Town of Mount Desert Planning Board
Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Meeting Room, Town Hall
6:00 pm, January 22, 2014
Public Present
Claire Woolfolk, Aaron Hanson, Anne Funderburk, Brian Reilly, Noel Musson; The Musson Group, Katrina Carter
Board Members Present
Chairman Ellen Brawley, Lili Andrews, and Dennis Kiley
Also present were CEO Kimberly Keene and Recording Secretary Heidi Smallidge
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Chairman Ellen Brawley. Planning Board members present were noted.
December 11, 2013: Voting members to approve the Minutes were Chairman Brawley, Ms. Andrews, and Mr. Kiley. Mr. KILEY moved, with MS. ANDREWS seconding, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion approved 3-0
It was agreed to discuss Item IV: “Other” first.
Aaron Hanson, who will be serving as headmaster for a proposed small classical private school, addressed the Board. His vision is to open a small school for kindergarteners and first graders in the fall 2014. He plans to expand by one grade per year up to grade 12. He proposes opening the school in the Kitteridge Building in Somesville. The question is whether this can be considered as similar to a school under the public classification in the LUZO, as schools do not appear elsewhere in the ordinance use chart in Section 3-6.
Mr. Kiley asked what type of school this would be. Mr. Hanson noted it was a non-denominational school of a classical model, open to all students. Brian Reilly inquired whether this was a charter school. It was stated that this was a non-profit school and would not be receiving public funding.
After much discussion Mr. Kiley moved to classify the proposed use as similar or akin to a school. Ms. Andrews seconded. Motion approved 3-0.
- Workshop: Update on preliminary discussion from Noel Musson, The Musson Group, for the proposed Land Use Zoning Ordinance and Land Use Zoning Map amendments for May 2014 Town Meeting.
Mr. Musson brought the board up to speed on what the ordinance committee is working on or will be working on for the Town Meeting scheduled for May 2014. The committee has discussed the possibility of rewriting the entire LUZO, listing both pros and cons. The consensus was that the committee should pursue a further review of the possibility of rewriting the LUZO, however it would be a long process and in the meantime, other changes needed to be made in the interim. A list of issues have been identified. The shoreland zoning map was also discussed and the question of revising the shoreland zone. Mr. Musson noted there was a meeting of the committee on January 30.
Those issues being looked at include:
- A review of the shoreland zoning consistency and a review for errors and omissions.
- Another issue is non-conformities in Section 4 for the functional land division section. Currently it notes that a structure cannot be rebuilt in the event of a fire and this was not the intent of the section when it was written. Related to that is the question of expansion of non-conforming structures in interior parts of Town. A review of Section 4 will be reviewed at the next meeting.
- Section 2.3 and new lots being approved by the CEO will be discussed.
- Section 6A.9 and 6A.10 are on the list of items to be discussed. It is clear they need to be removed, however the question of what to replace them with remains.
- Section 6B.7 has some conflicts that need to be addressed.
The definition of “tree” within the shoreland zone needs to be better defined.
Mr. Musson asked whether there were any issues the Planning Board would like addressed. There were no issues listed at this time.
Mr. Musson then addressed the shoreland zoning map. The shoreland zone is very expansive in some areas and inconsistent. Discussion was held regarding the history of the zone size and whether the areas could be reduced to a uniform state-mandated area of 250 feet.
It was noted that all of these issues would not be resolved in time for the May Town Meeting.
Mr. Musson’s next step is developing warrant articles.
There was no other business to discuss.
Mr. KILEY moved to adjourn. MS. ANDREWS seconded. Motion approved 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm.
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