Salem Planning Board
Minutes of Meeting
December 6, 2007
A regular meeting of the Salem Planning Board was held on Thursday, December 6, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 312, Third Floor, at 120 Washington Street, Salem, Massachusetts.
Those present were: Chuck Puleo, Walter Power, John Moustakis, Christine Sullivan, Gene Collins, Tim Ready, Tim Kavanaugh. Also present were: Amy Lash, Staff Planner; Stacey Dupuis, Clerk.
Those absent were: Pam Lombardini, Nadine Hanscom
Form A Application for Endorsement of Plan Believed Not to Require Approval- 1 Parallel Street (Map 23, Lot 132) – Attorney Stephen Lovely
Attorney Stephen Lovely explained that he was previously before the board with an ANR plan to divide 1-3 Parallel Street. Now he needs approval for land court purposes to divide the registered portion of the same site. The previously approved lot lines are not changing; there are no boundary changes. The plan shows Lot 3, the portion of Lot A that is registered land, and Lot 4, the portion of Lot B that is registered land. Tim Kavanaugh said that yes he needs the Planning Board’s approval for the Land Court.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, a motion was made by Walter Power to endorse the plan as presented, seconded by Christine Sullivan and approved (6-0).
Old/New Business
o Request of 289 Derby Realty Trust to extend the Wetlands and Flood Hazard District Special Permit and Site Plan Review Decision dated December 2, 2004 for an additional one year– Attorney Scott Grover
Attorney Scott Grover (representing Henry Bertolon) said that he was here before the Planning Board a year ago to request the first one year extension. Since then, Henry Bertolone came in and took over the project. Henry would like to keep the permit alive while he reviews his options for this project. Attorney Grover brought in a letter that Mr. Bertolone wrote to the Planning Board requesting a one-year extension, Chuck Puleo read the letter to the Board and it is now part of the file.
Walter Power said that he saw a drawing that was different than what was approved and has no underground parking garage. Scott Grover said that as of right now, he’s not asking for any changes, he’s asking for the same plans with an extension. Christine Sullivan said that it seems like he’s (Mr. Bertolone) trying to keep his options open with this project. If they eliminate the underground parking, they would have to get all new permits. John Moustakis suggested that they approve the extension with no changes. Chuck Puleo asked if Henry is aware that this is the second request for an extension. Scott Grover said yes and also said that everyone agrees that it would be positive to have that site developed. Chuck Puleo said they need to find just cause
to grant the extension. Walter Power said that the underground garage was a primary reason for prior approval.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Walter Power made a motion that they grant the extension at the same time underlining the parking garage provided in this project would help to solve downtown parking problems, seconded by John Moustakis and approved (6-0). Tim Kavanaugh commented that another just cause for granting the extension includes change in economic conditions beyond the control of any one individual. Walter Power rephrased the motion to incorporate this, seconded by John Moustakis and approved (6-0).
Public Hearing – Wireless Facility Special Permit- 488 Highland /0 Cain Road (Camp Lions) Map 3, Lot 1)- FiberTower Corporation, Attorney Francis Parisi
Attorney Francis Parisi, FiberTower Corporation, was here a couple of months ago requesting a special permit to install antennas on Loring Tower and he received approval. He is here tonight to get approval to put antennas on Cain Road, which would mirror those previously approved. It is point-to-point technology and this is the second-half of the equation. These are going on an existing tower which has other antennas.
Chuck Puleo asked who owns the property and Francis Parisi said American Tower Corporation owns the tower and leases land from Camp Lions. It is on Camp Lions property. Walter Power asked about wireless technology for large areas. Francis Parisi explained that their primary customer is AT&T. AT& T provides service from the towers, and FiberTower provides the wireless technology for AT&T. It is a more reliable backup service.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Christine Sullivan made a motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Walter Power and approved (6-0).
Christine Sullivan made a motion approve the draft decision on 488 Highland Ave/0 Cain Road, seconded by John Moustakis and approved (6-0).
