Planning Board meeting minutes Thursday November 8, 2012
Members present: Alan Salamon, Stephen Enoch co-chair, Roger Tryon, Maggie Leonard co-chair, Barry Karson (arrived 7:45).
Member absent: Bridget Krans and Larry Klein.
The meeting opened at 7:20 p.m. and was chaired by Stephen Enoch. Maggie Leonard was the clerk for the meeting.
The board read the minutes from October 25th and approved them as amended.
The board discussed the request from the Select Board to have some members of the Planning Board meet with them on Monday November 26th re: FEMA floodplain insurance. In order for individuals in Monterey to be eligible for this insurance the town would need to determine which areas of town are in the 100 year floodplain and create an overlay district. Then homes in the floodplain would be eligible for the FEMA insurance. Enoch stated, “We have maps for 100 and 500 year flood zones. We need to investigate the program and see if there are any restrictions that would apply and what the repercussions would be of adopting the overlay district.
The board reviewed the draft of the Large-scale Ground-mounted Solar Photovoltaic bylaw that we have been working on for the past several months. The following additions and amendments to the bylaw were made:
1. A new category was created for Utility-scale Ground-mounted Solar Photovoltaic Installations (UGSP).
2. Any installation qualifying as a UGSP requires a Special Permit from the ZBA.
3. The board agreed that Large-scale Ground-mounted Solar Photovoltaic Installations (LGSP) would be partially defined as having “a minimum nameplate capacity of greater than 25 KW and less than one megawatt or occupies more than 1/8 acre of land.
4. Setback requirements are as follows for LGSP: front yard, 75 feet; back yard, 75 feet; side yard, 75 feet; and rear yard, 75 feet.
5. Setback requirements are as follows for UGSP: front yard, 150 feet; back yard, 150 feet; side yard, 150 feet; rear yard, 150 feet.
6. Screening requirements were added: G.2. Screening.
7. There was a minor re-ordering of the sections.
8. Salamon noted that Leonard had omitted a section that was to be included in the draft regarding siting criteria. Leonard agreed to add section and update draft for next meeting.
Salamon asked if the board would like to invite Brian Domina from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to the next meeting to review the bylaw. The board agreed and Salamon said that he would contact Domina. No plan has been made for a public hearing (it was on the agenda).
Reports from board members: Leonard reported that the Town Clerk contacted her and requested all the filings from the bylaw revision that was approved at the last town meeting. The Town Clerk received a letter from the Attorney General who never received a filing until August. Leonard reported that she had copies and provided it to the Town Clerk to send to the AG. Leonard is not sure what is going on or what the problem is.
The mail was opened.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:13 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Maggie Leonard, co-chair
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