MINUTES OF WESTBOROUGH PLANNING BOARD
May 03, 2016
Regular meeting of the Westborough Planning Board held in the Westborough Public Library in the lower Conference Room, 55 West Main Street. Members Bush, Silverberg, Diamond, Spencer and Paris were present.
Meeting dates: May 17, 2016 and June 07, 2016
At 7:00 p.m. the Planning Board prepared to discuss with Mr. John Arnold, Town Moderator follow-up of Town Meeting.
Mr. John Arnold said he is the Town Moderator for Westborough. He likes to go to all the elected Boards and get their feedback on Town Meeting, their likes and dislikes.
Chairman Brian Bush thanked him for the job he orchestrates and Town Meeting.
Member Charlie Diamond said he wants to talk about people that dominate meetings. You should give them a noted period of time to speak. There are some town residents that dominate Town Meeting discussion.
Mr. John Arnold replied what he has done since Town Meeting is he reached out to the Mass Moderators to see what other towns do with this issue. A survey has been done and he has the initial survey back but has not totally read it. Do we want him to exert a little more power or a rule that people have 2 minutes for discussion? He is trying how to handle it.
Member Bill Spencer asked is there anything we can do that might limit exposure. Can we manage or limit how many articles we do at Town Meeting.
Mr. John Arnold said the Warrant is drawn up by the Board of Selectmen. They open and close the agenda. He then runs the meeting according to the warrant agenda. We have to remember when something is important and in-depth it will have to be allowed to have discussion come out. The Charter Review Committee had worked 2 years and resulted in three detailed articles. It is always a trade off. In terms of what can limit the time, he encourages if making a presentation, ask yourself what are the questions people will ask and then answer them in your presentation. Try to prepare or be aware of what will be asked. That is something everyone can do. We should take time to remind the public to ask questions ahead of time and get involved in advance at the open forums and
public hearings. Mr. Arnold urged to get the word out that if you want to ask questions about an article come in earlier in the process.
Member Mark Silverberg said at this last Town Meeting he didn’t like the length of discussion on some of the articles but felt it was necessary. We spent over half of the meeting on the 3 Charter Review articles. He doesn’t believe you should limit the time people speak. But he does not like repetitive comments or off point comments. He would like to see people say “I support or oppose this article and here is why”. Let them give their reasons and then have them sit down.
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Mr. John Arnold said that people want to show support and will be repetitive. They should just give support and sit down. They don’t need to restate the point.
Member Tim Paris said he agrees with what has been said already. He thinks Mr. Arnold did a good job controlling the public.
Mr. John Arnold said he has discovered that sometimes recommendations can cause more discussion if the public don’t like the recommendation being made. The voters did a pretty good job of keeping it to what they liked and why. Most of the time was spent on deciding who was agreeing with whom.
Member Mark Silverberg said if the scope of the original article is not being met then cut off the conversation.
Mr. John Arnold said when he knew there were 4 committees being offended in the Charter Articles; he tried to partition and let each committee speak.
Member Mark Silverberg suggested that Mr. Arnold close the discussion on an amendment before you entertain another one.
Member Charlie Diamond said he gives Mr. Arnold credit for keeping things under control.
Chairman Brian Bush thanked Mr. Arnold again and said he does a great job explaining the Town Meeting process. Chairman Bush said he was on the Charter Review Committee. One criticism is when the amendments start to look like special interest. We should vote things up or down. When a discussion comes up, it seems it was more erroneous for our group to consider this. It looked like someone filled the room at Town Meeting to back their agenda to get things through. Why aren’t people more involved in Town Meeting? Anything we can do to improve getting more people involved would help.
Mr. John Arnold said people used to go to Town Meeting. There are a lot of new people in town and we need to provide an education on how Town Meeting works. People don’t realize they can have a say in what is happening. He will try to do an educational effort.
Chairman Brian Bush said it might make an impact to get people involved earlier in the process of an article. Stress that to people.
Member Mark Silverberg asked to what degree did the special interest groups come to the Charter Meetings?
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Chairman Brian Bush said you have to be careful of a committee. There were undertones of disagreement from the beginning. We invited every department head and committee to come and meet with the Charter Review Committee and get their feedback. The level of confusion can be a bit much. It can happen with zoning changes too.
Mr. John Arnold said if a committee thinks an article needs more thought then vote it down and bring it back at a later date. Essentially authorize the Board of Selectmen to petition the legislature.
Member Mark Silverberg said we have had numerous public hearings on zoning with no on showing up and then when we go to Town Meeting, it gets defeated because the public does not understand the article. You can’t force people to come but it is frustrating when they have had plenty of opportunity to voice their concerns and don’t.
The Town Planner said we had an article where someone asked questions that did not pertain to the article. The Town Moderator asked if they had attended the public hearings and they answered that they had not. It made it clear to Town Meeting that they had a change to comment on the article during the hearing process and did not show up.
Member Tim Paris asked would it be possible to have a pre-Town Meeting to help straighten out what amendments would be.
Member Mark Silverberg said when someone wants to do an amendment; they should approach the Town Moderator before Town Meeting. The education process will help.