Public Hearing – Wireless Facility Special Permit- 40R Highland Ave (Fairweather Apartments) (Map 5, Lot 19)- FiberTower Corporation, Attorney Francis Parisi
Attorney Francis Parisi addressed the Board explaining that similar to Cain Road, they will be placing antennas at the Fairweather Apartments, except they will be placing two at this site. They will be mounted to the penthouse section.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Gene Collins made a motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Christine Sullivan and approved (6-0).
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Walter Power made a motion approve the draft decision on 40R Highland Ave., seconded by Christine Sullivan and approved (6-0).
Christine Sullivan commended Amy on the application form that she wrote, everyone agreed that it was well done and expedited the process.
Public Hearing – Definitive Subdivision and Cluster Residential Development Special Permit- Chapel Hill LLC, Clark Avenue (Map 8, Lots 6,7,8)- Attorney John Keilty – Request for Continuance to December 20. 2007
Christine Sullivan asked Amy to find out who is financing this project, Christine thinks it’s the Beverly Co-Op Bank and she will recuse herself from voting on this if so.
Amy Lash read the letter regarding the site visit and field work at Clark Avenue from Jack Keilty. He respectfully requested to take this off the agenda for December 6th and reschedule for December 20th, and to reschedule the site visit for December 15th. Some Board members may be unable to go on the 15th of December and the weather will also play a role on this day.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Gene Collins made a motion to extend the continuance to December 20, 2007, seconded by Tim Kavanaugh and approved (5-0). Christine Sullivan abstained herself from today’s vote.
The site visit is tentative for December 15th and dependent on whether site is marked out and the weather conditions.
Walter Power said in regards to the road improvements for this project, the developer may be beyond what he can do. Can we cut back on dwellings? For what he’s doing, is it worth it? (Chuck Puleo and Walter Power are members of a Planning Board working on the Zoning Recodification Committee.) Regarding clusters, Chuck Puleo said that there is no set number of how many homes should be in a cluster in Salem’s zoning, nothing says we have to give the developer a bonus or anything because he’s improving a road. If they feel that 26 isn’t the right number of dwellings, we could tell them 24 or 22, etc. Walter mentioned that he feels that a cluster is a way for the City to balance infrastructure gains vs. the number of housing units gained.
Old/New Business
o Regarding the Salem News Building, which will be on next meeting’s agenda, John Moustakis asked if it would be a conflict of interest for him to vote on this project if his son owns Edgewater Café and rents part of that building? Amy will check on this. .
o Christine Sullivan brought up a discussion about knowing the difference between developers and property owners. Tim Kavanaugh said they need to be careful and contact the applicant of a project, as they may be a different entity than the owner. Tim Ready said we the Board are supposed to make decisions based on presentation by the developer, not who the developers are, but also be sensitive to certain issues.
o Vote to adopt 2008 Meeting Schedule
The 2008 Planning Board Meeting schedule was reviewed. There was some uncertainty as to the meetings during February school vacation and in July, but the dates will stay the same for now. They could vote later for a change or special meeting if needed.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Tim Kavanaugh made a motion approve the 2008 Planning Board Meeting schedule as presented, seconded by Tim Ready and approved (6-0).
Approval of Minutes
The minutes for the November 1, 2007 Planning Board meeting were reviewed.
A few changes to be made:
On page 3, last paragraph, changes “comes” to “goes”. On page 4 and thereafter, change the name Bello to Belleau. On page 4, second paragraph, change “their” to “they’re”. Page 4 last paragraph “….our pavement are inadequate” change to “adequate”.
Page 5, second paragraph “industrial plan” should be “industrial land”. Also on page 5, fourth paragraph, “to regress” should be “to address”.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, a motion was made by Christine Sullivan to accept the minutes, seconded by Walter Power and approved (6-0).
Gene Collins mentioned the award that Walter Power would be receiving from the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association and all commended him on his accomplishments as Chairman of the Planning Board.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Planning Board this evening, a motion was made by Gene Collins to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Chuck Puleo and approved (6-0).
The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Stacey Dupuis, Clerk
Salem Planning Board
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