 2006-JK made a motion to approve with change on page 2, third paragraph- addition of text Town Counsel has advised. KM-V seconded the motion. Approved 4-0. KF abstained as she was not present at that meeting. PA will submit the minutes with change at the next meeting.
Notes: 1)KM-V advised that she will have the minutes of the September 26, 2006 completed and electronically mailed to all board members and Land Use Clerk (PA) before the next meeting of November 28.
2)JK asked PA to, in the future, put the approved minutes on the Town of Lenox web site. PA concurred and selected July 2006 as the start date.
· Other business:
1. KF asked all members to review the Zoning Bylaw and make note of what may need clarification or correction. At the next meeting of the Planning Board these items will be discussed and considered for amending in May 2007.
2. KF advised that Joellyn Warren, Town Planner, forwarded to the Board the final draft of the Neighborhood Map. The Board approved the map, but the “hatching” marks in the yellow area designated New Lenox should be removed. Tanglewood is misspelled and should be corrected. KF will contact Ms. Warren regarding the changes and request color maps for all board members.
3. KF advised the Board that Ms. Warren has secured planning funds in the amount of $27,500.00 for the neighborhood meetings and the rezoning process. Most of the funds need to be spent by June 30, 2007. Ms. Warren, in an email of November 6, suggested the Board devote the November 28 meeting to finalize a project outline and schedule of meetings which should start in January 2007.
4. Public Hearing Notices and Decisions from abutting towns were reviewed.
5. At the meeting of November 28, 2006 there are two meetings scheduled. One is for Canyon Ranch and the other is a proposed Winstanley project.
At this point Kim recused herself as she is employed by Attorney Phillip Heller who is the attorney for Joe Toole and David Case. Steve Sample became acting Chair.
6:20 p.m. Joe Toole, Form A, Hampton Inn, Map 439 Pittsfield Rd., Map 33 Lot 1.
Note: There had been a misunderstanding regarding the filing of a Form A for this meeting. Instead the applicant was requesting the Board sign the (1) Building Lot Plan and (2)Plan and Profile for the Mollie Way subdivision subsequent to the June26, 2006 approval of the Definitive Plan.
Presenting the request was Joe Toole, owner of the property; Jim Scalise of SK Design; and Attorney Phil Heller. Mr. Scalise informed the Board that under the Subdivision Control Law, once the final survey was complete and the appeal period had lapsed, the Planning Board was to sign the Building Lot Plan and Plan and Profile.
JK stated he became a board member in July of this year and was not familiar with the plan. He asked the Board and the applicant if this was the plan that had been approved in June. They concurred. JK questioned the period of time from approval to now. Mr. Scalise stated that there was a signed approval for the plan by the Planning Board, and there is a period of time, either 120 or 180 days from the endorsement to the finalization; this is simply housekeeping and endorsement of the plans. JK did not want to sign, not to be arbitrary, but because he didn’t believe the Subdivision Control Law required such a long period between approval and signatures. JK said: “I do not see a reference in the Subdivision Control Law to 120 days and the word modified was
mentioned in conversation and that (modified) concerns me.”
Mr. Heller read from Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land, Section 6, page 16:
Final approval, if granted, shall be endorsed on original drawing of the Definitive Plan by the signatures of a majority of the Planning Board but not until the statutory twenty-day appeal period has elapsed … “That is what is happening.”, said Mr. Heller. JK said that he understood that, but, in any case, the Town Clerk needs to first make sure that there has not been an appeal, and apparently there was an oversight in not securing the Town Clerk’s signature. KM-V, seeking clarification asked: “So all we are doing is just verifying the definitive plan?” Mr. Scalise responded that his stamp on the plan certifies this is the same plan.
SS asked the Board: “Besides the process, does anyone else have concern? JK responded: “For me I don’t know. I have not been here. I am uncomfortable without talking with Town Counsel. It is weird that it has gone so long.” In perfect circumstances, Mr. Scalise responded, they would have been in sooner for these signatures.
SS told the applicant the board would all sign by Thursday, November 16. PA will present the documents to the Town Clerk by 8:15 am on November 15. Once the Town Clerk’s signature is in place, she will then notify the Planning Board members that the documents are ready for their signatures. Note: PA secured the signature of the Town Clerk by 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, November 15 and notified the PB members by email soon thereafter.
KM-V made a motion that “the appropriate Planning Board members sign the certificate of approval which was endorsed on June 26, 2006 following the Town Clerk’s signature”. PM seconded and the board approved 4-0.
6:30 p.m. Lenox Gateway, Map 17 Parcel 40. 55 Pittsfield Rd., Modification of Special Permit for exception under the provisions of Section 16, Gateway Mixed Use Development Overlay Zone and modification of the Site Plan approval under Section 6.4.1, and Variance Section 9.3(e)4.
This petition was filed with the Town Clerk on October 13, 2006. On November 1, 2006, letter requesting withdrawal of Variance request received from Phil Heller.
Presenting the application was David Case, developer of Lenox Gateway; Phillip Heller, attorney representing Mr. Case; and Jim Scalise of SK Design Group.
Mr. Case presented an overview of the request. He said that the development is a work in progress and that he expects he will be making subsequent applications to “tweak” the project. He wants to do 3-4 times the landscaping than the project originally stated and reduce the number of town home units from 36 to 30. The reduction is to allow for an increase in the width of the units. Also, there is an addition of a deck for the Montessori School that will be partially covered.
Mr. Heller stated there would be a small change in the driveway, the green space would be doubled and plantings would be quadrupled from the original plan. Building #10 will be the location of the Montessori School. This petition requests permission to build a 10’ X 61’ deck in the rear of the school with forty five feet of the 61 feet covered. The remaining area will be covered with lattice. There is also a landscaped play area. Also, the request is to allow the modification of the residential, town home component of the development. (This does not impact the moderate to low income housing which is in another location in the development.) The width of the units will be increased by 3 feet, the number of units would decrease from 36 to 30, and the number of
buildings will be five versus six. The location and set backs are not changing.
Mr. Scalise made his presentation. He provided a site plan and an overlay to show the slight change in parking for Bennigan’s. The parking will be rotated slightly and shifted to the north. There were two parallel drives originally, but the proposal is to eliminate the second drive. The change in parking will result in the increase of one parking space, from 399 to 400. With the reduction of the housing units, there will be less impact on the water and sewer services and less traffic.
JK recommended that the Planning Board submit a letter of approval to the Zoning Board and Pam Mackie seconded the motion. The Board approved 4-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Ammendola (PA)
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