Wellfleet Planning Board
Minutes of Meeting on Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Senior Center Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
Present: Griswold Draz, Chair; Olga Kahn, Alfred Pickard, Janet Reinhart, Ronald Harper, Theodore Franklin, Gerald Parent, Rex Peterson, Assistant Town Administrator
Pre-application Conference, T- Mobile
John Markus-Pinard from Centerline Communications was present to represent T-Mobile. He said that company wishes to co-locate on the DCR fire tower with two other carriers. He described the facility, antennae, and equipment cabinets. Mr. Markus-Pinard presented the exhibits contained in the pre-application. Ms. Kahn asked if if radiation levels from the different carriers’ equipment are cumulative. Mr. Markus-Pinard said yes. However, at 4% for the T-Mobile installation, even with the two other carriers, the total for the entire facility would be 12% of the maximum allowed.
Mr. Harper questioned the ambient noise levels, and why they were measured on a busy Sunday evening in August. He noted that ambient would be much different at the same time in the off-season. Mr. Parent asked about requirements for landscaping. Mr. Peterson said that landscaping requirements are usually part of the conditions imposed by the Cape Cod Commission.
Mr. Draz made a motion to approve the request to waive the requirement for a balloon test. Ms. Reinhart seconded. The Board’s vote in favor of the motion was unanimous. Mr. Draz requested that T-Mobile provide more acoustic information for the Special Permit application. Mr. Pickard also requested that site photos be submitted.
Zoning By-law Revisions for R1 and R2
Mr. Draz asked the Board to review the revised definition of Gross Floor Area (GFA) and the revised maximum GFA chart. Ms. Kahn distributed sketches to illustrate what is included in the GFA calculations. Mr. Draz said that the section view was a good summary of what’s included, and shows all the features described in the definition. Mr. Franklin suggested including a dormer in the sketch. Ms. Kohn will continue refining the sketches to be included with the by-law and for public meetings to explain the by-law.
Mr. Harper made a motion to approve, for the purpose of submitting as a warrant article for the Annual Town Meeting, the August 18, 2010 Version GFA definition. Ms. Reinhart seconded the motion. Mr. Parent asked if Mr. Harper’s motion would call for advertising and a public hearing, thereby freezing zoning. Mr. Draz said the proposal was not ready for advertising or a public hearing. The Board’s
vote was five in favor of the motion (Draz, Reinhart, Franklin, Kahn and Harper) and two opposed (Parent and Pickard).
Mr. Draz said that revisions to the Maximum GFA Allowed By-Right were complete except for the Section number for the Special Permit. Mr. Harper made a motion to approve for the purpose of submitting as a warrant article for the Annual Town Meeting the August 18, 2010 Version Maximum GFA Allowed By-Right chart. Ms. Reinhart seconded the motion. There was discussion about adding back rows in the chart for lots over 20,000 sf. The consensus of the Board was to keep the chart the way it was presented. The Board’s vote in favor of the motion was four in favor of the motion (Draz, Reinhart, Kahn and Harper) and three opposed (Franklin, Parent and Pickard).
The Board reviewed the proposal submitted by Mr. Parent on August 18, 2010. Ms. Reinhart said that the maximum square footage allowed under the proposal was too big. Ms. Kahn said that she was confused about the 400 square feet for decks and porches, and what was included in that calculation. Mr. Franklin said the allowable size was excessive. He also felt the gradient described in Notes 2.) was too complicated. Mr. Franklin said that the August 18 Version proposed by the Planning Board was too restrictive, and he hopes to come back with a compromise between the Planning Board version and Mr. Parent’s version.
Mr. Parent said that the August 18, 2010 Version proposed by the Planning Board did not address building mass. He said that Notes 2.) in his version addresses massing and is consistent with existing sections of the Zoning By-laws including the definition of Floor Area, Livable. Mr. Harper noted that whether a basement is finished or unfinished doesn’t address the massing created by a house with a walk out basement that will appear to be three stories high.
