MINUTES OF THE PLANNING BOARD MEETING
June 27, 2012
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Marc Frieden, Patrick McKeon, Karen Paré, Vincent Vignaly
MEMBERS ABSENT: none
OTHERS PRESENT: Allan Rantala from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, David Femia
Mr. Frieden called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION (DCR)
Mr. Frieden welcomed Mr. Rantala from the DCR. Mr. Rantala is an Environmental Analyst working with the DCR in West Boylston. He offered the assistance of the DCR and reminded the Board that any work within 400 feet of a stream requires approval from the DCR. The board questioned whether the DCR had approved a plan for the rumored work at Wal-Mart. Mr. Rantala stated that Wal-Mart had been in for a general discussion about their upcoming project, but that no actual plans were submitted or approved. Mr. Vignaly noted that some neighbors have been complaining about the headlights of drive-through patrons at the Dairy Queen on West Boylston Street. There is a large buffer area in the rear of the property surrounding Gates Brook, which also contains a bio-retention
area. The planned trees were planted by the applicant, but they are not providing the required screening. Mr. Vignaly questioned whether DCR would need to be consulted if we requested additional screening. Mr. Rantala answered that adding vegetation is generally not a problem, as long as it doesn’t affect the bio-retention area. Mr. Vignaly stated that glare is a zoning issue and questioned whether the board should speak with the owners of the Dairy Queen. Mr. Rantala cautioned that if there are changes proposed, a plan should be sent in to DCR for review. Ms. Paré stated that before the board can act, we would need to have a complaint in writing. Mr. Vignaly will ask the neighbors who have voiced these concerns to write a letter containing such.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE SIGN BYLAW
The board reviewed the areas of the sign bylaw that are being considered for proposed changes. Concerning temporary signs, the board will consider revising the length of time allowed and/or how the time is distributed throughout a 12-month period. Electronic signs are not currently allowed in the bylaw; consider allowing them with restrictions on the frequency of changes to prevent flashing or distracting signs. The board will consider modifying the allowed area of a wall, projecting and standing signs accessory to a business. Ms. Paré noted that the definition of “wall sign” in Section 5.6 C.7 currently prohibits banners and questioned whether this should be a topic to consider, since there seem to be numerous banners in town. Proposed changes should be
referred to the Economic Development Task Force, since they have requested some of these changes.
Mr. McKeon noted that the Shrewsbury sign bylaw calculates the area of a sign allow for commercial properties based on the frontage of the lot, providing for two square feet per foot of frontage. However, he noted that this can cause large discrepancies given the configuration of lots. For instance, the Wal-Mart plaza has much more frontage than the plaza with the Salter School. Mr. Vignaly suggested that we use the size of the lot and Mr. Frieden offered that the distance that the building is set back from the road may be a better determinant.
Mr. McKeon will do a rough draft of the changes for the next meeting. The board agreed that we will not change the proscription against movement and pivotal signs. Mr. McKeon noted that the exact same language is included in the Shrewsbury bylaw. Ms. Paré cautioned that time is getting close to get these changes in for the October Town Meeting. A public hearing should be scheduled no later than September 12th.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST REQUEST FOR CPC FUNDS
Mr. Frieden presented the board with two different warrant articles being proposed by the Affordable Housing Trustees for the October Town Meeting. In these articles, the Affordable Housing Trustees will be asking to use some of the Community Preservation Fund revenues that are set aside for housing. The first article requests $11,000 to engage a Community Housing Specialist; the second proposal requests transferring all of the fund balance designated for affordable housing into the Affordable Housing Trust.
Mr. Vignaly, who has been working on the Housing Production Plan (HPP), noted that many communities with CPC funds in place put in an article to transfer the funds allocated to affordable housing each year. This provides the Affordable Housing Trust with funds that they can use when the trustees deem it appropriate. Mr. Vignaly pointed out that the funds that already exist in the Trust could be used for the specialist. In addition, since the Housing Production Plan may be adopted before Town Meeting, the Trust would need to clearly identify what the specialist would do beyond the planning already completed in the HPP. Ms. Paré noted that it would be valuable to have a specialist do the monitoring of the existing affordable housing and who would have expertise to advise the
town. Also, it may be a better use of Town Meeting time to present the town with an actual project that will provide housing, rather than additional planning, especially, since funds are currently available to the Trustees if they need planning assistance. Mr. Frieden was unsure about the amount of funds that were already in the Trust. Mr. Vignaly reported that we were informed that a significant amount was provided for by the Comprehensive Permit for Afra Terrace and that these funds were available. Mr. Frieden will investigate.
