TOWN OF PRINCETON
PLANNING BOARD
Regular Meeting
May 16, 2012
The meeting opened at 7:30 PM. Present were: Chairman Jerry Gannelli, Tom Daly, Jon Fudeman, John Mirick and Ann Neuburg.
Reorganization of the Board
The board welcomed new members Jon Fudeman & Ann Neuburg and thanked
Rick McCowan for becoming associate member for Special Permits
Tom nominated Jerry as Chairman. John seconded. (4-0), Jerry abstained.
John nominated Tom as Vice Chair. Jerry seconded. (4-0), Tom abstained.
Tom nominated Jon Fudeman as Clerk. Jerry seconded. (4-0), Jon abstained.
Tom nominated Jerry to continue as the CMRPC Representative. John seconded. (4-0). Jerry abstained.
The Board of Selectmen will appoint the alternate to CMRPC. Brenda will ask John Lebeaux to place on their agenda.
Jerry would like to attend the CMRPC dinner on June 14 in Worcester. Tom moved to approve. John seconded. All in favor (5-0)
Accessory Apartment Karl Koch, 41 School House Rd – Public Hearing
Jerry opened the hearing at 7:35 pm.
Associate member Rick McCowan participated.
Karl Koch is proposing to add a breezeway, single car garage and an 896 square foot apartment. The existing house is 1536 square feet. A deck connection creates a shared area between the two buildings. Karl said he was not able to locate the house on the other side due to slope of the land. The addition is designed to blend with the existing home and is 55 feet from side lot line and 110 feet from the road. The apartment will tie into the existing septic which is Title V approved for a three bedroom; currently there are two bedrooms.
Jerry noted that Karl met informally with the board on May 2. At that time, the board referred to the Accessory Apartment bylaw which states that the look of the accessory apartment is to remain that of a single family home to the extent practicable.
Rick said the apartment should be subordinate to the existing home and look like a single family home. Jon Fudeman thought this was the outer limit of the bylaw. Jerry mentioned that there are other homes in town with a similar design.
John Mirick asked the option of converting the two car garage into the apartment and building a new garage as suggested at the informal meeting was investigated. Karl said that option creates an issue with getting bathroom fixtures inside and does not have the southern exposure.
Karl asked for a continuance of the hearing to allow time to revise the plans.
John moved to continue the hearing on June 20 meeting at 7:30 pm. Tom seconded. All in favor (5-0)
Accessory Apartment Informal Discussion- 36 Esty Rd
Barbara Gates met with the board informally to review her plans for an accessory apartment. Barbara is planning to sign her house over to her granddaughter and would like to add an accessory apartment for herself. The board reviewed the drawing. Rick said that the plan looks like two houses and explained that is not the intent of the bylaw. The house should continue to look like a single family. Barbara explained it was designed that way to avoid having stairs.
Tom suggested moving the addition onto the back side of the house.
John suggested having it as an L-shape off house to look like a single family.
Square footage of addition is 1024; existing house is 2,300.
Barbara will research other options and meet with the board at a future date.
Jon asked about interpreting the square footage in the bylaw which states 900 or 1/3 of total dwelling. Tom explained this has been an ongoing discussion. The bylaw intent is to allow for larger sized apartments in larger homes.
E. Princeton Village District
John is working on ideas for design standards. He noted when thinking about what should not be in the district, he believes chain link fencing should not be allowed. Parking area needs to have a defined entrance and exit and be separate from the street. The board will work on architectural design standards. Ann will attend an upcoming Road Advisory Committee meeting. John will draft commercial design standards for the discussion at the June 6 meeting.
Next Steps – Worcester Rd Project Advisory Committee
Jerry reported the PAC is currently reviewing two drafts completed by Phil Mighdoll. One is for proposed recommendations for the Planning Board on how the district should evolve the other entails where boundaries should be located. Currently the PAC sees a split between village district in north and a residential mixed use district in the south.
Administrative Business
Meeting Minutes
May 2 Regular Meeting – John moved to approve. Jon Seconded. All in favor (5-0).
Summer meeting schedule: July 18 & August 22
The board reviewed the mail.
Other Business
Tom presented paper plate/joke awards to Mark and Rick as a tribute to their service on the board. The board wanted them to know they are appreciated and thanked them for their dedication.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 PM. All were in favor.
Respectfully Submitted
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Brenda Savoie
Administrative Assistant
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