Planning Board Meeting Minutes

 

                                        

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Board was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mrs. Terry. She stated that the meeting was being recorded and asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting.

PLANNER’S REPORT: 7:00 PM

1. The owner of 3 Baker Shore questioned using an ANR to create a building lot for a three car garage and apartment. The property owner does not have the necessary frontage on an approved right of way. The existing lot is non-conforming in the Agricultural Zone (A) which requires 200 feet frontage.

2. The Westfield Brewery would like to have a full time exterior BBQ (GranDaddy Franks). The diagram presented an interior kitchen. Will a modification be required for the BBQ food truck. The Board of Health has concerns.

3. The owner of 9 Whalley Way received a site plan and Special Permits for an Earth Excavation, Storm Water Permit and Wellhead Protection for two (2) buildings in October 26, 2010. Are there additional requirements to construct the second building?

4. The owner of 10 Nicholson Hill Road has applied for an ANR. The property is located in the Residential 40 Zone (R40). A change in size and shape of the land does not affect Frontage.

5. The owner of 81 Point Grove Road would like to apply for a Beer and Wine License for the establishment. The Board of Selectmen would like the Planning Board to approve a site plan before issuing a license.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:  7:05 pm

There were no public comments.

 

Mr. Derosia, of 48 Kline Road, said he is adding an acre and one half to the estate lot which will have a  seventy  five foot buffer. He said this will expand the emergency turnaround at the end of the driveway. Mr. Slessler said the Estate Lot has been approved and the access to the Estate Lot is unchanged. He said both parcels will have enough frontage and the parcel will not make either lot nonconforming. Mrs. Terry said that the total acreage will be over 20 acres.

A MOTION was made by Mr. Ballard and Mr. Doherty seconded by to approve the ANR for 10 Nicholson Hill Road as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

 

R. Lévesque Associates sent a request to continue the Public Hearing for 625 College Highway to April 26, 2016.

A MOTION was made by Mr. Doherty and seconded by Mr. Ballard to continue the Public Hearing for 625 College Highway to April 26, 2016 at 7:30 pm The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mr. Smith, of 26 Lakeview Street, requested a site plan review required by the Board of Selectman for a beer and wine license. Mr. Slessler said he is not changing anything external. Mrs. Terry asked if there was enough parking. Mr. Smith said there are 27 parking spaces including two handicapped spaces and another 25 spaces on the gravel overflow area. He said he has 9 employees and they park on the gravel bank. He said if necessary they park below in the pizza shop parking lot since it is part of the property. He presented photos of the parking areas. He said that when he uses the deck they close the dining room. He said the kitchen cannot handle both areas at the same time. He said there are 68 seats in the dining room and 37 or 40 on the deck, depending on the layout. Mrs. Terry said that they have to allow for parking for the other two businesses. Ms. Patterson said the lower parking lot is also used not only by the pizza shop but also by the marina. She asked if his customers parked there are there enough parking spaces for those using the docks. Mr. Smith said that P.B. & J. own all the property. Mrs. Terry said the property lines are not shown anywhere. Mrs. Terry marked an Assessors map to show the property lines and the parking areas.

A MOTION was made by Mr. Sutton and seconded by Mr. Ballard to approve the site plan for 81 Point Grove Road. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mrs. Terry said that Chapter 315 is the Southwick Subdivision of Land. She said that it is not part of the zoning bylaw and can be amended by the Planning Board. She said that once the Public Hearing is closed the Planning Board can vote on it. She said that it does not have to go to Town Meeting.  She said it has been updated over the years to keep up with changes and requirements. She said that some of the changes had to do with road design.  Mr. Slessler said that the Chapter 315 draft has been sent to the Town Attorney and revisions have been made. Mr. Brown, the DPW Director indicated that he has seen the revised version. Mrs. Terry said the DPW Director has been involved in the process. Mr. Slessler said a maintenance bond and performance bond was added to the Chapter 315.

