PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
June 26, 2006
The Planning Board for the City of CityMarlborough met on Monday, June 26, 2006 in Memorial Hall, 3rd floor, City Hall, Marlborough, MA 01752. Members present: Acting Chairperson Phil Hodge, Acting Clerk Sean N. Fay, Robert Hanson, and placeClyde L. Johnson. Also present: Acting City Engineer Tom Temple.
PUBLIC HEARING
7:30 Zoning Change “175 Maple Street”
The Planning Board of the City of Marlborough held a public hearing on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. on a for a Zoning Change for 175 Maple Street “Design Pak”. Members present: Acting Chairperson Philip Hodge, Acting Clerk Sean Fay, Robert Hanson and Clyde L. Johnson. Also present: Acting City Engineer Thomas Temple.
Acting Chairperson Hodge introduced the staff and members of the Board and explained the public hearing process. Acting Clerk Fay read a copy of the advertisement into the record.
PLANNING BOARD
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Planning Board of the City of Marlborough will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 26, 2006 at 7:30 P.M., at Memorial Hall, City Hall, 140 Main Street,
Marlborough, MA on the following proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF MARLBOROUGH, that the Code of the City of placeCityMarlborough, Chapter 200-Zoning, Section 08 “Boundaries Established: Zoning Map”, as amended be further amended as follows:
That the land located at 175 Maple Street, Assessor’s Map 82, Parcels 132 and 135, presently Zoned “Industrial” to be rezoned to “Business”.
Per Order of City Council
#06100-1181
Attorney Arthur Bergeron, on behalf of his client, College Street, LLC, made a brief presentation of the proposed zone change. College Street, LLC would like to take the Manufacturing building located at 175 Maple and convert the building into urban condominiums. To begin the process they would need to change the current zoning from “Industrial” to “Business” for the special permit process.
The Board had several questions including one from Mr. Hodge. Mr. Hodge asked about the possibility of rezoning some other land to Industrial to avoid losing all of our Industrial land. Attorney Bergeron stated that most industrial/manufacturing plants are now building single story buildings and not multiple floors. There was also a question by the Board on the parking spaces. Attorney Bergeron confirmed there are roughly 190 spaces available at this time and more parking will be discussed during the site plan process.
In Favor
No one spoke in favor.
In Opposition
No one spoke in opposition.
General Comments
Thomas Temple, Acting City Engineer, made several comments to the Board including the Citys 2010 initiative to revitalize Route 85 with burying the utility wires and making the route 85 corridor more accessible.
There being no further discussion, the hearing was closed at 8:00 p.m.
MINUTES
Meeting Minutes May 22
On a motion by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Johnson it was duly voted:
To accept and file the minutes of the meeting from Monday, May 22, 2006.
Meeting Minutes June 12
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Fay it was duly voted:
To accept and file the minutes of the meeting from Monday, June 12, 2006.
CHAIR’S BUSINESS
Old River Road Discontinuance
Solomon Pond Mall LLC, as the owner and developer of the proposed retail development to be located off of Donald J. Lynch Blvd., has requested that a portion of Old River Road, as shown on that certain plan entitled “Plan for Discontinuance of a Portion of Old River Road, Marlborough, Mass.” dated January 17, 2006, prepared by Hayes Engineering, Inc. to be discontinued as a public road.
William Cronin of New England Development explained to the Board that in 1997 when the site work for Solomon Pond Mall that the little strip of was not used due to the widening of the traffic bridge and off ramp of Interstate 495. This strip is now highly vegetated and lies beneath the asphalt already being used as Solomon Pond Mall Road. There is an NStar easement and the easement id being proposed to move over the line several feet under the road.
Acting Chairperson Hodge had a question to the board if they should hold a public hearing. It was not clear to any of the members if they should. It was asked of Mrs. Lizotte to possibly find City Solicitor Rider and ask him to answer the question if a public hearing was required.
On a motion by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Johnson it was duly voted:
To table recommendation until the rules for discontinuance became clear.
On a motion by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Johnson it was duly voted:
To reopen the discussion on the addressStreetOld River Road.
