Town of Sharon Planning Board

Meeting Minutes for September 13^th, 2006

Amended and Approved September 27^th, 2006

Planning Board Attendees

Eli Hauser - Chair	Wayne Bradley
Arnold Cohen – Vice Chair	Paul Lauenstein
Amanda Sloan - Clerk

Attendees

Peter O’Cain – Asst. Town Engineer	Lisa Cohen - Resident
Marc Cohen - Resident	Mark Iverson - Developer
James Freedman - Resident	Fred Clark – Mirrione Realty
Nick Mirrione – Mirrione Realty	Gint Subatis - Resident

Meeting Initiation

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

Meeting Discussion

Chair’s Report

Performed by Mr. Hauser.
Mr. Hauser asked Ms. Levitts to email him as well as Mr. Cohen as a reminder to write a letter in support of Avalon Bay – Comprehensive Permit to ZBA.

Form A

Mr. O’Cain showed the Board an Approval Not Required Plan (Form A) for the Griffin Lot located at 435 East Foxboro Street. The applicant was asking to make the newly created Lot 1 a four bedroom lot and designate the newly created Lot 2 as un-buildable. It was deemed to be a Form A Plan because the owner was not creating a new roadway. AS per Mr. O’Cain, the subdivision Control law states that Form A plans do not have to create buildable lots. The plan submitted does have a locus map and notes but the plan is not in compliance because the scale and area covered was insufficient and did not meet the Land Subdivision Rules and Regulations of the Planning Board. Mr. Hauser moved to approve the Plan subject to the applicant’s modification of the plan, which would bring the locus map into compliance and once compliant could be approved by Mr. O’Cain. Mr. Cohen seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0-0.

Sign Review

None to report.

Meeting Minutes of 8/23/06

Board reviewed and amended draft meeting minutes of 8/23/06.
Mr. Lauenstein moved to accept the minutes of 8/23/06 as amended and Mr. Cohen seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0-0.

CZM/NepRWA LID Grant

Mr. Lauenstein reported on the NepRWA presentation made to the Selectmen. Neponset River Watershed Association will seek a grant from Coastal Zone Management to assist Sharon in reviewing our by-laws to remove obstacles to Low Impact Development. Steve Pearlman of NepRWA will do most of the legwork. Mr. Lauenstein and Ms. Sloan will volunteer their time. Mr. O’Cain will participate as a senior reviewer and is not expected to put in more than 10 hours over a 7 month period. The total value of the time donated by Mr. Lauenstein, Ms. Sloan, and Mr. O’Cain will be approximately $2500.00. Mr. Puritz will write a letter in support of the grant application and that’s what Mr. Pearlman needs to submit the grant application. Mr. Pearlman was unable to attend the meeting.

Public Hearing

The public hearing was called to order by Mr. Hauser at 8:00 PM as scheduled. Ms. Sloan read the Planning Board’s legal notice for Sumac Lane and Aspen Road.

· Mr. O’Cain described the street acceptance process and how it starts with the Board of Selectmen. Mr. O’Cain made a presentation regarding outstanding items (punch-list) on the roadway. After the first Selectmen’s hearing, the process then moves to the Planning Board for a Public Hearing. The Selectmen then vote to “lay down” the roadway (if punch-list items are complete) and the process moves to Town Meeting where the Town votes whether to accept the roadway as a Town way. If the Town votes to take the roadway the article is forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office so they can review the article and the process taken by the Town for acceptance. Once the Attorney General’s Office approves the article, the Selectmen will vote on an Order of Taking and legally take the roadway. The Order of Taking is then filed at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.

· Mark Iverson of 14 Hickory Way, Sharon built this road for Townsman Square 4 in Sharon. He stated that the road has been in place for two years.

· Mr. O’Cain presented a punch list that Mr. Iverson is working on for Aspen Road which includes:

o Street light operation – spare lights were delivered by the developer

o Sloped granite curbing

o Streets must be swept and cleared of debris

o Catch basins must be clean – receipt provided to the town

o Small areas of grass needed mowing – owners corrected

o As built plan for town to use in the future was provided

o Placement of utility posts needs to be adjusted

· Mr. O’Cain presented a punch list that Mr. Iverson is working on for Sumac Lane which includes:

o Check street lights

o Mortar granite curbing

o Clean catch basin

· Mr. Iverson discussed the $136,000 bond that he had provided for Cattail Road and Aspen. O’Cain said he would like to keep the bond so there are sufficient funds if Aspen is damaged.

· Abutters want Mr. O’Cain to accept the road so that they can receive services. Mr. Iverson commented that the police and fire chiefs had requested he remove the barrier to obtain new access to the road to aid with safety, which he had done. Mr. Lauenstein questioned the speed limit on Aspen and Mr. Iverson responded it was 30 MPH. The posting of the speed is not required on the plan.

· Abutter James Freedman of 31 Eisenhower Drive stated the street was helpful but insufficient in width because on-street parking created narrower lanes making it difficult to drive down the roadway if someone was having a large number of guests.

· Abutter Mark Cohen of 42 Aspen Road pointed out that the road was curved and not a straight thoroughfare.

· Mr. Cohen moved to accept the Aspen Road extension and Sumac Lane as Town ways, subject to the punch list prepared by the Town Engineer. Mr. Bradley seconded the motion. All voted in favor 5-0-0.

· Mr. Cohen moved to close the Public Hearing and Mr. Bradley seconded the motion. The Board voted in favor 5-0-0.

Hunter’s Ridge Wall

· Mr. Bradley recused himself from the discussion as a member of the Planning Board because he is an abutter.