A MOTION was made by Mr. Sutton and seconded by Mr. Ballard to continue the Public Hearing for Chapter 315 to April 12, 2016 at 7:30 pm The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mrs. Terry opened the continuation of the Public Hearing for 41 & 51 John Mason Road for the Disc Golf Course   submitted by Mrs. Brown. She said that Mrs. Patterson was designated as a voter should she be needed. Mr. Sutton and Mr. Utzinger will read the minutes so they can vote. Mr. Brown said he made a site visit with the Conservation Commission. He said they are waiting for comments from the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection. She said that this will require the Board to keep the hearing open until Conservation receives their information. He said the only new information he was adding to the previous presentation was a photograph of the parcel. He showed the proposed area of the parking area and the proposed site of the pro shop area and the location of the porta-potty. He said the area has been cleared and the flags show the four corners of the area to be used for parking. Mrs. Terry said the main permit the Board is issuing is the Disc Golf. She said the Board does not have a site plan of where the Disc Golf course will be located. She said out of 100 acres you plan to use 50 acres and a plan of the course needs to be presented. Mr. Brown said he would put that plan together. She said she called the school bus company and there were no school busses using John Mason Road but there are school busses using Fred Jackson Road. These busses run on the road from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and again from 2:15 to 4:00 pm She reported from June 20^th until the end of August there will be no school busses running. She said there may be a summer school but they do not have that schedule yet. She said we may want to schedule the trucking schedule around the school bus schedule. She said the Board would not want trucks and school buses on Fred Jackson Road together. She said the Zoning Officer will be monitoring any permits the board puts in place. She said that in the past there have been limits on hours, limits on the size of trucks and limits for the route the trucks can take. She said the request is for 4,000 cubic yards to be removed. She said they will know who has the trucking contract and they will come to the Building Inspector between 8:30 and 900: a.m. with a report of what was completed the day before. The Inspector will keep a tally of how many trips the trucks make and how much material has been removed. She said there are concerns of trucks on the road. She said the applicant is responsible for making sure the truckers she has hired do not break the rules of the permit. She will be fined if they do not adhere to the permit regulations. Mr. Slessler said the Fire Department checked the culvert and said it was ok but we have asked for a written statement. He said there was nothing new from DPW outside of his comments that were reviewed in the previous meeting. He said John Mason Road is not a scenic road. He suggested when the trucks leave the property they should go to Fred Jackson Road. Mrs. Terry asked the Board members to visit the two roads. She said the Board will determine the best route for the trucks to take to get to Granville Road. She asked the applicant to provide the name of the trucking company to the Board. She said the Board of Health has issued a one year permit for a porta-potty. She said if a more permanent facility is needed the applicant would have to go to the Board of Health again.

Mrs. Terry read the following letter for abutters:

 Lisa Scarnici, of 32 Fred Jackson Road, who was concerned about the gravel removal.

 Travis Kingsley, of 13 John Mason Road, who was concerned about the gravel removal

 Ronald Urban, of 155 Fred Jackson Road, who was concerned about the gravel removal

Mr. Urban said he is not opposed to the Disc Golf but is opposed to the gravel removal.

Mrs. Terry set aside the five letters (5) from Mr. Baribeau and the two (2) letters from Attorney Michael Schneider. She said Mr. Baribeau submitted letters that he had written during previous hearings which were all entered into the following meetings June 21, 2010, January 20, 2015, March 8, 2016, and March 21, 2016.Since the letters were so long Mrs. Terry asked Attorney Schneider if he wanted to read the letters for his client. He said as long as the letters were available in the record it they did not have to be read. She read Mr. Baribeau’s letter dated March 22, 2016 which was opposed to gravel removal.

Mr. Solek, of 147 Fred Jackson Road, asked what the regulations are if someone had to remove soil to install a septic tank. Mrs. Terry said that most work on houses is less than 1,000 cubic yards of earth removal. She said a gravel removal that is over 1,000 cubic yards would require an excavation permit which has some constraints on it like when and how it is removed. She said it is a tool that was added by the Planning Board to have some control of the removal. She said that some of the trucks on the road have something to do with other projects. She said the Board has to focus on this particular application.