Mr. Rider explained to the board that when only asked to be giving a recommendation and according to MGL chapter 41 section 81-I the Planning Board shall “provide for the reference of any other matter or class of matters to the planning board before final action thereon, with or without provision that final action shall not be taken until the planning board has submitted its report”. This being said the Board members decided to forgo any public hearing and to make a recommendation. However Acting City Engineer Thomas Temple said he would like to review the plan since he has not been exposed to the site plan.
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
To make a recommendation to the City Council to abandon addressStreetOld River Road after Tom Temple has reviewed the site plan and has a recommendation letter to the Planning Board.
APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED PLAN
77 Edinboro
A review of the plan shows the following:
· That the plan show separating a single lot owned by Bernard Sinacole of 77 Edinboro Street, Marlborough, MA 01752. Name of Engineer: Thomas Land Surveyors of 265 Washington Street, Hudson, MA 01749 and is regarded as Map 82 Lot 189.
· That placeLot 1 contains 24,099.12 square feet with 291.93 feet of frontage.
· That placeLot 2 contains 12,652.93 square feet with 125.72 feet of frontage.
· That placeLot 1 is for descriptive purposes only and is not to be considered a building lot.
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Fay it was duly voted:
To accept and endorse a plan of land believed to be Approval Not Required of Bernard J. Sinacole, Jr., Trustee, of 77 Edinboro Street, Marlborough, MA PostalCode01752. Name of Engineer: Thomas Land Surveyors of 265 Washington Street, Hudson, MA 01749. Deed of property is recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds book 25174, page 107. Location and description of property: several parcels of land on Edinboro Street; property shown on Assessors Map 82 Lot 189. Lot 1 is not to be considered a building lot and is for descriptive purposes only.
118 Hudson Street
A review of the plan shows the following:
· That the plan show separating a lot owned by Bryan Northrop of 118 Hudson Street, Marlborough, MA 01752. Name of Engineer: Thompson-Liston Associates of 51 Main Street, Box 570, Boylston, MA 01505 and is regarded as Map 56 Lot 136.
· That placeLot 1 contains 30,235 square feet with 114 feet of frontage.
· That placeLot 2 contains 18728.3 square feet with 0 feet of frontage.
· The purpose of this plan is to create Lot 1 and placeLot 2 is not to be constructed as a buildable lot.
On a motion by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Fay it was duly voted:
To accept and endorse a plan of land believed to be Approval Not Required of Bryan Northrop of 118 Hudson Street, Marlborough, MA 01752. Name of Engineer: Thompson-Liston Associates, Inc of 51 Main Street, CityBoylston, MA 01505. Deed of property is recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds book 26224, page 463. Location and description of property: several parcels of land on Hosmer Street; property shown on Assessors Map 56 Lot 136. Parcel 2 is not to be considered a building lot and is to be conveyed to the Abutter “Auger”.
12 Ewald Ave
On a motion by Mr. Hodge, seconded by Mr. Johnson, it was duly voted:
To accept and refer the proposed plan to the Acting City Engineer for his review and recommendation at the next meeting on Monday, July 24, 2006.
SUBDIVISION PROGRESS REPORTS
Update from City Engineer
Tom Temple, the Assistant City Engineer informed the board that some of the subdivisions have been responding to his letters and have started to submit new completion schedules.
Forest Trail
Extension
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
To accept and file the correspondence from Assistant City Engineer Thomas P. Temple and on request from the developers Attorney to approve an extension of the Forest Trail Subdivision for 3 months (September 12, 2006).
Bond Reduction
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
At the request from the developer and recommendation from Acting City Engineer Thomas Temple for a bond reduction at the Forest Trail Subdivision and to reduce the bond from $260,000.00 to $112,000.00.
Bond Reduction Parcel “B”
On a motion by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Fay it was duly voted:
To accept and file correspondence from Conservation Commissioner Priscilla Ryder and reduce the Parcel “B” bond from $36,200.00 to $2,750.00. The remaining amount will be released once the 5 White Oaks that are doing poorly replaced and have leafed out.
