Wellfleet Planning Board
Minutes of Meeting of January 7, 2004
Town Hall Hearing Room
Present: Lisa Brown, Chair; Mark Berry, Gerald Parent, Alfred Pickard,
Benjamin Gitlow, Harriet Miller
Excused: R. Dennis O'Connell
Chair Brown convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Public Hearing: SD #04-01; Robert John Collins & Jean Ann Collins, 142 Whidah Way, Assessor's Map #7, Lot #8, no new lots. Chet Lay of Slade Associates and Attorney Ben Zehnder represented the owners (who attended the meeting as observers) in this request to enlarge the arc of an existing cul-de-sac in order to create frontage on Lot #8, a lot once in common ownership and no longer buildable. (See minutes of 11-5-03 for further background.) Lay noted that Town Counsel had advised the use of the 81W modification procedure, pointing out that this included legal advertising and notification of abutters as with any subdivision plan. Lay stated that the plan called for lengthening the arc of the existing cul-de-sac on Lot 8 from 125' to 135' to satisfy frontage requirements, adding that the
request needs Board of Health approval, also, and will be heard by the BOH on January 14. Alfred Pickard commented that it was time that bounds should be installed on lots. Pickard moved that the Planning Board approve the Collins SD #04-01 with the condition of approval by the Board of Health; Ben Gitlow seconded. The motion passed, 6-0.
Memo on Open Space Committee-Conservation Commission Request on Sandpit. The Board agreed to change agenda order and move ahead to Rex Peterson's memo (12-3-03) to Town boards, committees and departments regarding the request of Open Space and ConsCom to "subdivide the Sandpit, and to place the wetland portion of the lot under conservation restriction." In accordance with the Selectmen's policy on disposition of town-owned land, comments from town agencies are to be submitted to the Town Administrator by 1-16-04. Points from the ensuing discussion follow:
The land has not yet been surveyed.
The vernal pool may have been created by accident; the area is designated wetland, however, by the evidence of the plants growing there.
Is there other use for the rest of the property? Is it possible that the wetland areas could be filled in?
Because of the C2 designation of the district, ConsCom wishes to set the wetland aside to safeguard it.
Ben Gitlow moved that Planning Board had no objection to the land transfer; Mark Berry seconded. Gerry Parent amended the motion, adding "pending submission of final surveyed plan to Planning Board." Gitlow having accepted the amendment, Berry seconded. The motion passed, 6-0.
Later in the meeting, after Chair Brown's reading aloud of Lezli Rowell's memo to the NRAB (1-5-04) concerning the subdivision of the sandpit, in which Rowell objected to subdivision as a protective measure for "resource areas contained on the Town owned lot," Alfred Pickard moved and Mark Berry seconded to re-open discussion of the Sandpit proposal at the close of the public hearings. In that later discussion, Ben Gitlow pointed out that the Selectmen's Policy affords the Planning Board the opportunity to review the application after all board, committee and departmental comments have been received. Mark Berry moved that the Planning Board withdraw its previous motion and hold its decision pending hearing from all contributing committees and department heads, or until the 45-day
comment period expires, and pending a clearer definition of the area under consideration through examination of a preliminary survey plan. Gerry Parent seconded; the motion carried, 6-0.
Minutes of December 17, 2003. Chair Brown moved that the minutes of 12-17-03 be accepted as amended; Ben Gitlow seconded; the motion carried, 5-0-1 (Berry abstaining).
Mail. Chair Brown examined the mail, reading aloud from a memo sent by Lezli Rowell to the NRAB and copied to Planning Board (1-5-04) in which Ms. Rowell stated her reasons for opposing the subdivision of the Sandpit, concluding: "It is my recommendation to reserve advisory board review to specific use or construction proposal for the Sandpit rather than support the unnecessary expenses and subdivision activity to this Town owned property."
Public Hearing: SD #03-04; John B. Goodman, Jr., Trustee, 55 Goss Lane, Assessor's Map #36, Lot #17.1, 2 lots proposed. [Alfred Pickard disclosed that the Cortes family, abutters on three sides of this tract, are boating customers.] Chet Lay represented this proposal, noting that the Board had already heard it in preliminary form (see minutes of 8-6-03 and 9-3-03) and that it would come before the Board of Health for approval on 1-14-04. He distributed a covenant for the new plan, stating that the second page attachment contained all the conditions the Board had recommended. Lay added that the owners requested the same specifications as in the original plan for the cul-de-sac (to be constructed on lot G-2 off Goss Lane) and that a Homeowner's Association had been added to the covenant.
He noted that the plan creates one additional building lot on the property and requests four waivers in the covenant attachment. In the discussion which followed, Lisa Brown commended the fact that the lots were large and that the road was not oppressive and an improvement to the existing tract. Gerry Parent moved that the Planning Board approve the plan for SD #03-04 with covenant subject to Board of Health approval; Berry seconded; the motion carried, 6-0.
Public Hearing: Special Permit to Install Municipal Water Supply Communications Towers, Off Gristmill Way, Assessor's Map #8, Lot #131 and West Main Street, Assessor's Map #13, Lot L#146. Chair Brown opened the Public Hearing by reading a memo from Rex Peterson in behalf of the Town (1-7-04), requesting a continuation of this Public Hearing until the meeting of 1-21-04 in order to accommodate abutters who could not attend this meeting. Gerald Parent stated that neither the applicant (the Town) nor the engineers were present; he therefore moved to continue the public hearing to January 21 at 8:00 p.m. Alfred Pickard seconded. Chair Brown invited Board and audience comment; several questions on regulations for continuation of hearing were raised by audience members and answered by the
Board. Mr. Peterman, a direct abutter of the DPW building tower site, stated that he believed work had already begun on the project and that if the hearing were continued, he wanted to be assured that no more work would proceed. Gerry Parent advised him to address the Building Inspector as the proper agent for his query. Chair Brown called for the vote on the continuation; the motion carried, 6-0.
Discussion of and Response to Natural Resources Advisory Board's Update of Chapter 7 of the 1995 Wellfleet Harbor Management Plan. The Board, at the request of Douglas Franklin of the NRAB, examined Chapter 7. Discussion points included:
Questions regarding extending the inventory of Wellfleet waterfront land beyond that shown on Assessor's Maps 15 & 16
Agreement that all numbers provided in sections such as Wellfleet Land Use and Open Space/Protected Land, etc. need to be updated for accuracy
Wellfleet has evolved beyond the necessity for controlling land use by new businesses on the waterfront--not enough land is left (e.g., parking)
People don't want to be restricted by the regulations of a historic district; the proposal regarding the Historic Harbor District needs to go before the whole town for broader town opinion, general public input
All public access points to the waterfront need to be identified quickly; people are doing away with them
It is not economically feasible for the Town to acquire waterfront property.
The Board's recommendations and comments on Chapter 7 will be written up and submitted to the NRAB.
Other Business:
Ben Gitlow submitted to the Board a First Draft of Site Plan Review
Alfred Pickard noted that he had talked with the Police Chief about the feasibility of one-way traffic through town during the summer season; he suggested that the Chief should be invited to meet with the Board for a discussion of this.
Mark Berry moved and Ben Gitlow seconded adjournment; the meeting closed at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Frances J. Castillo, Committee Secretary Lisa Brown, Chair
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