Ms. Kahn said that as an architect she might prefer to have the 60% floor area on the first floor. The Notes 2.) is, in that sense, also a design guideline. Mr. Draz said that the by-law needs to address the potential for expansion of existing structures in addition to new construction. He believes that requiring a special permit to exceed the by-right GFA maximums is reasonable. Mr. Franklin said that most people in Town would consider a 4,500 square foot house on a ¾ acre lot too large.
Mr. Draz said that he could not endorse Mr. Parent’s proposal, but he invited other Board members to make a motion to support the proposal. None of the other members offered a motion. Mr. Parent asked if the Board wanted him to continue working on a definition of GFA that included porches and finished basements. The consensus of the Board was that he should not continue.
AADU Findings
Mr. Draz said that a motion had been made at the Board’s August 18 meeting to adopt the AADU findings. Because Mr. Harper and Mr. Pickard were not present, the Board members decided to table the discussion and vote. Concern was expressed about the fact that two special permit applications might be needed in some cases to exceed the maximum GFA and to create an Affordable Accessory Dwelling Unit (AADU). Mr. Draz made a motion to accept the AADU Findings of Fact. Ms. Kahn seconded. Mr. Draz withdrew his motion and Ms. Kahn withdrew her second.
Mr. Harper said that the meeting minutes should reflect that the Planning Board held a discussion as to whether proposed changes to the Zoning By-laws would impact future AADU development. Mr. Draz said that at two public meetings, Mr. Pickard said that the Planning Board’s proposed revisions would be detrimental to AADU’s. Ms. Kahn made a motion to accept the AADU findings. Mr. Harper said he could accept the findings if the last two lines were deleted. Ms. Kahn withdrew her motion.
Mr. Harper made a motion to adopt the AADU Findings as amended. Ms. Kahn seconded the motion. The Board’s vote was five in favor of the motion (Draz, Reinhart, Franklin, Kahn and Harper) and two opposed (Parent and Pickard).
As amended, the AADU Findings shall read:
Affordable Accessory Dwelling Unit Findings
1) The AADU by-law was enacted in 2002 and is a zoning bylaw program restricted to rental units for income eligible tenants2) It requires a Special Permit approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals and annual verification of the tenant's income and lease filing by the landlord3) 13 AADU's have been permitted, of which 11 are apartment units in existing Single Family Dwellings, and only two are in a separate accessory structure.4) There is no compelling reason to believe or suppose that passage of the proposed Gross Floor Area by-law would unduly inhibit or prevent anyone from seeking a Special Permit for an AADU on their property, even were it to involve expansion to an existing home or property's by-right Gross Floor Area allowance.
Minutes of August 18, 2010
Mr. Franklin noted that Mr. Draz should be listed as Chairman and Ms. Reinhart as Vice Chairman. Ms. Kahn made a motion to approve the minutes with those amendments. Ms. Reinhart seconded the motion. The Board’s vote was five in favor of the motion (Draz, Reinhart, Franklin, Kahn and Parent) and two abstaining (Harper and Pickard) because they were not present at the meeting.
Other Business
Mr. Harper introduced a resolution to start each Planning Board meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. He made a motion to adopt the resolution. There was no second to the motion.
Agenda for October 6, 2010
- Minutes
- Standards and Criteria
- Discussion of letter from Betsy Lane, Town Counsel
- Formula business by-law
- Affordable housing proposal
Public Documents Referenced in These Minutes
- Submission by T-Mobile for pre-application conference to co-locate a cellular antennae on the DCR Fire Tower dated
- August 18, 2010 revisions to the definition of Gross Floor Area and chart containing Maximum Gross Floor Area allowed by-right, marked “8/18/2010 Version”
- August 18, 2010 proposal from Gerald Parent for revised definition of Gross Floor Area and allowed by-right Maximum Gross Floor Area
- August 18, 2010 AADU Findings of Fact prepared by Gooz Draz
- Resolution concerning Pledge of Allegiance at start of Planning Board meetings prepared by Ron Harper
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________ __________________________
Rex Peterson Griswold Draz
Assistant Town Administrator Chairman
Planning Board approved these minutes at the meeting held 10/6/10.
| 