TOWN OF
PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of a Meeting of the Planning Board
held on
PRESENT: SAMUEL SOLOMON, CHAIR
ELI
HAUSER
PETER
O’CAIN, ASST. TOWN ENGINEER
BUSINESS TRANSACTED:
I.
Meeting
called to order. The Minutes of the
March 9, 2005, meeting were reviewed and accepted with corrections.
FORM
A PLANS
None.
SIGN
REVIEW
None.
I.
The applicant had requested an extension of
the time within which to complete the subdivision. He was also seeking to set a bond for work to
be done on the new street. Since the
applicant had exceeded the four years allowed to build the subdivision as well
as the four additional years allowed by extension, the Board indicated it was
not sure it could allow any additional extensions for completion. However, Town Counsel would be consulted on
this matter. Therefore, this issue would
be put on the next agenda and no action taken this evening.
_______________________________
Administrative Assistant
Minutes of Meeting Page Two
I.
III.
KING PHILLIP ESTATES
Mr. O’Cain advised the Board that the
applicant had put in the basins and infiltration areas on the plan but hasn’tt worked out the particulars for them.
Mr. Clow,
engineer for the applicant, said that the most pressing issue requiring the
most effort on their part was to demonstrate the control of runoff from the
site. They worked towards developing a
concept that would give Mr. O’Cain a level of comfort indicating that they
could control the changes in the hydrology and runoff. In working with Mr. O’Cain, they have come up
with a scenario they hope will be acceptable and provide a satisfactory
solution, for which the Board would consider deferring the detailed analysis of
that system as part of its decision.
The proposed roadway profile breaks the
road in half at about Station 414. Any
water above that Station will be stopped and go to a basin. Mr. Solomon asked if the 25 year storm would
over run the break and Mr. Clow answered that it
would not. Rather than building a
crowned road, it is banked to the right and there is no curbing so that water
will run off to the shoulder. It will
then go to an existing depression and will collect a certain volume of
water. From the crest, the road will be
banked left going downhill. There is a
drainage easement laid out under the 12 lot subdivision for water management and
grading. They are proposing a series of
shallow six inch ditches. They are
currently only showing three on the plans, but per Mr. O’Cain’s
request, will be adding more and grading around them. Mr. Solomon reminded the applicant that as
discussed previously, any drainage would have to be designed to meet the
approval of the Town Engineer.
Mr. Clow added
that they want to make sure that they can capture all water to keep it from
going onto
Minutes of Meeting Page Three
Mr. O’Cain agreed with this, indicating
that the berm will guide the water into the catch
basins. He felt the applicant had a good
plan and that the applicant has worked with Mr. O’Cain to address this
issue.
Mr. Solomon advised the applicant that the
Board had received a number of letters from abutters requesting that the houses
be placed closer to the road so as to preserve the historical Native American
sites on the premises. It was suggested
that a 600’ buffer be provided to preserve the archeology of the site so that
the homes will not be visible from King Phillip’s Rock. Mr. Solomon asked the applicant what their
opinion was about this request. Mr. Clow answered that that configuration would significantly
diminish the value of the project. Mr. Wluka added that they have spent eighteen months and a lot
of money on this project. They are not
willing to provide this buffer and it is not a discussion they feel is worth
having.
Mr. Cohen explained that there were some
letters and people coming to these meetings to provide the Board with
information. The Board just wanted to go over some of the issues that had been
raised by the abutters and see if there could be some compromise reached on
this matter that was raised as an issue of concern. Mr. Wluka added
that such a large buffer would affect other things as well and not just the
houses, such as a tennis court. They
could not be constrained in marketing the property in this way. They were not willing to go through the time
or expense of going through this again.
Mr. Meister of the Conservation Commission
added that placing the houses so far back on the property would not just affect
the site at the top of the property but that you will be able to see these
houses from the conservation land and trail.
The Town has spent a lot of public money to maintain the open space here
and it would be nice if the improvements were not visible from King Phillips
Rock.
Mr. Wluka again
answered that it was too late to discuss this and that it would eliminate too much
of the applicant’s property from being usable.
Minutes of Meeting Page Four
Mr. Solomon pointed out that the applicant
was requesting a large number of waivers for this subdivision. They are waivers the Board might not consider
for a regular subdivision and were only doing so here at the Town’s request to
settle the litigation on the 12 lot subdivision. However, this Board could determine that this
is something it will not allow and let it go to the Housing Appeals Court for
determination. The Board is not taking
your land away from you. We are trying
to determine what is in the best interests of the Town, protecting existing
residents as well as any future residents that may purchase these homes. The applicant chose to come before this
Board. This Board is considering this
subdivision at the request of the applicant, the ZBA, the Conservation
Commission and Town Counsel. Frankly, it
is a lousy plan and contains a lot of things the Board would not allow in a
plan under normal circumstances, but three lots are better than twelve. However, there are still issues that need to
be worked out and the Board assumes the applicant will work with the Board
towards resolving those issues. These
lots are significantly larger than required.
They border conservation land.
The Board is trying to protect that land and is requesting that a
portion of the back land be preserved for conservation purposes. The lots would still be large but would
create a buffer for the Town land. The
land does not necessarily need to be deeded to the Town but could have a
conservation restriction put on it. Ms. Arguimbau of ConCom said that even if a conservation
restriction is put on the land, there are still things the homeowners could
do. She is in favor of the three lot
subdivision with waivers, but the protection of the conservation land is most
important and not how it is achieved.
The applicant’s attorney
said that the applicant would be amenable to doing something about this, but
are not there yet. Mr. Solomon
answered that if the Board feels that is something that would be beneficial to
the Town, the language needs to be in the
decision. He suggested it would be in
the applicant’s best interest to make a decision on this matter tonight, which
may aid the Board in making a decision tonight.
The Board has only seen these plans two times and it is acting in an
expedited fashion to deal with this issue.
The applicant can also act in an expedited fashion on this
Minutes of Meeting Page Five
matter to resolve the issue tonight. Mr. Wluka agreed to
provide a conservation
restriction 100’ from the rear property line or the edge of the wetlands,
whichever was more restrictive. Mr.
Solomon also suggested that language be added to the decision that a
restriction be placed on the large boulder at the top of the property, so that
no future home owner can make any changes to the area around it.
The Board then went on to review the
requested waivers as listed on the attached waiver request from the
applicant. Changes are noted on the
attached list.
Mr. Cohen
then moved to approve the King Phillips subdivision as amended
through today subject to the following
conditions:
-The first three standard Board conditions
about compliance;
-That the drainage system be designed in
such a way as to conform to the Rules and Regulations of the Town of Sharon and
subject to approval by the Engineering Department;
-That all elements of the drainage design
are not allowed to be adjusted, altered
or changed in any way without the approval of the engineering department
and the Planning Board;
-That a conservation restriction be placed
on the northerly side of the lot from the 100’ buffer zone of the wetlands or
100’ of the property line, whichever is greater.
-That the applicant make a good faith
effort relative to preserving any archeological or site line features or rocks
on the site.
-That the sedimentation and erosion plan be
provided with the drainage plan designed as part of the general construction
by-law.
The Motion was seconded by Mr. Hauser and
unanimously voted.
Mr. Cohen then moved to approve the waivers
as discussed tonight and noted on the waiver request letter from the applicant
dated
IV. There
being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at