Mr. John Arnold said one idea is after the warrant is out, he could have a meeting and take the warrant as set and discuss the warrant with anyone interested. They could tell him what their questions are. If you have a pressing question, help people find a way to ask it ahead of time. This will make it more efficient and effective.
Member Bill Spencer said he saw three major points from this discussion. The Charter Review was lengthy, presentations be very careful and pointed to questions being asked. The notification system needs to get scrutiny.
The Town Planner said the Planning Board has to hold a hearing for all Zoning Articles prior to the Board of Selectmen setting the warrant. It makes it difficult for anyone attending the Selectmen meetings when Board of Selectmen set the warrant. The Planning Board is already done with our public hearing process and can take no further information. He can’t fix that nightmare.
Mr. John Arnold said in terms of presentations, a lot of people make a presentation to persuade someone how to vote.
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Member Mark Silverberg asked why someone should do a presentation when there is no objection.
Mr. John Arnold replied try to start with a presentation that is only 5-7 minutes. Your job is to persuade voters.
Member Bill Spencer agreed and said in a presentation you are presenting facts.
Mr. John Arnold said sometimes the Finance Committee is a dry run for a presentation.
Chairman Brian Bush thanked Mr. John Arnold for his time.
At 7:30 p.m. the Planning Board prepared to meet with Mr. Eric Dubrule from Bohler Engineering on proposed site improvements to McDonald’s at 299 Turnpike Road.
Mr. Dubrule said he is here on behalf of McDonald’s with a Plan that proposes to reconfigure the existing parking lot of McDonalds and add an additional drive-thru window lane at 299 Turnpike Road. Corporate is trying to reduce queuing and wait time for their customers. Most of the parking on the east side has been relocated adjacent to the building to accommodate the drive-thru design. The west side of the parking area now contains the most parking spaces. They will provide a crosswalk to facilitate safe pedestrian access for customers crossing the traffic circulation and food pick-up window. This is one way circulation thru the site. McDonald’s proposes to improve the exterior architecture by re-facing the building in earth tone colors and proposing a small addition that is
70 square feet for increased storage space. They will add a second drive through lane and order point. This will help with queuing of cars waiting for an order. The new drive-thru will be side by side and the replaced parking will be stacked against the building. They have provided a crosswalk where they were not one for easy access for pedestrians. Utilities remain unchanged.
Chairman Brian Bush asked what about impervious surface?
Mr. Eric Dubrule said there will be a slight reduction.
Chairman Brian Bush said because this is an existing building it is going through site plan review. The Town Planner has already made comments to the Building Commissioner.
The Town Planner said they removed parking from the east side to make room for the drive-thru and placed it against the building. They have also provided a pedestrian crosswalk to cross to the sidewalk and into the building. The existing grading and storm water conditions have not changed. He is fine with this presentation There is a gain of 200 feet in open space.
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Member Tim Paris asked how long is the usual queuing stack at the order windows?
Mr. Eric Dubrule said there is no exact answer. McDonald’s is expecting at least 4 stacking and they would not block the parking stalls against the building.
Chairman Brian Bush said this looks like the one on East Main Street.
Member Bill Spencer said this one site is a little tighter with the double order lanes. If the town is fine then he is fine with it.
Member Mark Silverberg said he does not think the one at East Main is like that. He thinks it will not block the parking against the building until 7-8 cars long.
Mr. Eric Dubrule said they don’t anticipate that happening. If someone was blocked in, a car backing out would have to wait.
Member Mark Silverberg said he is not sure about the location of the cross walk.
Mr. Eric Dubrule responded that this is the only place a cross walk can go in. They propose striping at this point and will have an orange pedestrian crossing sign.
Member Charlie Diamond said you should be processing people faster. Do you compensate for the speed with better service inside?
Mr. Eric Dubrule said under existing conditions, it is now being processed more quickly from the order to the windows.
Member Mark Silverberg said cars will be stopped at the pick-up window so they will see pedestrians crossing.
The Town Planner said you can put a pedestrian sign at the windows to alert drivers of pedestrians crossing after the pick-up window.
Member Bill Spencer asked what you gain by putting parking against the building. Where is he gaining any access?
The Town Planner said he occasionally goes to the East Main Street McDonald’s. He parks and when he comes out, he fears crossing to his car. So by them moving the parking is better for the pedestrian. It is a tough solution because of the design but it is more sufficient and better than what is currently there.
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Chairman Brian Bush said there is not a shopping place or restaurant that you don’t walk through a parking lot. If the queue blocks people in then they will stop going to the restaurant.
Member Mark Silverberg said if someone wants to eat in their car where do they go.
Mr. Eric Dubrule said they can pull forward where there are two designated spots for people waiting on their orders to park.
Chairman Brian Bush thanked Mr. Eric Dubrule for his presentation.
New Business:
Re-release of Lot 9 within Old Connecticut Estates (110 Ruggles Street):
Chairman Brian Bush said lots get released from the Covenant on a project and the Planning Board holds the Covenant. Apparently Lot 9 was released within Old Connecticut Estates and taken to the Building Department to get their building permit but didn’t get recorded at the Registry of Deeds. This house is currently for sale and was picked up in a title search. This is not the first time this has happen.
