TOWN OF SHARON

PLANNING BOARD

 

 

Minutes of a Meeting of the Planning Board held on February 22, 2006, at 7:30 p.m., in the Town Offices.

 

 

                             PRESENT:   REGINA MANISCALCO, CHAIR

                                                WAYNE BRADLEY, CLERK

                                                ARNOLD COHEN

                                                PAUL LAUENSTEIN

                                                PETER O’CAIN, ASST. TOWN ENGINEER

 

 

Business Transacted:

 

I.                Meeting called to order.  The Minutes of the February 8, 2006, meeting were reviewed and accepted with corrections.

 

FORM A PLANS

None.

 

SIGN REVIEW

None.

 

II.            PLANNING CONSULTANT

 

The Board invited Mr. Thomas Houston in as a prospective candidate for the position of Town Planner.  Mr. Houston had served as a member of the Planning Board for two terms back in the 80’s. 

 

 

 

 

                                                                   _______________________________

                                                                                   Administrative Assistant

 

Planning Board Minutes                               Page Two                                  February 22, 2006

 

Ms. Maniscalco first explained to Mr. Houston that, according to the Selectmen, the Town may or may not be able to put together a budget for a full time planner in the future.  In the meantime, there are a couple of things needed.  A consultant is needed who will work with all the boards and committees and ultimately put together a scope of services that will be different from a job description.  This person will meet with the different boards and committees, look at the projects coming up and possibly determine under whose purview the Town planner will work – the DPW, the ZBA, the Planning Board, etc.  This person will also provide a “snap shot” of what choices the Town has regarding LIP’s and 40B’s, current and future, and any suggestions for fending off unfriendly 40B’s.

 

Ms. Maniscalco then gave Mr. Houston the floor and he presented the Board with handouts of his resume, including descriptions of jobs he and his firm have worked on.  He also had put together a list of the 40B projects he has personally reviewed.  He also informed the Board that he was not aware of any other firm in the State that had their level of expertise in that area.

 

Mr. Houston went into some detail about his company and the different projects they had worked on.  He explained that he has four areas of expertise – civil engineering, traffic engineering, certified planners, and a master’s degree in urban affairs.  He is also a registered professional engineer and has some background in environmental impact issues. 

 

The Board and Mr. Houston discussed some of the projects he had worked on, especially as they may be similar to projects coming up in Sharon. 

 

In another area, Mr. Bradley asked if Mr. Houston had had any experience putting together land use master plans for municipalities or an overview of a Town’s potential development before a specific proposal has been made.  Mr. Houston answered that he has not done this in his current company.  The only town they helped prepare a Master Plan for was Canton, as they have worked for Canton for many years. 

 

 

 

 

 

Planning Board Minutes                                  Page Three                              February 22, 2006

 

Mr. Lauenstein asked if Mr. Houston’s firm had expertise with Low Impact Development (LID).  Mr. Houston replied that his firm did not specialize in that area.  He added that LID is not a panacea, and is only appropriate for certain situations.

 

Mr. Cohen returned to the issue that the Board is looking for someone who is going to come up with the possibility of hiring a town planner and how that position should be set up.   Mr. Houston said that this is a really critical issue.  For a number of years the Town of Canton had a Town Planner and the impetus of creating that job was with the Planning Board.  The Planner’s job description was to work with the Planning Board and implement its policies.  However, his immediate authority came from the Town Executive.  There were issues between the Canton Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen and the ZBA that put the Town Planner in sticky situations.  Mr. Houston said that it was very important to delineate how the Planner would fit into Town government. 

 

Ms. Maniscalco thanked Mr. Houston for coming in to meet with the Board.

 

III.       OTHER BUSINESS

 

---Mr. Lauenstein reported that he had attended the Board of Selectmen meeting regarding Hunter’s Ridge.  He voiced his distress to the Selectmen, as a private citizen and not as a Board member, as to the amount of earth removal proposed.  Ms. Maniscalco asked how large a group attended that meeting and Mr. Lauenstein answered that there were about 35 people present.  She also asked if some agreement had been reached to reduce the actual number of cubic yards of gravel that was to be removed and Mr. Lauenstein answered that the number had been reduced to 60,000 cubic yards.

