Monterey Planning Board
April 12, 2007
Minutes of the meeting
Members present: Maggie Leonard, Janet Cathcart, Laurily Epstein, Stephen Rose, Cindy Hoogs.
Members of the public present: Alan Salamon and Joanne Simms.
Alan Salamon was present to observe the board. He is running unopposed for a seat on the Planning Board.
Joanne Simms was present to obtain a Form A form and also for research as part of a class that she is taking.
Planning Board clerk Jason Dunlop was not present and Maggie Leonard recorded the minutes.
The board discussed the Common Driveway bylaw proposal. Leonard reported that Rob Hoogs had alerted board member Cindy Hoogs that the wording in the bylaw should refer to special permits and not just permits. Cindy explained that if the word permit is used then it is already a permitted use and applicants would obtain a permit “by right.” Since there are standards to be met and oversight and approval required by the Planning Board, the bylaw should refer to a special permit. Leonard called Town Counsel and he agreed with Hoogs. TC also said that it would be possible to hold a public hearing prior to the annual town meeting on May 5th, and make a report to the meeting regarding the public hearing. TC added that he did not support the common driveway bylaw proposal because it allowed for too many lots to be
served. TC said that a common driveway regulation is better to limit the number of lots served. He said that if there are more than five lots served it’s better to have the Subdivision Control Regs kick in. TC said that that is why many towns enact a common driveway regulation so that it is mandatory to build a road to subdivision standards with more than five lots. TC did not indicate why he chose five as the number of lots.
Cindy Hoogs asked if we could advertise in the Berkshire Eagle newspaper instead of the Berkshire Record? Leonard responded that the Eagle is very expensive and that the town was not willing to pay one hundred + dollars for each public hearing notice. Janet said that she thought that the town would look favorably upon the bylaw proposal because it is a form of “visual preservation.”
The board agreed to hold a public hearing on May 3rd. The hearing will propose to add to the Monterey Zoning Bylaws Section IX. Powers, Duties and Procedures, part 2.b. Special Permits the following language: “The special permit granting authority for common driveways shall be the Planning Board.”
There was a brief discussion regarding the need for a new wireless telecommunications bylaw. Leonard said that she would ask the Select Board to ask the State if, in fact a tower could be sited on Mount Wilcox as per the bylaw. At a Select Board meeting several weeks ago Crispin Tresp of WiSpring, a company that seeks to make high speed internet available in Monterey, informed the Select Board that the State would not allow a tower to be constructed on Mount Wilcox as specified in the bylaw. According to Tresp the State does not want to be involved in commercial enterprises.
Janet Cathcart said that instead of trying to think of specific areas that would be conducive to either wireless telecommunications or high speed internet the board should set standards for evaluating sites and let the businesses figure out the optimum locations for siting towers. Cindy Hoogs said that there is a safety issue here and that cell phones are an important part of public safety. Joanne Simms said that cell phones are an important safety item for everyone and “not just a luxury for rich people.” Laurily Epstein reminded everyone that there was no cell phone coverage in New York City during the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, nor was there cell phone availability during the black out in New York City a few of years ago. Epstein made the point that there is no guarantee of cell
phone service in a large-scale emergency.
Leonard reported to the board that 76 acres of land belonging to the Hudson family is under contract for sale. The property is in chapter 61B/ Recreational Conservation tax status and thus the town of Monterey has the right of first refusal to meet a fair market offer on the property. The land has frontage on Tyringham Road and abuts property owned by the Monterey Preservation Land Trust. The Select Board has planned to hold a public hearing on April 19th at 7 p.m. to see if the town is interested in purchasing the property. Hudson’s attorney David Hellman stated in a letter that the current offer specified dividing the 76 acres into four lots.
The minutes were read and approved as amended.
The board briefly discussed the next meeting to be held about the master plan. The subject will be recreational land and open space. Everyone agreed that this was a topic of keen interest for people in Monterey. Janet Cathcart said the board should make a calculated effort reach out to second homeowners. She also suggested that we find out the status of existing open space land, i.e. chapter land, land trust land, etc. The board agreed to decide on a meeting date at the May 10th Planning Board meeting.
Meeting adjourned 8:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maggie Leonard
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