The Town Planner said that Old Connecticut Estates was built in 1977 by Mr. Michael O’Malley. The Covenant was recorded at the Registry on August 1977 and Lots were released and recorded in 1979 but the release for Lot 9 was never recorded. There is an existing home on the lot which is now being sold. The unrecorded Release was discovered during a title search at the Registry. We have received the Release Form L completed by the attorney and the Lot Release fee of $100.00. The Town Planner said he recommends voting to re-releaser Lot 9.
Member Mark Silverberg motioned to re release of Lot 9 of Old Connecticut Estates. The motion was seconded by Member Charlie Diamond and unanimously voted.
- The Town Planner said he is going out to Gleason Street tomorrow to check on the trees at Village Commons to see what can be moved to a safe location for their survival during construction. The Applicant’s Landscape Designer has not provided a plan for the relocation/transplanting of the birch trees which are to be saved.
- The Town Planner said the State Hospital RFP has been drafted by the Town Manager for the development parcel. The RFP has been sent to DCAM for its review. Comments have been sent to Mass Historic. Local Historic has till Thursday to comment. This is issued for 90 days and in the interim there will be a presentation to any applicants. The hazardous review has not come back in.
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Chairman Brian Bush said the hazardous report has to be done. Once the RFP goes out the applicants have 90 days to comment.
Member Bill Spencer asked are we going back in the fall on this.
The Town Planner responded NO. It is now in the hands of the Board of Selectmen You should not expect to hear anything until the fall.
- The Town Planner said that eClinical has purchased 900 West Park Drive. This is the former EMC office building which has been vacant since 1998. They intend to occupy the building and do some modifications to the loading docks and installation of a cafeteria and outside patio. Later they will be constructing a parking garage to accommodate 400—500 parking spaces.
- The Town Planner said at our next meeting on May 17th we will be opening the Concept Public hearing on The Ridings II. 3 Plans have been submitted and he will review the plans or walk the site with the Board members if they chose.
The Town Planner said he gave the Board a list of potential Town Meeting Articles for the Board to review for the future. Some of the Articles need to be reviewed by Town Counsel (Sign Bylaw). A nonprofit organization had a sign up for a longer period of time based on content than someone else was allowed. This brought up an issue on freedom of speech and inconsistent treatment based on sign content. We have to be careful with this. Town Council will look at our bylaw to make sure we are in compliance.
The Town Planner said maybe we should have a re-codification of the Zoning Bylaws done to check for contradictions, duplication, unclear bylaws, etc.
The Town Planner said that Extension of Gateway District has been discussed many times. It would be an extension of the existing Gateway District along East Main Street from Lyman Street to Flanders Road and along Lyman Street from East Main Street to 33 Lyman Street where it would about the IB and BA district.
The Town Planner said we should think about amending the T-OV zoning regulations.
The Town Planner said he has met with the Board of Health Director and Building Commissioner on Agricultural uses of keeping of farm animals. We want input from surrounding towns on what they do. Are they appropriate in a residential district?
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The Town Planner said Harmonious Zoning was originally discussed with former Planning Board member Lester Hensley. It is a method to acquire open space for the Town in exchange for allowing increased density in the General Industrial District (IB). This should be discussed in a work session.
Chairman Brian Bush said this is something Lester Hensley came up with and works on the density bonus with the promotion of commercial uses. His personal opinion is that it has a lot of merit but in execution he does not thinks every piece of residential land is useful. You have to go through the engineering to prove the land is buildable. He thinks there should be a formal study on this. What are the ramifications of this? The matrix of that analysis is really difficult to get what you want in commercial. There is a lot of work sessions needed.
The Town Planner said that summer is a good time to do work sessions because it is building season and fewer new proposals come in. We might want to take up one article on the May 17th agenda discussion.
Chairman Brian Bush said if we would like to have something ready for town meeting in the fall, then we need to have a public hearing by August.
The Town Planner said we need to do the Gateway District at the next meeting.
Chairman Brian Bush said he recommends tabling Harmonious zoning.
The Town Planner said he believes that the Extension of the Gateway District and an amendment to the T-OV zoning are urgent.
Chairman Brian Bush said the Signage Bylaw needs to be reviewed by Town Counsel. We need a review of our zoning. He agrees with starting on Extension of the Gateway District and an amendment to the T-OV Zoning Regulations although it will be problematic for this Board. We can have working sessions and place on the agenda for discussion on the May 17th.
Chairman Brian Bush said we need discuss meeting schedules for summer on the May 17th meeting. He can only make the first meeting in June 7th but not the second one.
Member Charlie Diamond said the end of June and end of July not good for him.
Member Mark Silverberg said he will not be here on the second meeting in August.
The Minutes of April 12, 2016 were approved and endorsed.
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There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:29 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Spinella
Administrative Assistant
APPROVED:
--------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------Brian Bush, Chairman of Board Mark Silverberg, Vice-Chairman of Board
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Charlie Diamond William Spencer Tim Paris
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