 

Mr. O’Cain had also attended that meeting and told the Board the following issues were also raised and discussed:

          -the public school bus stop – to be revisited regarding what time the bus was in the area and new times amended as to when the trucks could not go in and out of the subdivision.

          -how blasting was to be controlled.

          -how dust was to be controlled.

          -appearance at the entrance to the subdivision – stumps were to be removed and the area planted.

 

Planning Board Minutes                                 Page Four                                  February 22, 2006

 

---Mr. Cohen told the Board that Mr. Mirrione, the applicant for Hunter’s Ridge, had asked the Board for a signed original of its decision.  Since the Town Clerk only had one original, she was not going to give him her copy.  Since the ZBA signs multiple originals of its Special Permit decisions, both Mr. Mirrione and the Town Clerk assumed the Planning Board did also.  It did not.  However, after checking with Town Counsel, the Town Clerk was going to give Mr. Mirrione an attested copy which he could record with the Norfolk Registry of Deeds.  Mr. Cohen suggested that the Board should consider signing more than one original Special Permit in the future.  Also, since the Board never received them, it was suggested that copies of all signed settlement documents be obtained from Town Counsel.

 

---Mr. Bradley wanted to return to the issue of interviewing other potential candidates for the Town Planner position.  He asked what the procedure would be for doing this.  Ms. Maniscalco answered that other prospective candidates will also be invited in to a Board meeting to be interviewed as Mr. Houston was.  However, Ms. Maniscalco said that she would first like to go back to the Selectmen and find out what their position is on this matter.  She wanted to make sure the Planning Board is not wasting its time on this matter by interviewing people.  The Planning Board is firm on the fact that it will not deplete the Kendall Fund to hire a planner, so wants to see where the money will be coming from.  Mr. Lauenstein agreed stating that this will be a long term situation and the few thousand dollars that is in the Kendall Fund won’t go very far, even if all of it is used.  Mr. Bradley said that perhaps the Town should look at other alternatives that would be more efficient and more agreeable. 

 

--Mr. Bradley raised another issue regarding the DPW.  He said that the Engineering Department really needs a modern plotter.  With all the demands the Planning Board puts on the Engineering Department’s mapping skills, Mr. Bradley feels the Board should take the lead in helping them get this machine.  Mr. Maniscalco said that she would be in favor of bringing this issue to the Selectmen and asked Mr. O’Cain to provide an estimate of how much the plotter would cost.

 

---Glendale Village – Mr. Lauenstein informed the Board that the ZBA was on its way to making a decision on this 40B.  The ZBA was interested in receiving comments and input from the Planning Board and Mr. Lauenstein thought the Board should respond and


Planning Board Minutes                                 Page Five                                    February 22, 2006

 

possibly seek some limitations for the subdivision.  Ms. Maniscalco responded that the Planning Board’s comments are always solicited by the ZBA on 40B’s and the Board always tries to put together its comments and suggestions.  However, a review has not been received yet from the Town Engineer, and until that is received, the Board has nothing to base its review on.  This item would be placed on the Board’s next agenda for discussion, provided a review is received from engineering. 

 

---Mr. Cohen reported that he had attended the CPA Committee meeting.  A public meeting will be held by the Committee, open to Town Boards and townspeople.  The Committee will give a presentation of what it is all about and solicit ideas on how the money should be spent.  He suggested that Planning Board members try and attend the meeting also.  He also suggested that the Board discuss where it would like to see some of this money spent. 

 

---Mr. Lauenstein suggested that the Board should start thinking about what, if any, by-law changes it would be bring to Fall Town Meeting.  This item would be put on the next agenda for discussion.

 

IV.           There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at

          9:30 p.m.