Wellfleet Planning Board
Minutes of Meeting and Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Senior Center Long Pond Room, 7:00 p.m.
Present: R. Dennis O’Connell, Chairman; Barbara Gray, Ronald Harper, Griswold Draz, David Rowell, Gerald Parent, Alfred Pickard
Chairman O’Connell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed new member Griswold “Gooz” Draz.
Comprehensive Permit for 250 Gull Pond Rd. Permit
Ted Malone came forward to explain the community housing project at 250 Gull Pond Rd. and ask for Planning Board comments for the ZBA hearing that is necessary for the permit. Conservation Commission’s Order of Conditions has been issued for the property, located opposite Chris Drive. Mr. Malone noted the steep drive with drainage basins. There will be 5 condominium units for low and moderate income owners. The units are clustered at a mid-elevation, leaving 63% of the site in its natural state. He stated the ways in which the project adheres to zoning bylaws. Mr. Malone answered questions on the limits of development on the site; access for fire vehicles in front of the buildings; a sprinkler system or a water storage tank; privacy of neighbors; location in relation to the cemetery; catch
basins; the configuration of the drive; parking spaces; the contour lines and grade of the drive; surface materials for the road; use of passive solar energy; stabilization of the slope; and protection of the homeowners in the event of a100-year storm run-off.
Barbara Gray said, for the record, that she supports the project. Parent moved to send a letter to the ZBA stating that with the lateness Planning Board’s consideration of the plan, its complexity, the issues of grade, drainage, building height, parking (not limited to the above), Planning Board (PB) would like to request additional time to respond to the plan. Harper seconded. The motion carried 7-0.
Parent asked that the Building Inspector comment on the height limits. Mr. Malone said that this would be deliberated at the ZBA hearing.
Report from Selectmen’s 7/8/08 Meeting
O’Connell reported on items from the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting of July 8, 2008. The Landing Strip access study had been given the go ahead by the BOS, and an RFP will go out for surveying. Special Town Meeting was set for October 27, 2008. There will also be disposition of Town Property Article(s) for Annual Town Meeting Warrant in spring. At the BOS meeting, the Selectmen had requested from Town Counsel Elizabeth Lane a list of options for bylaws in the Seashore District. The Selectmen also requested holding a joint meeting with Planning Board.
Bylaw Revision
O’Connell read into record two letters from Boundbrook homeowners, John Clayton & Sharon Dunn and Leonora & John Williams, who were concerned about development in the National Seashore.
Town Counsel Elizabeth Lane came forward to discuss bylaw revision possibilities. Site Plan Review, she said, is a very weak method of control. She considers Special Permitting a stronger method. O’Connell said the issue had been debated at length as had the issue of a bylaw changes for the whole Town or solely the Seashore District. The lot coverage approach had also been studied at the many meetings with the Seashore and other towns.
Ms. Lane discussed district zoning objectives in Wellfleet’s Zoning Bylaws (ZBL). Section 6.1.5 of Wellfleet ZBL has problems, she said. One option is to get rid of the provision entirely, but she considers that too drastic. She reviewed inconsistencies in references and terminology that need to be revised. One error, she said, refers to a section that doesn’t exist. The Use Chart also needed revision, Lane said.
Lane said the question remained whether or not bylaw revisions should be soley for the Seashore or for the whole Town. Special Permit designation for an entire district is not a legal option, she said. Ms. Lane offered three possibilities for fixing the bylaws: 1.) tinkering with Section 6; 2.) changing Section 6 and adding Site Plan Review (SPR) with Special Permit; or 3.) limiting the change to SPR. Non Special Permit SPR is not enough, she said.
To have Site Plan Review work with Special Permitting, Lane said there must be standards set for the Special Permit. Groundwater recharge is one frequently used criterion, she said. Preserving vistas, light & air (a Provincetown concern), environmental and wildlife preservation, safety, public health and welfare issues are all valid criteria, she said. Keeping a building “consistent with the character of a neighborhood” was another possible criterion that could work although aesthetic reasons are difficult to defend, Lane said. If you don’t have the basis for criteria, Lane advised, that it shouldn’t be set. There has to be a rationale for bylaw change, she stated.
Lane said the first thing is to set is the goal. Ask: “What is it we want to control?” Other important questions to consider are: What is wrong with a big house? What is a big house? Do you want to soften it or prevent it? If you can’t define the problem, you can’t write a bylaw to control it, she said. Zoning bylaws should be written to fit the Town’s needs.
When questioned about inconsistencies and ambiguities of 6.1.5, Lane said her job was to provide options, not write the bylaw. She reviewed Norwell’s zoning bylaws, denials and appeal processes, non-conformity issues, and size triggers and thresholds. When asked about use of a floor-area ratio control of size, Lane said the measuring is very complicated. Ben Zehnder made observations on 6.1.5. and the possibility of Site Plan Review with Special Permit.
Assistant Town Administrator Rex Peterson said the Selectmen wanted Planning Board to focus on the Seashore District for Fall Town Meeting. Gray said she hoped that PB would go ahead in the direction which it had been headed to create a bylaw revision for the whole town, not solely the Seashore District. O’Connell asked if the Board wanted to continue as Gray had suggested with bylaw revision that is Town-wide, and there was general consensus. There was discussion of public hearings for bylaw revision articles, including a petitioned article. Parent asked about time lines for zoning being frozen. Ms. Lane said it’s by the first notice. However, there is “building at risk” during the period. Rowell and Pickard said they were willing to abandon SPR although it had
its merits.
Ms. Lane will offer Section 6.1.5 revision options and promised to look for a way to still use the Site Plan Review which Planning Board has been working on. She distributed copies of the legal cases she had cited and Norwell’s Zoning Bylaws.
Organization
The Board signed documents for State and Barnstable Land Courts and the Barnstable Registry of Deeds. Cape Cod Commission had also requested an update of Planning Board members and officers. Harper moved to approve keep the same officers of Planning Board: Denny O’Connell as chairman and Gerald Parent as Vice-Chairman. Pickard seconded, and the motion carried 7-0.
Minutes of 6/18/08
The minutes of June 18, 2008 were given unanimous approval.
Adjournment
Gray moved to adjourn. Parent seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
____________________________ ____________________________
Mary Rogers, Committee Secretary R. Dennis O’Connell, Chairman
________________________ Date
Planning Board approved these minutes at the meeting held 7/23/08
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