Mrs. Spear, of 39 Fred Jackson Road, asked if there would be equipment on the site after the gravel had been removed and she wanted to know about how many trucks would be on the road.

Mrs. Terry said there will be equipment such as bulldozers. She said this is not going to be an ongoing gravel operation. She said hopefully it will be a short period of time to complete the gravel removal for the parking lot. Some construction workers estimated that it would be approximately 200 ten wheelers or 400 standard dump trucks. They said the period of time would be determined by the Planning Board. Mrs. Terry said the permit the Board issues will be very specific. She said the trucks will be limited to only weekdays and limited hours. She said the permit is not renewable.

Mrs. McGann, of 31 Fred Jackson Road, asked about the size of the truck. Mrs. Patterson said that a smaller truck would hold less gravel and make many trips but a larger truck would hold more gravel and would make fewer trips. Mrs. Terry said the Board would rely on the opinion of DPW to determine what size trucks and weight of them so the road would not be damaged. Mr. Slessler said there is no weight restriction on those roads.

Mr. Littlefield, of 22 Ed Holcomb Road, asked about enforcement of the number of loads and the directions the trucks would be taking. Mrs. Terry said the applicant is responsible for whomever she hires and the Zoning Enforcement Officer is responsible for tracking the loads and will require the truckers report on a daily basis as to how much they have taken out. She said if there is a violation it is a zoning issue and not a police issue.

Mr. Littlefield, of 22 Ed Holcomb Road, asked if the neighbors on the involved streets will know who the name of the trucking company would be hired. Mrs. Terry said the name of the designator trucking company will be public record. She said if you see a truck driving on an undesignated route you would call the Zoning Officer. She said there is a suggestion the driveway is gated. She said that might not be a bad suggestion so other people would not be parking in there.

Attorney Michael Schneider said he has a one half hour power point presentation prepared by Mr. Baribeau to show and asked when it will be shown at the meeting. He said there a several different videos. Mr. Slessler said that part of the presentation is Mr. Baribeau driving down the roads to demonstrate different routes both going and coming.  Mr. Doherty said the Board members have a sense of where the vehicles will be routed since the Board members are familiar with the roads in question. Mr. Sutton said the Board can drive the roads themselves. Attorney Michael Schneider said that if the Hearing is continued it may be better to show the power point at another meeting. Mr. Doherty said he did not think information could be presented and not be part of the public record. He also said that Attorney Schneider did not feel the notice of the public hearing was sufficient. He asked if Attorney Schneider wanted the Board to close the hearing and reopen it at another time. Attorney Schneider felt the notice was inaccurate by the Board and should consult their own attorney. Mr. Terry said the notice is sufficient since everyone in attendance has expressed concerns about the gravel removal.

Mr. Moglin, of 5 Hidden Place, said if there is a question that the meeting notice is defective he suggested stopping now, continue the hearing  and have Town Council review the meeting notice. He said that if Town Council feels the meeting notice was accurate then you can proceed. This would save lots of money and time. He said if you close the hearing and republish the notice the applicant would have to start over. It is better to address the issue now and stop now. Mrs. Terry said that she would propose the Board send the information and concerns to Town Council for review. Mr. Brown asked if the public notice was prepared by the Planning Board and is the intent of the application clear. Mrs. Terry said the Planning board prepared the legal ad and the intent of the application is clear.

A member of the audience asked if one must be a tax payer to speak at the meeting. Mrs. Terry said no but each speaker must identify themselves and their address.

A MOTION was made by Mr. Ballard and seconded by Mr. Doherty to continue the Public Hearing for 41-51 John Mason Road to April12, 2016 at 7:45 pm The motion passed unanimously.

 

No minutes were presented for a vote.

Being no further business to be brought before the Board, A MOTION was made by Mr. Sutton, SECONDED by Mr. Ballard to adjourn at 8:50 pm  Vote was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,

Ruth Preston

Planning Board Administrative Assistant