Planning Board minutes for Thursday October 8, 2015
Members present: Alan Salomon, Larry Klein, Tom Sawyer, Roger Tryon, Pat Solomon, Maggie Leonard, co-chair.
Public present: Patrick McColgan from Taconic Land Consultants, Esther Heffernan, Beth Bogart, and Lloyd Gelwan (arrived approximately 7:09 p.m.).
The meeting opened at 7:07 p.m.
McColgan presented a Form A for Timlege consisting of one 10-acre parcel that was divided into two 5-acre lots. One of the 5-acre lots will be conveyed to Heffernan and Timlege will retain the other lot. At approximately 7:09 Lloyd Gelwan joined the meeting. He stated that he had requested two weeks notice of the meeting and did not receive it. He asked if the board was aware of a DEP filing on the property and if the board was aware of the erection of a silt fence and the construction of a barn prior to the approval of the Form A. Leonard replied that the board had no knowledge of this because it is a matter for the Conservation Commission. He asked if the board was aware that there was a plan for a horse barn on the Timlege property and Leonard replied that she had heard talk of that but knew nothing in an official capacity and that
Timlege had not needed to consult the Planning Board. Gelwan requested time to review the Timlege plan and board members agreed to move on to another agenda item while Mr. Gelwan had an opportunity to review the map of the proposed land division.
The board read and approved the minutes from September 24, 2015.
The board reviewed the application for a special permit submitted by Kane for their property at 30 Sackman Way. The property is in the Lake Buel lakeshore district and is .81 acre. The dwelling on the property is non-conforming due to encroachment into the side lot setback and, in fact, the dwelling appears to be right on the property line. The applicants seek to rebuild the entry stairs to accommodate a wheelchair and also to provide a cover for the entry. They also propose to renovate the kitchen and laundry room to provide wheelchair access. The board noted:
- The proposed construction does not encroach into the side lot setback.
- The proposed construction is 16’ from the abutting property line.
- The proposed construction will result in no greater amount of construction or encroachment into the side lot setback than currently exists.
Leonard agreed to draft a finding for review by the board at the October 22, 2015, meeting.
The board returned to reviewing the Timlege Form A with Mr. Gelwan having reviewed the plan. Gelwan strenuously objected to the plan and requested that the board decline to sign it pending a review by his attorney. McColgan stated that abutters have no standing to reject a legal Form A plan and noted that a Form A is also known as an ANR plan or, Approval Not Required. McColgan reminded the board that the sole duty of the Planning Board with a Form A is to confirm that the plan is not a subdivision and does not create road frontage.
Mr. Gelwan stated that there had been irregularities in prior notice of Planning Board and other town entities’ consideration of related applications of which Mr. Gelwan has complained, resulting in, what he considers to be, his exclusion from the town’s permitting process with regard to an agricultural use that he believes is affecting his wetlands, water quality, and property value.
Leonard queried the board if they wanted to vote to table or reject the Form A; the board unanimously voted against tabling. The board voted unanimously to approve the Form A plan. The board signed the plan and a check for $40 was received.
Mr. Gelwan requested a copy of the Form A and Leonard replied that she needed to distribute the paper copies to the Assessors, the Town Clerk and the Tax Collector. McColgan declined to provide a plan for Mr. Gelwan. Leonard stated that she would check to make sure it was legal to provide the plan*. Mr. Gelwan requested that the minutes of the meeting be emailed to him prior to review.
*(On Friday October 9, 2015, Leonard checked with with Melissa Noe, the town administrative assistant, and was informed that the board had 10 days to provide the information. Leonard emailed a pdf of the Timlege Form A to Mr. Gelwan Friday October 9, 2015.)
ADU’s working session.
Leonard submitted a 6th draft for the proposed ADU zoning bylaw proposal. Pat Solomon presented research she had done with the Assessors office regarding the total number of lots in town that are between 2 and 3 acres, which is 202 lots. Subtracting the number of Monterey Preservation Land Trust lots from that total there are 187 lots in Monterey that are 2-3 acres.
Klein stated that he was researching housing options for single Gould Farm employees and had reviewed a number of plans for small homes and that there were plenty of great designs for houses of 750 square feet.
The board discussed the following changes:
- Changing ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) to SDU (Secondary Dwelling Unit) as per suggestion from the Building Commissioner.
- Requiring that the SDU be within 100’ of the Primary Dwelling Unit (PDU).
- Using the term Gross Floor Area to describe the maximum measurements of the SDU as per recommendation from the Building Commissioner.
- Adding a definition to the bylaw for GFA.
- Limiting GFA to less than 1000 square feet with 650 and 750 square feet both discussed.
- Limiting number of bedrooms.
The board agreed that we would wait for Stephen Enoch, co-chair, before voting on any changes.
The board opened the mail, which consisted of two items from the Town of Great Barrington regarding the approval of two separate special permits, and one the Common Ground newsletter from BRPC.
Leonard shared a brochure from BRPC regarding upcoming training sessions available to Planning Board members that are presented by the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC).
Salamon made a motion to adjourn, which was unanimously approved, and the board adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maggie Leonard, co-chair
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