Town of Sharon Planning Board

Draft Meeting Minutes of December 6th, 2006

Amended and Approved December 20th, 2006

 

 

Planning Board Attendees

Eli Hauser - Chair

Wayne Bradley

Arnold Cohen – Vice Chair

 

 

 

Peter O’Cain, Assistant Town Engineer, Consultant

 

Guests

Jon Shockett

Shirley Schofield – Historical Commission

Peter Shinney – Tedeschi Foods

Robert Young – Historical Commission

Dave Martin – Historical Commission

 

 

Meeting Initiation

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

 

Meeting Discussion

Chair’s Report

  • Performed by Mr. Hauser

 

Meeting Minutes of 11/8/06

  • Review of minutes was deferred until 12/20 meeting.

 

Sign Review

Peter Shinney, of Tedeschi Food Shops came before the Board to present a sign permit to repair the existing pylon sign box and existing awning at Tedeschi’s on Pond Street. As per Mr. O’Cain, this location falls under the PO Square regulations; however Tedeschi’s is fixing what is broken.  The board suggested changing the color red on the awning to be more in line with the guidelines. Mr. O’Cain will check Tedeschi’s permit to see if it can be grandfathered in. He suggested Mr. Shinney go to the DPW to obtain a copy of the PO Square guidelines.

 

Bond Approvals

Mr. O’Cain presented the bond review regarding Eisenhower Extension Subdivision. He stated Mr. Shockett needs to construct a road and the purpose of the bond is to help set up the remaining work. Step one is to approve or not approve the bond for $117,000. Mr. Shockett can request a bond reduction as items are completed. The Southeast Regional group pricing is used as a guide for construction costs and this source was used by Mr. O’Cain to recommend the $117,000 figure. Mr. Cohen made a motion to accept the bond approval dated 11/16 for the Eisenhower Extension Subdivision. Mr. Bradley seconded the motion and the Board voted 3-0-0 in favor.

 

The second step as per Mr. O’Cain was a discussion of the Tripartite Agreement between the Town, Developer and Lender Rockland Trust. This agreement insures that if the Developer does not within 2 years complete the construction of roadways and installation of municipal services to the buildings on the designated lots then the Lender will release the funds being held to secure the completion of this work. The Agreement also provides that the Lender cannot release any of the reserved funds to the Builder without the express written consent of the Planning Board. Also pursuant to the agreement if the Builder does not construct the roadways and install the services pursuant to the Agreement, the Lender has the right to deposit the Reserved Funds in an account in the name of the Town with the Planning Board having the power to withdraw and expend the funds.  Mr. Bradley moved to accept the Tripartite Agreement proposed between Eisenhower Drive Extension, Rockland Trust and the Planning Board dated December 6th, 2006.  Mr. Cohen seconded the motion and the Board voted 3-0-0 in favor.  In addition a Form J Lot release was signed by the Board.

 

Form A

Mr. O’Cain presented a Form A for Hunter’s Ridge. As three Planning Board members were in attendance and Mr. Bradley recused himself from the discussion there was not a quorum present to vote on this item. The Form A for Hunter’s Ridge will be approved by default because the 21 day period for the Board to act on it will expire before the next Board Meeting. It should be noted that Mr. Cohen, Mr. Hauser and Mr. O’Cain all agreed that there are no objections to the plan that would have warranted disapproving it. .

 

Historical Commission

Mr. David Martin of the Historical Commission said that the Zoning Board would like to know if Everett Street is designated as a scenic road. Mr. O’Cain volunteered to write a letter to the Chair of the ZBA regarding this matter.

 

Mr. Robert Young, Chair of the Historical Commission provided the Board with information he had obtained from a Smart Growth Conference he attended the previous week in Worcester.  In addition, the Historical Commission had provided the Board with a copy of a proposal sent to the Community Preservation Committee regarding an RFP to hire a consultant. Mr. Young stated the Commonwealth had received a $200,000 grant for which communities can apply and the Historical Commission is looking for $21,000 from the grant process. Mr. Young stated that the State has been asking Sharon to prepare a preservation planning document and that a consultant is needed. Mr. Young asked the Planning Board for their support in this endeavor. The goal for the Historical Commission is to identify what historical resources exist within the Town. Mr. Young said he has an inventory from the bicentennial that took a year to create and was updated in 2002. All that exists on the inventory is 30-40 properties when the community should have about 600 buildings on the register. This grant will also help look at the town for future historical districts. The consultant would identify what properties would need to be preserved. If approved the May Town Meeting; the Historical Commission can hire a consultant immediately.

 

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Planning Board will be held on December 20th at 7:30 pm, Town Hall.

 

Meeting Adjournment

Mr. Cohen moved to adjourn meeting at 9:30 PM; Mr. Bradley seconded the motion; passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachelle F. Levitts

Administrative Assistant