MARLBOROUGH PLANNING BOARD
MARLBOROUGH, MA 01752
Call to Order May 6, 2013
The Meeting of the Marlborough Planning Board was called to order at 7:00pm in Memorial Hall, 3rd Floor City Hall 140 Main Street, Marlborough, MA. Members present included Barbara Fenby, Colleen Hughes, Sean Fay, Philip Hodge, Edward Coveney and Clyde Johnson. Also in attendance were Board Secretary Melissa Irish and City Engineer Thomas Cullen
Shawn McCarthy was absent
1. Meeting Minutes:
A. March 25, 2013
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Johnson, it was voted to accept minutes of the March 25, 2013 meeting as amended. Motion carried.
B. April 22, 2013
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Johnson, it was voted to accept minutes of the April 22, 2013 meeting. Motion carried.
2. Chair’s Business:
A. Communication from City Council Acceptance of Bouffard Drive
On a motion made by Mr. Coveney, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to accept the communication and place it on file. Motion carried.
B. Communication from City Council Proposed Zoning Amendment Section 650-5 “Definitions; Word Usage” As well as Addition of new section 650-32 Temporary Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to accept the communication and place it on file, advertise and set a public hearing date for June 3, 2013. Motion carried.
Ms. Hughes read the proposed definition of Medical Marijuana Treatment Center into the record.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to accept the proposed definition and place it on file. Motion carried.
3. Approval Not Required: None
4. Public Hearings: None
5. Pending Sub Division Plans: Updates and Discussion:
A. Ravenswood (June 19) Hancock Associates
At the request of the proponent this was moved to the next regularly scheduled meeting agenda (May 20)
B. Boston Scientific Amended Covenant
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to approve and sign the Amended Covenant. Motion carried.
C. Request for extension Walker Brook Estates to June 17, 2013 (Preliminary Plan)
Ms. Hughes read the request into the record.
On a motion made by Mr. Coveney, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to accept the communication and place it on file. Motion carried.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to approve the requested extension. Motion carried.
D. City Engineers Report
Mr. Cullen had no additional information to share at this time.
6. Preliminary/Open Space Submissions/Limited Development Subdivisions: None
7. Definitive Subdivision Submission: None
8. Signs:
A. United Brethren Lodge “Downtown Car Show” Variance Request
Ms. Hughes read the variance request into the record.
Mr. Chris Willis was in attendance to represent the proponent, United Brethren Lodge.
After much discussion on a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to approve the requested directional signs to be placed at the following locations on the day of the show only (June 2, 2013). Motion carried.
• Corner of Bolton Street and Granger Boulevard
• Corner of Bolton Street and Main Street
• Corner of West Main Street and Mechanic Street
• At the Route 20 Exits of Route 495
Directional signs with arrows will be placed at all the above locations
On a motion made by Mr. Fay, seconded by Ms. Hughes it was voted to allow placement of the following five (5) signs for the dates of May 26, 2013- June 2, 2013.
• Maple Street and Walker Street near Gold’s Gym Parking lot readable from both directions.
• Traffic Island at intersection of West Main Street and Mechanic Street readable when approaching from the West.
• Corner of Newton Street and Granger Boulevard readable from both directions
• Corner of Newton Street and Main Street readable when approaching from the West.
• Intersection of Concord Road and Boston Post Road readable when approaching from the East.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to require the proponent to affix an indicator comprised of the City Seal and the date 2013, to each approved sign. Only by virtue of the indicator (City Seal) is the sign to be acknowledged as an approved placement. Motion carried.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to allow for the same series of signs to be placed for the same amount of time (Directional signs – day of the event) All other signs (1 week prior to event) in the case of inclement weather which postpones the “Car show” to the rain date of June 23, 2013.
B. Olde Marlborough, Inc. “Taste of Marlborough” Variance Request
Ms. Hughes read the variance request into the record.
Attorney Douglas Rowe was in attendance to represent the proponent Olde Marlborough, Inc.
After much discussion, on a motion made by Mr. Fay, seconded by Ms. Hughes it was voted to allow placement of the following five (5) signs for the dates of May 28, 2013 – June 11, 2013, Proper land owner approval is required to be in place prior to the installation of any of the listed signs.
