Joint Meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Economic Development Committee

Draft Meeting Minutes of February 13, 2007

 

 

Selectmen and Economic Development Committee attendees

Bill Heitin - Chair

Eli Hauser - Chair

Joe Roche

Rob Maidman

Richard Powell

Suzi Peck

 

Alan Lurie

Additional town citizens were present.

 

Meeting Initiation

Meeting was called to order at 7:40 pm by Chair Eli Hauser

 

Meeting Discussion

Chair Hauser summarized the meeting agenda which included:

 

§      Tom Houston summarizing the status of the warrant article: the important points for the community and the safeguards that are built in as well as the traffic study.

§      John Rockwood from Attorney Gelerman’s office will discuss the memorandum of understanding.

§      Joel Alpert will provide thoughts from the Finance Committee

§      Paul Lauenstein will speak on behalf of the Water Management Committee

§      Suzi Peck will speak on behalf of the Board of Health

 

Mr. Houston of the PSC Engineering Firm in Foxboro stated he had been engaged by the Town to draft the town meeting warrant article to create a business district D adopted as part of the zoning map for S. Main, I95, Old Post Road and South Walpole streets. In creating the business district D it would be protective of the town and environment and provide development. The goal is to create a lifestyle center characterized by diversity of the stores and reflects a traditional New England style. It is slated for 500,000 square feet of space and can be increased to 630,000 square feet only by the proponent going before the ZBA. The total parking spaces would be 2000 and the larger development could be 2500 spaces. Water use permitted would be 30,000 gallons of water per day. If the land were left for homes it would use 22,000 gallons of water per day. There are specific controls on what can be built in the property which include two buildings at 80,000 square feet and the 3rd largest building at 75,000 square feet. Other buildings have to be 60,000 square feet or less unless a special permit is provided.  35% of the property has to remain as forest.

 

Mr. Houston also continued by stating he placed rigid developmental controls within the bylaw for both design and performance standards. The rigid performance standards of this district must accommodate firstly, control on traffic. For any street where traffic volume increases by more than 200 cars per hour, the proponent must increase the service of the roads to level D. The upgrades are mandated with the rigid standards. Another key concern is the impact on ground water. The proponent must construct an on site waste water treatment plant with an unparalleled level of protection. Mr. Houston said he created a district that would be protective of the town resources and the people. With reference to traffic impact, Mr. Houston said the roadways in front of the site will improve. They will put signal controls at Gavins Pond Road, Wolomolopoag and Walpole Streets up to the center of town. Mr. Houston requested the proponent to provide more detailed analysis of the traffic study before Town Meeting and said traffic counters would be going out on 2/14. When discussing the studies Mr. Houston was questioned if instead of reconstructing Old Post Road would it be appropriate to have the service road to 95. Mr. Houston replied that the access road would only provide access to the North. The nice part of what is proposed because Old Post Road is close to proximity of 95 is to siphon all traffic from 95 and west without impacting the Town of Sharon.

 

Mr. Houston said John Rockwood negotiated the memorandum of understanding so South Walpole cannot access through to the property. It would be used for emergency access only, not for general use. 57.8 acres are proposed for commercial development and the other portions of the property are to go to 1) conservation, 2) well site 3) cranberry bogs to the Conservation Commission 4) there are 5 acres not apart of the rezoning. The proponent’s ultimate endeavor is a LIP project. Mr. O’Cain interjected that the town is responsible for repair of roads years down the road and the developer will pay for upgrades to road initially.

 

Attorney Rockwood explained the Memorandum of Understanding was a high level document signed by the Board of Selectmen and the developer. It is a document which is under daily revisions and sets the obligations of the developer to the town. The first part is the zoning change which defines the parcels to be rezoned, the types if business uses; 2 - 80,000 square foot buildings, 1 - 75,000 square foot building. If the developer wants to increase the size it must be discussed within a site plan and a special permit. The developer will give the cranberry bogs to the town. Once the zoning change occurs it triggers the developer to give the town the land. 11 acres will be provided to the town for a well or municipal purpose. The sole access to the site is via South Main Street. Traffic roadways improvements will be made with the developer who is also working with Shaw’s Plaza. Mr. Rockwood stated that it also includes signage that the developer will place on Laurel Road that states no access to shopping. A sensitivity study will be performed and a traffic impact statement will be drafted. The areas on the site will be restricted to comply with the natural heritage. There will be an easement on the property to benefit the town. The developer will pay all legal charges. With respect to Laurel Road the developer will create a cul de sac. The developer will construct a burma for sound prevention at the facility at the end of Laurel Road to protect the residents from the noises. The developer will pay for environmental impact mitigation. The developer will pay money to ConCom which is still being negotiated. The Memorandum will be presented at Town Meeting.

 

Joel Alpert of the Finance Committee stated that warrants for Town Meeting need to be submitted to the printer this week. Issues raised re: traffic, water and noise are the bottom line. The Finance Committee did a financial impact to taxes of the town including cost to the town and determined the extra needs. They also looked at alternative proposed 40B housing apartments and condos. They did an analysis based on the initial analysis and stated the housing development is a negative impact to the town. It is clear that the commercial development would add 2.5 million dollars to the associated taxes. The Finance Committee warns however not to look for a decrease in tax bills. The sense of the committee concurs this is a beneficial project for the town and voted 5-2-1 in favor. The financial analysis will be included within the warrant.

 

Selectmen Chair Bill Heitin stated that 3 million dollars in revenue will stabilize taxes. If we don’t look for outside sources any residential community will increase costs. The key is stabilization. The Economic Development Committee approached the developer to stop the 40B. We are moving forward quickly because other developments occurring in Dedham and Mansfield are popping up and we want to attract retailers. Sharon is a desirable location for retailers.

 

Suzi Peck of the BOH said she is aware that the project is about choices. We need to balance environmental impacts. All choices are individual. The BOH wants information that is not yet available; aqua fill protection and waste water treatment. The massive earth removal can cause water problems. Traffic can cause stress, air pollution, risk of carbon monoxide contamination and accidents. They want to see the traffic study to understand what impact there will be to the center of town. The objective is to maintain the same level of service. Think about the unintended consequences. There are impacts that need to be built in. The BOH is looking at environmental issues independent of the BOH general rules. The BOH needs to make issues apparent so safeguards are addresses. Mr. Intoccia replied that he will meet all requirements to ensure the town is happy.

 

Paul Lauenstein of the Water Management Commission said their goal is to explore water aspects of the project. The project is in a ground water protection district. In their next meeting they will discuss impacts to the wells that are 30% of the town’s water supply. He is concerned with the demand on the aqua fur. He is interested in conservation and proposes any mitigation to other areas in town to offset additional water used by the developer. He is concerned about the danger of the disposal of waste water. He is concerned about the maintenance of the waste water treatment plant. He wants to make sure funding is appropriate.

 

Calendar of Events

February 28th - Public Hearing on South Main Street Rezoning to be held at 7:30 pm in the SHS Library.

 

A Special Town Meeting to be held on March 12th, 2007 to vote on the South Main Street Rezoning proposal.

 

Meeting Adjournment

Chair Eli Hauser moved to adjourn meeting at 9:50pm; Selectmen Chair Bill Heitin seconded the motion.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachelle F. Levitts

Administrative Assistant