Town of Mount Desert Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Somesville Fire Station, Somesville
January 10, 2012
Public Present
Brian Reilly, Scamp Gray, Lili Andrews, Anne Funderburk, Rosemary Matchek
Board Members Present
Sandy Andrews; Ellen Brawley, Chair; James Clunan, Vice Chair, Robert Ho, Alt.; Patti Reilly, and Joseph Tracy
Kim Keene, CEO; Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
I. The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m.
It was confirmed that the workshop notice was published in the December 21 & 28, 2011 Bar Harbor Times and December 22 & 29, 2011 Mount Desert Islander.
Chairman Brawley opened the meeting by asking that the agenda be adjusted to table the discussion of changes on the Land Use Zoning Ordinance, Land Use Zoning Map, Rural Wastewater Rebate Program Ordinance & Zoning Board of Appeals Ordinance Amendments for May 2012 Town Meeting for a later meeting.
There was a discussion regarding why ordinance changes other than ordinances under Planning Board jurisdiction were on the agenda. There used to be an ordinance review committee, but it has been disbanded. Brian Reilly thought that when the ORC was disbanded it was left to the Planning Board to review all ordinance changes for the Town. Chairman Brawley stated that if that were the case, then there should be some authorization in the Planning Board’s organizational documentation, or direction from the Selectmen.
Rural Wastewater Rebate Program Ordinance & Zoning Board of Appeals Ordinance Amendments will be removed from future agendas.
MOTION TO AMEND THE AGENDA BY MR. TRACY; SECONDED BY MR. ANDREWS.
A VOTE WAS CALLED AND THE MOTION TO AMEND THE AGENDA CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (5-0)
Mr. Tracy requested a brief discussion of parliamentary procedures. At issue was if a voting member of the Board abstained from a vote it could affect the majority rule and final outcome of a decision. He suggested that if a Board member were going to abstain from voting, they recuse themselves from the hearing in order to avoid possibly affecting the outcome of the vote. Other Board members agreed.
II. Minutes
The draft minutes from the December 8, 2011 Workshop, December 12, 2011 meeting were unanimously approved.
A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 8, 2011 WORKSHOP AS AMENDED WAS MADE BY MR. ANDREWS; SECONDED by MR. CLUNAN.
A VOTE WAS CALLED AND THE MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (4-0)
A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 12, 2011 MEETING AS WRITTEN WAS MADE BY MR. CLUNAN; SECONDED by MR. ANDREWS.
A VOTE WAS CALLED AND THE MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. (4-0)
III. Workshops
Vistas and Views: Discussion of the list of candidates for the vistas and views ordinance.
Mr. Musson handed out an updated draft of Project Tasks and Timelines. (See attached document.)
He reviewed the outlined tasks and invited discussion.
Advisory Committee
Much of the discussions centered on the development of an Advisory Committee; specifically, who should be included and how to approach potential members. Also of concern was the role the committee would have. The Board agreed that whatever committee is set up, the Planning Board needs to remain in control. It was suggested that two Planning Board members be designated as point persons in the event that working sessions outside of formal Planning Board Meetings are required.
Mr. Musson suggested that the Advisory Committee meet monthly to begin with. There could be months with more than one meeting for workshops, but not all members need attend all meetings.
Communication
Also discussed was the importance of communicating the Planning Board’s intent in regards to the protection of the Town’s vista and viewsheds. Mr. Musson said that he would add any members of the Advisory Committee to his contact list to keep everyone posted on the progress made of the various tasks. He also advised that monthly updates on the progress be made to the Selectmen in a memo format, as needed.
Mr. Tracy said that the Board needed to be careful about how it communicated with the public. It should be a priority to keep the public informed and make sure that they understand that the goal is not to damage economic value of property or to stop people from building, etc. Mr. Musson suggested a press release or informational article be placed in local papers.
Community Workshops/Meetings
The Board members discussed where to hold community workshops in the summer and what would be accomplished at the workshops. It is hoped that summer residents could be enlisted to assist with the gathering of data. Mr. Musson suggested starting with a kick-off meeting as a means to getting the word out to the public. This could be added to the information in a press release. Mr. Clunan suggested combining Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor for one meeting and combining the other villages for a meeting in Somesville.
Also briefly discussed was:
• The tracking of FTE (Full Time Equivalents) to address possible complaints about the cost.
• Field Work – training for volunteers going out to the field to fill out the charts. (To be done after the desktop work is done).
• Using the strategy of the Comprehensive Plan to work with neighboring towns for protecting the resources.
• What to do with the final product map of scenic resources. Mr. Musson suggested the Comprehensive Plan could be amended to include the map for advisory purposes (making it an official document), or attach it to an ordinance to give it authority.
Ann Funderburk questioned what constituted man-made scenic resources and if they would be under protection as well (i.e. Somesville Main Street and bridge).
It was determined that the following tasks should be accomplished for the meeting on January 31, 2012:
• Initial phone calls to solicit possible members for the Advisory Committee
Acadia National Park Noel Musson to contact John Kelly
Sandy Andrews to contact Park Superintendent
Friends of Acadia Ellen Brawley to contact the Director
Maine coast Heritage Trust Sandy Andrews to contact the Director
Historical Society Jim Clunan to contact the President
Private Property Representative Jim Clunan to contact Pat Foster
Summer Residents Association Noel Musson to contact
Revitalization Committee Noel Musson to contact
Mt. Desert Chamber of Comm. Noel Musson to contact
• Noel Musson will work on Maps for the meeting. He has already invited John Kelly from the Park to bring his maps on January 31.
• Update on estimated project timelines; Noel Musson
• Draft of Newspaper Article; Noel Musson will work on.
IV. Other Business
No other business was discussed.
V. Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The next scheduled meeting/public hearing(s) is at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, January 12, 2012 in the Meeting Room, Town Hall, Northeast Harbor.
Respectfully submitted,
Claire Woolfolk, Recording Secretary
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