Planning Board minutes for Thursday July 26, 2012
The meeting opened at 7:07 p.m.
Members present Maggie Leonard, co-chair, Alan Salamon, Roger Tryon, Stephen Enoch, co-chair, and Barry Karson.
Karson signed the consent form to be Monterey’s rep for BRPC.
The board read the minutes from 6-28-12. Karson said that he would like to have more professional and concise minutes, and would like to stop using word such as “felt” or “wondered.” Salamon agreed. Enoch said that the minutes should be reflective of the meeting and the discussion. The minutes were not approved and Leonard agreed to re-write them and submit them at the next Planning Board meeting for review.
There was no business from the public.
Leonard informed the board that the Assistant Assessor, Don Clawson, had questions about a land division for Blue Hill Farm that was approved by the Planning Board on March 25, 2010. The surveyor for the project was John Campetti of Foresight Engineering. The survey was prepared for David Barber, of Blue Hill Farm, and creates one lot that is 2.50 acres and has 200’ or more in road frontage. Leonard stated that she was not sure as to what Clawson was referring. Leonard suggested that the board get Clawson on the phone. Clawson was available but was not able to sufficiently explain his question. The board reviewed the plans and confirmed that there is plenty of acreage and frontage for all the property and dwellings, and that Clawson’s question is about property lines. Leonard agreed to meet with Clawson and report back to the
board.
The board reviewed the special permit application for Emerson-Clapp of 109 Pixley Rd. Emerson-Clapp filed for a building permit 12-1-11. Currently the owner who is a personal trainer is using the building as a studio to train clients. The board consulted the Monterey Zoning Bylaws. The board reviewed the definition of Customary Home Occupation and agreed that the use falls within the definition with the most similar example from the definition being “the giving of private music and dance lessons.”
The Customary Home Occupation with an accessory building of 600 square feet or more requires a special permit. There is conflicting information regarding the size of the building, but it would appear that the building is greater than 600 square feet and thus requires a special permit to operate the business in Ag-Res.
The application states that the use is for personal training for a maximum of 4 people at any one time. On the application there is a sketch of 4 parking spaces. The board consulted the Zoning Bylaws regarding parking and discussed which category most suited the use, i.e. Consumer Service Establishment, Educational, Office and Laboratory. Enoch suggested that perhaps the parking should be based on the actual capacity of the building. The board agreed to consult with the Building Inspector and review the application at the next meeting in time for the ZBA public hearing on August 16, 2012.
Salamon questioned if the Emerson-Clapp application falls into the Planning Board area of responsibility and Leonard replied that since it involves zoning issues such as setback, uses, and parking issues—all regulated in the zoning bylaws--it does. Leonard agreed to write a rough draft for the board to review at the next meeting.
Salamon informed the board that he would not be able to attend the regularly scheduled Planning Board meeting on August 9th. Leonard also informed the board that she would not be at the August 9th meeting. The board agreed to reschedule the Planning Board meeting to Wednesday August 15th at 7 p.m. Leonard said that she would post the new meeting date and time with the town clerk and submit the agendas accordingly to the town clerk and to Melissa so she can get the meeting date
and time on the town calendar.
The board discussed the solar installation bylaw that we are working on.
Salamon reported that he spoke with Brian Domina from BRPC and that each town in the district gets 7 hours of time for free, per year, from BRPC. Salamon asked if we want to use that time for the solar bylaw? Salamon stated that with our experience with both the telecommunications bylaw and the recent bylaw revision work, he believes that a board member could create a draft and we can work from there. Leonard stated that the most productive use of the 7 hours would be for BRPC to review a first draft of the bylaw. All agreed.
Regarding work on the solar installation bylaw, Salamon said that the board should review the various bylaws we have and create a list of aspects or concepts that we want to have in our bylaw. Then we can deal with the numbers after that. Tryon agreed adding, “In terms of height requirements, if something is going to be 3 or 4 feet off the ground then it’s not a big deal. If these are going to be 20 feet or something then people will care a lot more.”
The board discussed solar installations with regard to size. There was debate about the definitions and distinctions of solar installations, i.e. large-scale photovoltaic installation and home photovoltaic installations. Karson agreed to research the MGL to see what the law states.
Reports from board members:
Enoch asked if there was any news regarding the zoning bylaw revisions that were submitted to the AG. Leonard replied “No word yet.”
Leonard made a motion to adjourn, Salamon seconded, unanimously voted to adjourn. Time 8:45
Respectfully Submitted,
Maggie Leonard/ chair
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