Town of Sharon Planning Board

Meeting Minutes of 8/31/11

Amended and Approved on 9/27/11

Sharon Community Center

Filmed by SCTV

 

Planning Board Attendees

Susan Price, Chair

Anne Bingham

Eli Hauser, Vice Chair  arrived 7:55 PM

Pat Pannone, Clerk

David Milowe -  absent

Peter OÕCain, Town Engineer

 

Attendees

Paul Brodmerkle, Site Design Professionals

Alice Cheyer

Robert and Leene Chavez, 188 Ames Street

Alla and Leonard Meleger, 157 Ames Street

Donna and Paul West, 195B East Street

G. Langshoth, 183 East Street

Arthur Pollack, 200 East Street

Susan Gooltz, 200 Longmeadow Lane

Carol Slosky, 146 East Street

Sandra and David Gordon, 204 East Street

Andy and Doreen Kriegel, 15 Knife Shop Lane

Toni and Michael Guardabascio, 194 East St

Maurice Stone, 4 Knife Shop Lane

Annette and Ravin Davidoff, 5 Lothrup Way

Peter Holden, 196 East Street

 

 

Chair Report

Chair Susan Price called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM and read the ChairÕs report.

 

Chair Price said she will begin to work on language for the Town Meeting articles and asked Ms. Levitts to look into the posting of the legal ads in the Advocate and what the requirements would be.

 

The meeting date of 9/21 was changed to 9/27.

 

Chair Price commented that she heard back from Attorney Amara regarding the scenic road regulation. A brief discussion ensued and the idea of adding in a remediation in addition to the fine was discussed.

 

Chair Price said that the Capital Outlay Committee needs two members from the Planning Board. A vote will occur on 9/14 for these positions.

 

Meeting Minutes

Ms. Bingham moved to approve the meeting minutes of August 10, 2011 as amended with the correction to her attendance status.  Mr. Pannone seconded the motion. The Board voted 3-0-0 in favor of approving the minutes.

 

Public Hearing - The Definitive Subdivision Plan for Stoneholm Estates

A Public Hearing regarding the Definitive Subdivision Plan entitled ÒStoneholm EstatesÓ in Sharon, MA dated July 1, 2011 was called to order at 8 PM by Chair Price.  The public hearing notice was read by Clerk Pannone.

 

Mr. Paul Brodmerkle of Site Design Professionals, Inc. representing Dr. Robert Chavez and the property at 188 Ames Street, began the discussion. Mr. Brodmerkle said the owner wants to curve off one acre of the property to create two single family lots and carve a piece of land adjoining the land owned by Scott Dunn to create the roadway.  The Compliance Plan for Stoneholm Estates Definitive Subdivision Plan of Land was shown to the Board and audience. There will be a 50 foot right of way, 5 foot sidewalks and a full size cul-de-sac. The two lots will be serviced by municipal water with their own septic systems. Mr. Brodmerkle said the owner, however, would like to construct a smaller roadway and is asking for a waiver. He exhibited the waiver plan for a private way which has the same look but downsized pavement, recharged water device, same lots in the rear that are 50 feet wide and the cul-de-sac would be downsized from 114 to 100 feet in diameter. He said this would conform to the single zone B housing requirements. It would also have a 16 foot pavement width.

 

Mr. Pannone asked about the maintenance of the swales and Mr. Brodmerkle said water flows freely into the shoulder area. A brief conversation ensued.

 

It was stated that the Town is responsible for the water main but the homeowner is responsible for all else. 

Ms. Bingham asked if there is a standard for waiver plans and Mr. OÕCain replied that the Board needs to make a determination about each waiver request. The regulations indicate that the standard for granting a waiver is that it be "in the public interest". PETER DO YOU HAVE THIS CITATION??????.

Ms. Bingham asked if test pits were done with the Board of Health agent as there is no septic plan at this time. Mr. Brodmerkle said that based on the information gathered to date, he is confident that a leeching field can be placed on the property. The best soils are in the recharge area and on the roadway. A brief conversation ensued.

 

Ms. Bingham indicated that she thought the owner was keeping the integrity of the property as a whole.  Ms. Price asked if there would be a notation on the plan that the large lot containing the historic buildings would not be further subdivided.  Dr. Chavez said that at the previous meeting several months ago he indicated that they were willing to not subdivide along Ames Street only.