· Mr. O’Cain stated that if any technical change is required in a subdivision, it is generally the Town Engineer’s duty to determine if a change to the plan is appropriate. However, due to the controversial nature surrounding Hunter’s Ridge and the fact that at the previous meeting the Board had questioned whether there would be a need for a public hearing and whether it fit the esthetics of the site he asked for the Board’s opinion regarding the construction of a boulder retaining wall at Hunter’s Ridge. Mr. Mirrione has begun to install such a wall without first obtaining the required building permit. He also stated that the Building Inspector recommended that he speak to the Planning Board. Mr. O’Cain explained that the original plan called for a 2-1 grass slope from the property line down to the lot.

· Mr. Cohen said that no abutter had complained about the wall. He also asked Mr. O’Cain if there is anything in the bylaws that prevents Mr. Mirrione from making this change. Mr. O’Cain said the only technical issue is that the wall is a drop, not a slope. Mr. Cohen also asked what the reason for the change was and Mr. Mirrione replied that the retaining wall in the open space was not favorably received by the Board, so he opted for a retaining wall on his property, which made more sense to build and did not encroach on the Town’s open space.

· Ms. Sloan agreed that the intended 2-1 slope shown on the original plan was not a workable solution here, because there is not enough horizontal space to accommodate both the slope and the housing units as presently laid out. She asked whether this detail had been discussed when the original plan was approved. She suggested given the currently available options the wall was an improvement.

· Mr. Lauenstein questioned where the fence was going to be positioned, how public access will be accomplished, and if the wall is within the 20 foot buffer designated as open space accessible to the public. He added that the Hunter’s Ridge development had received 10% density bonus in exchange for public access to open space at Hunter’s Ridge, so the Town has a legitimate claim to access the open space.

· Mr. Bradley in the capacity of an abutter offered the opinion that the wall is an improvement. Mr. Bradley further suggested that the abutters might have two concerns; first would be the safety issue given the sharp drop and would want to see the installation of a fence along the top of the wall. Secondly they would be concerned with the look of the fence.

· Mr. Mirrione replied he is maintaining the 2-1 slope from the top of the wall to the property line, using a landscape wall and a 3 foot high split rail fence to prevent people from falling over the wall. Mr. Mirrione said that he has a right to build a retaining wall on his land as long as the wall does not encroach into the 20 foot open space buffer. Paul Lauenstein requested that Peter O’Cain measure the horizontal distance from the wall to the property line to see if any of the stone wall is within the 20 foot buffer zone and report back to the Planning Board.

· Mr. O’Cain said the building code in Massachusetts states that if a wall is over 4 feet, a rail is required if pedestrians can be expected to be in close proximity in order to protect them from falling. He told Mr. Mirrione to speak with the Building Inspector prior to building structures that require building permits. Mr. Mirrione will need to obtain the proper permit from the Building Inspector and submit whatever plans and details that are required by the Building Inspector. Ms. Sloan suggested that wire netting is commonly used for just this purpose and would not detract from its appearance.

· Paul Lauenstein cautioned that a toddler could roll down the steep grass slope and under the split rail fence, and insisted that some provision be made to prevent that from happening.

Hunter’s Ridge Work Hours

· Mr. O’Cain informed the Board that abutters were complaining about the hours that work was occurring at Hunter’s Ridge. After reviewing previous minutes, it was determined that work hours allowed are 7am – 5pm, Monday through Friday. Non-disturbing work such as painting can be performed any other times.

Other Business

· The Board was asked to sign the Form J lot release of covenant (Form H) for Mr. Mirrione. The Form J releases stated lots from their covenant that restricts sale until the road is completed. One copy will be supplied to Mr. Mirrione; one copy to Mr. O’Cain, one copy will remain with the Town Clerk and one copy for the Planning Board records.

· Gint Subatis of 10 Bald Hill Farm Road came to inform the Planning Board that he received a letter from a homeowner on Bald Hill Farm Road stating that the road Mr. Subatis uses to access his home will be closed by the other homeowner. The Planning Board let him know that roads are not under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board. Mr. Subatis was advised to retain an attorney.

· Mr. Mirrione presented the Board with a theoretical question regarding his property. He said that during the pre-marketing of his property, 9 deposits were taken and a few people asked about building larger homes on smaller lots. He questioned if the Board would treat this as a Form A Plan. Mr. O’Cain recommended that Mr. Mirrione write a letter to Town Counsel to ask his opinion. Mr. Mirrione agreed he would be responsible for the Town’s attorney’s fees. He also stated that the number of bedrooms cannot increase because of septic issues but also stated that fewer homes would lessen traffic. Mr. Mirrione suggested he may combine 2 lots to a single lot but still maintain 2 bedrooms.

· Ms. Sloan provided the Board with educational materials regarding Town Planners and how they work with Planning Board’s in a collaborative and productive way.

· Mr. Cohen will attend the Personnel Boards review of the Planning Board Secretary job description.

· Mr. Bradley discussed the CSD bylaw and various emails that have been received. He indicated that there had been some objection to the inclusion of the 10% affordable requirement by various individuals interested in resurrecting a previous Mirrione proposal for Rattlesnake Hill. Mr. Hauser suggested that Mr. Bradley should continue discussions with an eye to achieving consensus moving forward. Mr. Hauser also asked if Mr. O’Cain would be willing to create some hypothetical examples of lot layouts possibly to be used as an aid in presenting this article.

· At Town Meeting it was determined that Mr. Hauser as Chair will introduce everyone. Mr. Lauenstein will present the Typos Article, Mr. Cohen and Mr. O’Cain will present the Shapes Article and Mr. Bradley will present CSD Article.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Planning Board will be held on September 27th at 7:30 pm, Town Hall.

Meeting Adjournment

Mr. Cohen moved to adjourn meeting at 10:45PM; Mr. Bradley seconded the motion; passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachelle F. Levitts

Administrative Assistant