Monterey Planning Board
October 27, 2005
Meeting Minutes
The Planning Board meeting was called to order at 7:22 by Maggie Leonard, chair, and with board members Beth King, Stephen Rose, Janet Cathcart, and Cindy Hoogs in attendance.
Maggie Leonard began the meeting informing the board members about posting the legal notice for the upcoming Public Hearing on Nov. 17. When posting the hearing, and in discussing the matter with Town Clerk Barbara Swann, Leonard decided to post the notice for a Public Hearing solely devoted to the Accessory Dwelling Units bylaw proposal and purposefully left out the “punch list” bylaws that are also under consideration. The other Planning Board members were dismayed to hear this and objected to the change of plans and insisted that all bylaw proposals be presented at the public hearing. Leonard counseled that in her opinion it was too much too present at once but was firmly over ridden by the rest of the Planning Board members. Leonard advised that it was o.k. because there was plenty of time to re-post the meeting and still be
within the two-week deadline.
Also regarding the Public Hearing it was agreed that there should be a flyer designed to advertise the event. The pro’s and cons of bulk mailing the flyer were discussed and it was decided to just post it around town particularly at the Post Office, the General Store, and the Coffee Club. It was also decided that an article about the hearing should be submitted to the Record and the Berkshire Eagle.
The minutes from the October 13th meeting were provisionally approved because only two members present at the current meeting were also present at the prior meeting. Therefore there was not a quorum to officially approve the minutes. The Board also discussed submitting the minutes from the Planning Board meetings to Melissa Noe, the Town Secretary for inclusion on the town’s web site. Janet Cathcart stated that it’s not just minutes but approved minutes that need to be sent to Melissa via e-mail. It was agreed to discuss the matter with Planning Board secretary Esther Heffernan to create a protocol for submitting approved minutes for the web site. For the current meeting Janet agreed to send the minutes to Melissa. Janet also asked that the agenda for all upcoming Planning Board meetings be sent to Melissa by
the Monday preceding the Thursday meeting. Maggie agreed to do so.
Planning Board members who were not present at the October 13 meeting were brought up to speed on the Steepleview Developments, LLC, preliminary subdivision plan. The October 13 meeting was attended by Steepelview principal Sean Tucker and by Mike Parsons of Kelley Granger and Parsons. Board member Stephen Rose asked who controls the tree cutting in the creation of a subdivision. Maggie responded that logging is under the control of the developer but that there are provisions in the Subdivision Control Rules and Regulations that call for planting trees after creating a subdivision road.
Janet reported on attending the Massachusetts Federation of Planning Boards meeting on Saturday October 22, 2005. She said it was a total bore and offered nothing that was appropriate for our town. She was thanked for traveling to Worcester, Mass., to check it out.
The Board then began reviewing the ADU bylaw that is being presented on November 17, 2005. Beth King pointed out that the bylaw seemed unclear regarding the ability of property owners in the Lake Shore District to create ADU’s. She suggested that in Section IV. B.1.g. Agricultural-Residential District, under “New Use By Right” the sentence is amended to read as follows: Attached or detached Accessory Dwelling Unit that complies with the criteria below and is not in the Lake Shore District. (Under line indicates addition.) Beth and Janet also agreed that we should check with Town Counsel regarding the language on deed restrictions and the annual notice to the town. Also amended was #6 where we agreed to take out “or without” and add “outside the Lake Shore District.” The sentence
should now read: 6. This section allows the addition of one accessory dwelling unit of 1000 square feet of less per 2 acre lot with 200 feet of frontage that is outside the Lake Shore District. Stephen Rose suggested that we show the bylaw proposal to the Building Inspector to have him “vet” it.
Beth King wanted to discuss #12 because, she pointed out, some people have out buildings and cottages on their property that are very old and they do not have Certificate of Occupancy permits and that they are probably not about to get one. Cindy Hoogs suggested that a Certificate of Occupancy permit be obtained when the property sells or otherwise changes hands. The sentence was changed as follows: 12. Owners of accessory dwelling units that pre-exist the enactment of this section of the Zoning Bylaws must apply for an Occupancy Permit upon transfer of the property.
The Board discussed the possibility of changing the article in the Monterey News and Janet tried to get Will Marsh on the phone. She said she would keep trying.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05
Respectfully Submitted,
Maggie Leonard
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