 

Mr. OÕCain indicated that the Board can hold the applicant to any requirement.

 

Mr. Andy Kriegel of 15 Knife Shop Lane said he is an abutter to the development and is surprised by it. He is concerned with the issue of drainage. He said there are large trees on the property line and he is unsure about the integrity of the trees remaining. He is concerned about foot traffic to the playground through his property as well as additional privacy concerns.

 

Ms. Toni Jo Guardabascio of 194 East Street stated that one house will look in her yard. She is concerned with drainage like oil, water and silt. She said there are swales on either side. She questioned where the snow that is plowed would be put because the road is narrow. She mentioned that there is a vernal pool, although no identified wetlands. She said that a hedge on her property is close to the proposed swale. How will it drain?  How will fire trucks gain access? She is worried about her back yard as well. With regards to Abbott Road, she said it is a busy intersection in the morning and she is concerned about lights from the road and new homes.

 

Mr. Peter Holden of 196 East Street stated that the vernal pool fills up and appears every spring. He says the area is in a high water table. He is concerned about swales on either side of the road. He is concerned about standing water. He said that he gets silt and water on his driveway now from East Street.

 

Mrs. Sandy Gordon of 204 East Street said she is concerned because East Street used to be historic. She would not like to see another new home on the street.  She asked whether these would be single family homes.  She was told yes.

 

Mr. OÕCain said he will ask the Conservation Commission and Greg Meister to discuss the vernal pool issue to gain a better understanding.

 

It was pointed out that the Chavez home is on the National Registry.  Ms. Price asked if that was just the buildings or the property and Dr. Chavez said the buildings only.

 

Mr. Langshoth of 183 East Street commented that East is very busy and that the Abbott Avenue intersection can get congested in the morning.

 

Mr. Andy Kriegel of Knife Shop Lane asked how many cars could park in the cul-de-sac without spilling onto East Street and Mr. OÕCain said that number is 24 cars.  Mrs. Kriegel asked if a fire truck can fit and was told yes.

 

Donna West of 195 East Street asked if a tree plan will be requested and said she would like to see a site plan post construction.

 

Donna West of 195 East Street said she would like to learn more about the trees and asked for the TownÕs experience with swale plans.

 

Mr. OÕCain said that there were two subdivisions approved in the past 10 years, Woods Way and Gridley Pond, that had the same swales with detention basins and both are functioning well. 

 

Mr. OÕCain said that with reference to the tree plan, they are required to provide proposed trees for vegetative plantings and the subdivision, as well as show all trees to be removed which are 6 inches in diameter at 4 feet in height and specimen trees on the plan.  He also said the proposed contours should take the water to where it always went; towards the Town-owned land.

 

Mr. David Gordon of 204 East Street said that water is a noticeable concern to him and flows across the back of his property.

 

Peter Holden of 196 East Street suggested that the analogous subdivisions are similar in shape and design but not on the same site so be careful when comparing.

 

Mr. Michael Guardabascio of 194 East Street said he has an abiding love for his property and feels he will lose his privacy. He wants the public interest taken into account. He said it is a human community living in this area.  Asked whether it was worth it to squeeze two houses in the back in order to preserve the historic property rather than put two lots up front.

 

Rochelle Strenger of 196 East Street said the extra traffic is of great concern to her and that she needs access for a special needs bus.

 

Dr. Chavez of 188 Ames Street said he could have possibly built 6 homes on the land. He said change is hard. He said the economic need needs to be recognized. He is trying to build in an effective way with a low impact to some of the other homeowners. He does not want to affect the historic house.

 

Toni Jo Guardabascio of 194 East Street said she wants to prevent the over crowding of the land. She wants to prevent the undue concentration of population and wants the conservation of the natural resources.

 

Donna West of 195 East Street said she is hearing a trade off about developing land on East and Ames Street versus the land in the back of the property. She asked if there is a conservation easement/agreement so that the vision of the house on East and Ames is preserved.

 

Michael Guardabascio of 194 East Street said he thinks the subdivision is being packed in. He wants to protect the rest of the people in Sharon.  He does not the Board want to set a precedent for packing in too many lots.