The board advised Mr. Frieden that they will support either option that the Trust proposes, but strongly suggests that they transfer all housing funds out of the CPC fund and into the Affordable Housing Trust.
PROPOSED BYLAW CHANGES FOR THE COMING YEAR
The board agreed to focus on the Sign bylaw for this year.
DRAFT HOUSING PRODUCTION PLAN
Mr. Vignaly presented the board with a new version of the Housing Production Plan. A previous version of the plan was prepared by Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. However, that version was considered to be overly lengthy and did not accurately reflect a plan specific to West Boylston. Mr. Vignaly reported that the new plan was reduced to fewer than 30 pages and includes information provided by the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey.
Mr. Vignaly directed the board’s attention to Table 1 which contains the West Boylston population data. This table, which has been modified to distinguish the inmate population in the Worcester County Jail from the town’s population as a whole, provides a very different understanding of the town’s situation than was provided for in the previous plan. When considering just the household population and not the jail inmates, the population in town has grown very modestly from 1970 until 2010: a total of 162 persons or 2.5%. In fact, from 1970 through 2000, our population actually declined.
A discussion of specifics of the plan began. It was decided to delete the section on “School Age Population” under the Demographics section. This section contained a table that compared the distribution of school-aged children in educational settings. However, it compared data from the 2000 Census, which represents actual counts, to American Community Survey data from 2006-2010, which can only provide trend information. This comparison is suspect and it was unclear what information we were providing in this section.
In the Housing Action Plan section of the document, Mr. Vignaly will clarify the information in Table 20 – Long-term Subsidized Housing Targets.
The board thanked Mr. Vignaly for his hard work on this document, especially the effort it took to get the data from the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey.
242 WOODLAND STREET SITE PLAN
At the June 13, 2012 meeting of the Planning Board, Mr. Paul Conger, the developer of the site, committed to provide information and documentation on changes to his approved site plan by the June 27th meeting. This information is still outstanding.
REPORTS FROM OTHER BOARDS
Open Space Implementation Committee: Mr. Vignaly reported that Dr. Tashjian had resigned from the OSIC and the Town-wide Planning Committee before the meeting of the entire board with the Town Administrator. There are currently three openings on the OSIC, including the member from the Conservation Commission. The next meeting of the OSIC will determine their focus for the next year.
Economic Development Task Force: Mr. McKeon announced that West Boylston was approved to join the Economic Target Area by the Commonwealth. This will allow the town to offer Tax Incentive Financing and will highlight West Boylston on the Commonwealth’s website. This effort only cost the town $3,300, while it cost Boylston approximately $20,000. This was due to the efforts of Mr. Gaumond in hiring a recent graduate to shepherd the process. Mr. McKeon also noted that the upcoming Sign bylaw changes were discussed.
Transportation Committee: Mr. Vignaly reported that the committee voted on recommendations for spending the Chapter 90 funds from the commonwealth, including various drainage improvements and working on the sidewalk from the High School to Pine Arden Drive. They discussed repairing the retaining wall opposite the Municipal Light Plant but considered it too expensive. Mr. Baruzzi will discuss the repairs to Worcester Street (where a vehicle slide off the road towards Gates Brook) with the DCR.
Affordable Housing Trust: Mr. Frieden reported they are working on the CPC proposals.
Mr. Vignaly also reported that a group of citizens recently held a meeting to discuss a plan to bring a Farmer’s Market to the town. Various locations were discussed, including on the Common by the Masonic Hall or at Mr. Hadley’s business center in the center of town. Sunday is the day under discussion, which may draw congregants from various churches as they leave their services. The group will restrict such a market to farmers and producers; retailers will not be included.
MINUTES/BILLS
Upon a motion by Ms. Paré and a second by Mr. McKeon, it was voted to approve the minutes of June 13, 2012 as amended.
No invoices were presented for payment.
Upon a motion by Mr. McKeon and a second by Mr. Vignaly, the meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
Date Accepted: _______________________ By: ___________________________
Patrick McKeon, Clerk
Submitted By: ________________________
Karen Fenerty Paré
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