• 2- 2 sided sandwich board style signs 1 each located at:
St. Mary’s Credit Union on West Main Street.
Intersection of Farm Road and Boston Post Rd East
• 3- 2 sided lawn style signs 1 each to be located at:
Intersection of Maple Street and Brigham Street
Intersection of Bolton Street and Union Street
Front Lawn of 377 Elm Street (Historical Society)
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to require the proponent to affix an indicator comprised of the City Seal and the date 2013, to each approved sign. Only by virtue of the indicator (City Seal) is the sign to be acknowledged as an approved placement. Motion carried.
Additional discussion revolved around the proposal of banners to be placed on participating businesses as indication of their participation. The Board could not act formally upon the request due to a technical error in the denial from the Building Commissioner; however in a show of good faith the Board offered the following suggestion to Attorney Rowe.
Reconsider the orientation of the banner from a horizontal design to a vertical design to alleviate some of the “flapping” and disconnection of the banners moorings as has been evident at past events.
Resize the proposed 3’ X 6’ banners to a smaller allocation to allow them to be hung from the inside of the establishment showing out the front windows, thereby alleviating the need for a permit variance. As long as the total amount of window space is not covered by more than 30%.
Reappear before the Board at the next regularly scheduled meeting (May 20, 2013) with a new list of requested locations as well as the reissued denial from the Building Commissioner, for continued discussion.
C. Firefly’s Restaurant Signage discussion
Mr. Fay recused himself from the discussion due to a possible conflict of interests.
Ms. Hughes read the request to appear into record. After discussion it was determined that the Board was trying to convey to Mr. Uliss the need for discussion with the Building Commissioner regarding the signage for his restaurant during and after the reconstruction of the East Main St, Route 20 intersection in front of his establishment. It was also requested that Mr. Uliss remove the currently unpermitted portable sign located atop the stone wall in the front of the restaurant. To which Mr. Uliss agreed.
9. Unfinished Business:
A. Blackhorse Farms Estate
Mr. Cullen noted that work is progressing with the curb setting and cul de sac repairs.
It was noted to keep this item for reporting purposes on the next Planning Board agenda as well.
B. Country Club Estates
A brief update was given by Mrs. Irish on behalf of Solicitor Rider; all work is progressing and should be available to the Board for the June 3, 2013 meeting as previously discussed.
It was noted to keep this item for reporting purposes on the next Planning Board agenda as well.
C. Berlin Farms Completion
Ms. Hughes read the request to appear into the record. On a motion made by Mr. Coveney, seconded by Ms. Hughes it was voted to accept the communication and place it on file.
Mr. Freeman of Freeman Builders appeared in front of the Board at the Boards request, to discuss completion of the Berlin Farms subdivision. It was agreed that the project Engineer would be in touch with Mr. Cullen to finalize requirements for finishing the project. It was noted that this project is very close to completion.
10. Informal Discussions:
A. Ms. Madeline Sheldon-Dante to discuss proposed single home development
0 Woodcock Lane aka: Map 36, Parcel 84.
Ms. Hughes read the request for an informal discussion into the record.
On a motion made by Mr. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to accept the communication and place it on file.
After much discussion it was questioned by the Board if the particular parcel of land is legally saleable.
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to refer this to the Legal Department for clarification of the following questions.
• Is this land actually available to be sold or is it a part of the adjoining subdivision?
• If it is part of the subdivision can it currently be built on?
• If it is part of the subdivision and gets taken by the City for Tax Title Purposes can it be sold and developed by an outside entity?
11. Correspondence:
A. Mass Development Notice of Revenue Grant Award STEM Soaring Eagles Foundation, Inc.
B. Directions, Woodard & Curran Spring 2013 Issue
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to accept the notices A-B and place on file. Motion carried.
12. Public Notices of other Cities and Towns:
A. City of Marlborough Zoning Board of Appeals Notice of Decision (April 9, 2013)
B. Town of Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals, Notice of Decision (March 27, 2013)
C. Town of Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals, Public Hearing (May 20, 2013)
D. Town of Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals, Public Notice
On a motion made by Ms. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Hodge it was voted to accept the notices A-D and place on file. Motion carried.
Adjournment: On a motion made by Mr. Johnson seconded by Mr. Coveney it was voted to adjourn at 8:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Colleen Hughes
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