 

Mr. Hauser stated that he can see Sharon is moving into a "redevelopment" phase as more and more marginal lots in Sharon are coming before the Planning Board for review. He suggested that if people in the audience are concerned about this, and want to see it addressed within the zoning, people need to come to Town Meeting. He said that over the years the Planning Board has introduced regulations to help the land use be more manageable and controlled, and gave the experience of the original shape factor article that was rejected. That said, Mr. Hauser commented that we need to respect the zoning that we have, and that property owners have rights to develop their land which cannot be withheld "just because." He said everything that was presented tonight by Mr. Chavez is certainly legal, and consistent and within Sharon's zoning regulations, and it is not an arbitrary proposal. It is a linear and reasonable interpretation of the regulations. He asked Mr. O'Cain to outline to the Board and to the public the items and questions we are being asked to review and what the waivers being requested are so everyone in the room can understand which parts of the discussion are open to judgment, opinion or adjustment by the Planning Board, and which items are not, as they are within the legal zoning rights of the applicant.

 

Ms. Bingham said the potential of two additional lots on East Street is of concern to her. She is not ready to make a decision and has more questions.

 

Peter OÕCain said in Massachusetts, there are two ways to divide land. The first is through the ANR process and the second is through the subdivision process. He said that Dr. Chavez could divide the lot into 20,000 square foot parcels without doing a subdivision because the lots would have frontage. The applicant requires a waiver from the separation requirement between intersections in exchange for restriction of the property. The Board can extend the meeting, can provide the waiver or not provide the waiver and the plan would not meet the compliance plan requirements.  The waiver plan is only approved if the compliance plan is approved.

 

Ms. Price said the Board usually closes the hearings and then discusses the plan.

 

Peter OÕCain said there is an appeal process in the Planning Board regulations if the abutters are unhappy.

 

Mr. Hauser said typically collective decisions are made, and we work hard to arrive at a decision that is agreed upon by the parties. In this instance, the question before the Board is not a simple "approve this" or "disapprove this." Instead, we have to consider the alternatives the proponent could pursue, which could be up to an estimated (without measuring or looking specifically at the plan, but based on the acreage and the minimum lot size) perhaps six additional homes on East and Ames Street. And the Board, proponent and neighborhood abutters all need to think about which configuration best benefits the Town and the proponent and the neighborhood as we walk through the proposal and its variations.

 

Ms. Bingham said she does not want the hearing closed as she has additional questions. Ms. Bingham said that we were offered significant historic protections in exchange for the requested waivers. We need to be sure we are getting true historic protection and that the waivers requested are in the public interest.

 

Mr. Pannone expressed that he thinks we have a good understanding of the abuttersÕ concerns.

 

Ms. Bingham said she wants evidence of the issue of the level of historic preservation. She would like to see a profile of the area with topography and the distance to the site of wetlands and she would like to hear from Greg Meister and have a site visit.

 

Mr. OÕCain offered copies of his 11 page review of the site to the abutters.

 

Ms. Bingham moved to keep the hearing open and extend the conversation to September 14th, 2011. The vote was split 2-2-0 and Chair Price said the hearing would remain open.

 

Subdivision Regulations

Chair Price stated that she received a proposal for updating the subdivision regulations from Tom Houston in the amount of $3,600. Ms. Levitts will confirm budgeted amount for consultants.

 

Next Meeting Dates

September 14th, September 27th, October 6th, October 18th, November 2nd. November 14th is Town Meeting

 

Other

Ms. Levitts will speak with the Town Clerk to determine what Mr. Milowe (who was absent from the August 31st meeting) needs to do in order to be able to vote on this topic at an upcoming meeting.

 

Adjournment

Ms. Bingham moved to adjourn the meeting and Mr. Pannone seconded the motion. The Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of closing the meeting at 10PM.

 

Attachments

1. August 23, 2011 memorandum from Peter OÕCain to Paul Brodmerkle regarding the Stoneholm Estates Definitive Plan Review.

 

 

Note: New Open Meeting Law. As of July 1, 2010 al Planning Board minutes and attachments will be available upon request by contacting the Planning Board Secretary via email at rlevitts@hotmail.com.