Correspondence from Joseph Connolly
The Law offices of Joseph Connolly has requested on behalf of their client Hudson Savings Bank is requesting that the monies for the Parcel “B” Bond not be returned directly to Mr. Mutti but instead to Hudson Savings Bank.
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
To accept and file correspondence from Attorney Connolly’s office regarding the return of funds and to send a letter to Mr. Connolly that the funds are released through the Citys Treasurers office.
Correspondence from Karin Welker
Attorney Karin Welker represents William and Kyle Magner who are judgment creditors of Chris Mutti/Doe Builders. Upon hearing that the Planning Board is releasing funds Ms. Welker would like notification of the released funds.
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
To accept and file correspondence from Attorney Karin Welker regarding the release of the Forest Trail bond and to send a letter to Ms. Welker to inform her that the funds are released through the Citys Treasurers office and only released to the bond holder.
Eager Court
Bond Reduction
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was duly voted:
At the request from the developer and recommendation from Acting City Engineer Thomas Temple for a bond reduction at the Eager Court subdivision and to reduce the bond from $96,000.00 to $68,000.00.
Indian Hill Park Definitive Subdivision
On a motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Fay it was duly voted:
To accept and file the correspondence from Assistant City Engineer Thomas P. Temple and to recommend an extension of the subdivision and to approve an eight month extension from the date of this meeting (January 12, 2007).
PENDING SUBDIVISION PLANS: Updates and Discussions
White Oak Estates
Correspondence from City Solicitor Donald Rider
The City Solicitor, Donald Ryder, was asked by the Planning Board to review a letter that was received by the Planning Board on June 12, 2006 by Attorney Gadbois on behalf of his clients who are developing the White Oak Estates subdivision. The letter written by Attorney Gadbois briefly described that his clients were pending legal litigation with the current owners of the easement that allows access into the subdivision and he was willing to write a letter stating that his client will not start the prescriptive approval of the subdivision without first notifying the Planning Board to start the 81W process. The Planning Board was looking for advice from the City Solicitor on how they should proceed and if this letter was an endorsable agreement.
On a motion by Mr. Fay, seconded by Mr. Johnson it was duly voted:
To accept and file correspondence from the City Solicitor Donald Rider regarding the process in which the Planning Board should take. The Board confirmed with the developers attorney and he will be getting a more formal agreement to the board at the August 28, 2006 meeting.
PRELIMINARY/ OPEN SPACE SUBDIVISION SUBMISSIONS
DEFINITIVE SUBDIVISION SUBMISSIONS
SIGNS
There was not enough for members for a quorum. However the board saw fit to discuss the sign at 146 Maple Street.
146 Maple Street
Mr. Bakerly, owner of the Marlborough Citgo, applied for a new free standing LED changeable gas sign and the sign does not conform to Chapter 163. The sign was denied by the City’s Building Commissioner Stephen Reid on May 16, 2006 for being nonconforming to the city’s code. Mr. Bakerly then applied for a variance with the Planning Board on May 25, 2006 that was to be presented to the board on its meeting on June 12, 2006. Prior to that meeting Mr. Bakerly then asked for an extension due to no legal representation on his behalf. On Friday, June 23, 2006, Mr. Bakelys attorney filed an extension citing he will be at another public hearing and has not had the time to review the variance. Mr. Reid wanted to inform the Board that Mr. Bakerly’s actions on a “lengthy wait” for the variance was unrealistic and
that he plans to have the code enforcement officer to start issuing compliance tickets.
On a motion By Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Hanson it was duly voted:
To send correspondence to the City’s Building Commissioner asking him to proceed with enforcement action for this sign. The Board would also like to thank the Building Commissioner and the Code Enforcement officer for enforcing the sign ordinance.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
COMMUNICATIONS/CORRESPONDENCE
On a motion by Mr. Fay, seconded by Mr. Hanson, it was duly voted:
To accept all of the items listed under communications and/or correspondence.
On a motion by Mr. Fay, seconded by Mr. Hanson, it was duly voted:
To adjourn at 9:40 p.m.
A TRUE COPY
ATTEST: _____________________________
Acting Clerk, Sean N. Fay
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