TOWN OF SHARON

PLANNING BOARD

Minutes of a Meeting of the Planning Board held on January 12, 2005 at 7:30 p.m., in the Town Offices.

PRESENT: SAMUEL SOLOMON, CHAIR

REGINA MANISCALCO, VICE CHAIR

ARNOLD COHEN, CLERK and RECORDER

ELI HAUSER

PETER O'CAIN, ASST. TOWN ENGINEER

Business Transacted:

I. Meeting called to order.

FORM A PLANS

Plan of land on 150 Norwood Street, Applicant Thomas P. Altieri, owner M.H. Realty Trust. The plan calls for dividing one large lot into four lots. Mr. Altieri was present. He stated that he presently plans to build on the three northerly lots. He says that in spite of the steepness of the grade, by snaking the driveway, he can meet the zoning slope requirements. He says the Fire Chief has given his approval. The Board noted that by approving the Form A, it is making no determination as to the buildability of the lots. Mr. Solomon stated that the plan was defective in that the owner of the land on the east side of the property was not identified. On motion of Ms. Maniscalco, seconded by Mr. Hauser, voted 4-0 to authorize the Town Engineer, Eric Hooper, to approve and sign the Plan as the Board's agent, subject to insertion of the name of the missing abutter.

II. HUNTER'S RIDGE

Mr. Faria, the applicant's engineer was present. Mr. Solomon stated that Mr. Faria was invited to give an update on the status of the application. Mr. Faria stated that a hydrogeological study had been completed and submitted to Earthtech, the consultant hired by the Conservation Commission. Earthtech reviewed the study and requested that revisions be made to the plan. Mr. Faria did not consider any of the requested changes to be major. The applicant will revise the plan based in Earthtech's request. After the revised plan is submitted ConCom will schedule a hearing.

The Board of Health also had a peer review of the applicant's plan, specifically concerning the septic system. The Board of Health has scheduled a hearing for February 14, 2005.

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Administrative Assistant

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Mr. O'Cain stated he had read the peer reviews, which he thought were excellent.

Mr. O'Cain said the Board of Health consultant had asked for changes to the septic system, and the applicant had revised the plan accordingly. The changes relate to the size and location of the septic system.

Mr. O'Cain said that the hydrogeological study indicated there would be no impact on wetlands by the project. The applicant was looking for a hearing before ConCom in late February.

Mr. Faria stated that the applicant would submit a request for an extension for the Board's decision beyond the current February 16 deadline.

Mr. Solomon noted that one of the issues was the concern of Lantern Lane residents that even without this project, they are getting water on their property. These residents are concerned that the development could exacerbate the wet conditions. The Planning Board wanted to make sure that there would be no exacerbation of the storm water runoff situation in order to protect the interests of the Lantern Lane homeowners, the Town and the potential residents of the new development.

Mr. O'Cain noted that he needed to review the stormwater runoffs in light of the new by-law that was enacted at the October, 2004 Special Town Meeting.

III. SPRING TOWN MEETING DISCUSSION

The deadline for submitting new articles is later this month (around January 21). Mr. Solomon had listed potential articles that the Board might wish to have included on the warrant as follows:

1. Eliminate Old Flexible Subdivision By-Law (Sections 4310-4339). This might be a good idea, because the old by-law almost never has been used, and has effectively been supplanted by the CSD by-law. Careful attention to drafting this would be needed because some of the provisions might apply to other portions of the by-law.

2. Change current CSD By-law. The idea would be to eliminate an apparent ambiguity in Section 4367(3), to make it so that to be entitled to the 1 ¾ increase in units, it would be required that the units be multi-family.

3. Create an Affordable Housing Subdivision By-Law (AHSD). The idea behind this is to make all land in Town eligible for affordable housing subdivisions. Either 100%, or some lesser percentage, of the housing would need to be affordable. The purpose of the by-law would be to increase affordable housing in Town to 10%. In an AHSD, the developer could build a multiple (four or five times) of the amount of units

Minutes of Meeting Page Three January 12, 2005

allowed under existing zoning. The consensus of the Board was that this idea would require a lot of thought so that we should set our sights on the Fall, 2005 meeting rather than the Spring meeting.

4. Modify MUOD- Section 4805. The section would be modified to eliminate the requirement excluding land within the Surface or Groundwater Protection Districts from coverage under MUOD.

IV. HOUSING

Mr. Hauser discussed a meeting with the Conservation Commission he and Ms. Maniscalco had attended to discuss the potential of ConCom parcels for building affordable housing. The ConCom seemed open to the idea. There will be further cooperative efforts with the ConCom to see if any ConCom land could be used or exchanged as part of an effort to increase affordable housing.

V. OTHER BUSINESS.

Mr. Solomon reported that Mr. Donald Iuliano had called him. Mr. Iuliano, who lives at 37 Norfolk Terrace, stated that a builder, Mr. Piona, wanted to build in back of his property, in spite of the fact that there was no legal access. Mr. Iuliano wants copies of the Board's minutes from July 10, 1974 and November 25, 1986. Mr. O'Cain observed that it was his understanding that Mr. Piona did have legal access. Even if that is so, however, Mr. Iuliano is entitled to see these minutes, under the Freedom of Information Act. The Board discussed whether Mr. Iuliano could be charged for the expense of Birute's time in trying to locate these old minutes.

VI. There being no other business before the Board, the Board adjourned at 10:00 p.m.