Town of Sharon Planning Board

Meeting Minutes of 1/7/09

Amended and Approved on 1/21/09

 

 

Planning Board Attendees

Arnold Cohen, Chair 

Susan Price

Paul Lauenstein, Vice Chair  

Amanda Sloan

Eli Hauser, Clerk 

 

 

Peter O’Cain, Town Engineer, Consultant

 

Attendees

None

 

 

Chair’s Report

The meeting began at 7:40 PM with Chair Arnold Cohen reading the Chair’s Report. A letter was received from the Sharon Housing Partnership indicating their interest in the Johnson Drive property and a request for a dialogue with the Board. Ms. Levitts will contact the Partnership and set up a meeting time and date.

 

Form A/Sign Reviews

None

 

Charter Commission

Mr. Hauser informed the Board that the Charter Commission would like to meet with the full Planning Board if possible on 1/12/09 at 7:15 PM. Ms. Price indicated that she sent her responses to the survey to Mr. Cohen for review. Mr. Cohen suggested that Ms. Price pass it to all Board members for their review as well, before forwarding the survey responses to the Charter Commission.

 

Articles for Spring Town Meeting

The Board discussed possible articles to submit for Spring Town Meeting. These include: Johnson Drive, Light Industrial District and Sign Bylaws. 

 

A brief discussion ensued regarding the Sign Bylaw issue. Mr. Hauser suggested that the Board prepare a three slide presentation for Town meeting that discusses 1) why this article is important, 2) addresses previous concerns and 3) provides a background history of the status of the Bylaw. It was stated that the Zoning Bylaws are enforced by the Building Inspector and the General Bylaws are enforced by the Board of Selectmen and this is of concern to many citizens. Ms. Price stated she would work with the Town Clerk to research the Sign Bylaws history. Mr. Cohen thinks the only issue raised at Town Meeting is whether grandfathering of the Bylaw would be different, depending on whether the by-law was part of the General By-laws or part of the Zoning By-law. He suggested comparing the version in the Zoning By-law booklet to the General Bylaws version. Mr. O’Cain said he would contact Mr. Wluka who expressed concern regarding grandfathering at the Fall Town Meeting. All Board members agreed that what is important is that the Sign Bylaws are all inclusive wherever they are located.

 

Member Re-appointments

Ms. Price moved to nominate Mr. Cohen for an additional term to the Community Preservation Commission. Mr. Hauser seconded the motion. Mr. Cohen cautioned that he might not run for re-election in May, so there could be a need to appoint a different Planning Board member to take his place on the Community Preservation Commission after that. The Board voted 4-0-0 in favor. Ms. Levitts will notify Town Clerk Chused of this nomination and determine if the seat on the CPC must be held by a Planning Board member.

 

 

Meeting Minutes

Mr. Hauser moved to approve the 12/3/08 meeting minutes as amended. Ms. Price seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0-0 to approve the minutes.

 

Mr. Hauser moved to approve the 12/18/08 meeting minutes as amended. Ms. Price seconded the motion. The Board voted 3-0-2 (Lauenstein and Sloan were absent on 12/18/08).

 

Meeting dates

1/21/09, 2/4/09

 

Other Business

1.  Mr. Cohen will attend the Finance Committee meeting regarding the Planning Board budget.

 

2.  Ms. Sloan discussed the recent fencing along Lake Massapoag that was put up by individual homeowners. Mr. O’Cain stated that if the fence is less than six feet tall there is nothing the Building Inspector can do about it. Ms. Sloan suggested discussing this issue in the future to see about a more consistent type of fencing to be used. Mr. O’Cain said he would check to determine if the fence was in the right of way with Greg Meister. Paul Lauenstein offered to contact the Lake Management Committee to find out their views on this matter.

 

3.  Ms. Price and Ms. Sloan discussed putting a letter in the Sharon Advocate four times a year to discuss the Planning Boards role and function, zoning issues, reviewing development proposals etc.  Suggested topics included Johnson Road, zoning review for Route One, current activities, 40B quota and fate of Hunter’s Ridge.

 

4.  Mr. O’Cain reported that he spoke with Mr. Intoccia and learned that he is still pursuing the purchase of Hunter’s Ridge land. Mr. Lauenstein questioned if Mr. Intoccia’s land purchase would be grandfathered under the original CSD Bylaw, or be subject to the revised CSD Bylaw,  if he buys the land. Mr. O’Cain said he would discuss this with Attorney Gelerman.

 

5.  Mr. Hauser reported the results of the Economic Development Committee’s Study for the P.O. Square revitalization. He wants to meet with the Board at the 2/4/09 meeting to discuss the results in more detail. He provided highlights of the report which suggests there might be zoning changes to consider, including:

 

·         Creating a 40R zone,

·         Creating a waste water treatment district

·         Changing the overall business and use and height and parking zoning for PO Square to create a more compact area in line with current thinking for Smart Growth.

 

6.  Mr. Hauser suggested the Board might consider if we might use the Kendall Funds to pay for these studies or rezoning efforts as we go through the presentation results.

 

Meeting Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM. Mr. Lauenstein moved to close the meeting and Mr. Hauser seconded the motion. The Board voted 5-0-0 in favor.