Town of Sharon Planning Board

Meeting Minutes of 11/22/11

Amended and Approved on 12/14/11

Sharon Community Center

Filmed by SCTV

 

Planning Board Attendees

Susan Price, Chair

Anne Bingham

Eli Hauser, Vice Chair – arrived at 7:40 PM

Pat Pannone, Clerk  absent

David Milowe

Peter O’Cain, Town Engineer

 

Attendees

Susan Gittleman, B’nai B'rith

John Marino, NHS Print

Holly Grace, B’nai B’rith

 

 

Chair Report

Ms. Price called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.

 

John Marino, from NHS, representing Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, presented a new sign for the property at 93 Pond Street. The sign size was reduced to 17.5 square feet. The color is Newport Indigo based on the California paint historical colors.

 

Mr. O’Cain said that he is satisfied with the installation location and will verify, on installation day, that the line of sight is not blocked.

 

Ms. Price said that the style is consistent with the P.O. Square Sign Guidelines.

 

Ms. Bingham moved to approve the new sign for 93 Pond Street under section 5.6 of the Sign Bylaws, implementing the sign bonus. The Town Engineer, Peter O’Cain, will approve the location and ensure there is no sight obstruction and that the existing sign is removed. Mr. Milowe seconded the motion and the Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of approving the sign.

 

Stoneholm ANR Plan

Mr. O’Cain stated that the ANR plan for Stoneholm Estates will be redone and that it is necessary to reject the original ANR plan so the 21 day approval period is not exceeded. He said that Town Attorney, Lisa Whelan, commented that if the ANR is already submitted before Town Meeting occurs, and that even if we approve the plan to the old regulations, which is allowed for the ANR plan, the applicant is not protected from a zoning change for shape factor when applying for a building permit.  ANR's are only protected from use changes when filed.  ANR plan approvals do not certify that the lots meet zoning requirements, only that the plan creates no new roadways.  Non-conforming lots can be created by an ANR plan but that does not make them legally buildable. If the applicant had filed for building permits prior to the Town Meeting vote, he would have been protected.  However, they didn't.  Mr. O’Cain said that he discussed this with the engineer for the applicant and he agrees with this assessment from Town Counsel.

 

Mr. Milowe moved to disapprove the ANR plan for 188 Ames Street dated 11/10/11 because it is not compliant for building.  Ms. Bingham seconded the motion and the Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of disapproval.

 

257 South Walpole Street ANR Plan

Mr. O’Cain stated that the applicant requested this ANR be rejected. He said he has received a new ANR but has not yet reviewed it.

 

Mr. Milowe moved to deny the Approval Not Required Plan for 257 South Walpole Street dated 11/15/2011. Ms. Bingham seconded the motion and the Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of denial.

 

Stoneholm

Mr. Hauser commented that he felt the process is fractured and feels the Board did not allow for a full discussion.

 

Ms. Price said an extension was offered.

 

Ms. Bingham said she agrees with Mr. Hauser that the process should have been finished earlier. She said this is a learning experience for everyone.

 

Mr. O’Cain said the Board provided the applicant with six layout options that would provide a plan that protected the site and provided two or more new lots, as the applicant had stated he wanted to do.

 

Ms. Bingham said that she was angry by the end of the discussions. She thinks that good faith got taken advantage of and the process did not have to be that combative. The Board is supposed to ask questions.

 

Ms. Price said that beyond the reasons in the decision, the ANR plan did not align with the original goals presented of protecting the house and preserving the corner lot. It seems the applicants’ goals changed.

 

Mr. Milowe said that the takeaway is to ensure that the Board is more vigilant about the number of hearings it allows.

 

Bella Estates

Mr. O’Cain said he spoke with Mr. Shelmerdine regarding the rumored sale of the Bella Estates clubhouse and Mr. Shelmerdine stated that they are not trying to sell the clubhouse.

Ms. Price said she thought they wanted to possibly use the clubhouse as 1 or 2 units of affordable housing. If this were so, they would need to come back to the Planning Board for a decision modification and prove there was enough septic capacity.

 

Mr. O’Cain said that all abutter agreements are due by 12/15/11.

 

Ms. Bingham suggested that it is time to tie loose ends up. Mr. O’Cain said he is holding a $428,000 bond on this project.

 

B’nai B’rith presentation

Holly Grace, Senior Project Manager, and Susan Gittleman, Executive Director of B‘nai B’rith, came before the Board to discuss their interest in the property on 635 Old Post Road. They said they are working with the Striar family who own the site, to take it over. Striar was permitted for 66 age restricted luxury condominiums. B’nai B’rith is proposing age restricted affordable housing. They are holding informational meetings around town to discuss the project and gather information and feedback.

 

B’nai B’rith Housing, New England is a non profit organization, focusing on affordable housing. It is non sectarian, high quality, service enriched senior housing. Their approach to senior development is for the residents to be involved and remain healthy.

 

B’nai B’rith works on custom solution for towns by sensing the community needs. They said that 40% of senior households in Sharon earn less than $45,000 per year and they would like to help Sharon meet the housing needs of its seniors.

 

This service enriched housing is modeled and implemented successfully in other towns. There are on site personnel to link residents to house keeping and home care as well as transportation needs. There are programs in the common areas for the residents. It is not assisted living as there are no meals or health care services provided.

 

The location is Old Post Road near Mick Morgan’s restaurant. The site is 18 acres and they want to develop 6 of the 18 acres located on the Sharon/Walpole line. The features of the plan include driveway access off Old Post Road, 90 mainly one bedroom units, a shared elevator core, fire lane that circles the building and 113 parking spaces are proposed. The footprint is smaller, the parking is less and the building size is smaller than what was approved and permitted for Striar. The plans are very preliminary right now. It will be a residential style with sloped roofs to blend with the residential character of Sharon. The water will come from a water line at the intersection of Old Post Road and Route 1. There will be on site septic. The B’nai B’rith is in communication with the DEP regarding the age restriction.

 

Mr. O’Cain said he is concerned about guests and parking spaces. He is unsure that the 113 spaces provided are sufficient. He asked if there is room for additional parking as there is no street parking possible on Old Post Road.

 

Ms. Gittleman said there is a permitted site in Sudbury and they did a survey of parking needs in a suburban context. The numbers can be tweaked. She said they would like to build affordable housing for low and moderate income seniors.

 

Mr. Milowe asked about the timetable for building and Ms. Gittleman said that they would like to be permitted by next year. She is unsure if they can apply for state funding until Fall 2012.

 

Mr. O’Cain said that the ZBA is the approval authority for this project.

 

Mr. Hauser suggested that they point out to the Finance Committee that there is no school implication which is a big plus.

 

Ms. Grace said that real estate taxes will be generated to the Town.

 

Mr. O’Cain asked if there will be specified language to lock in the age qualified component. Ms. Gittleman said that the permit locks in age qualification over 55.

 

Mr. Milowe said this was a terrific idea and it will boost the affordable inventory numbers up.

 

Ms. Price aid she is in support of the 90 units as they will count towards the affordable housing inventory.

 

The Planning Board said that they unanimously support this idea.

 

Minutes 11/9/11

Ms. Bingham moved to approve the 11/9/11 minutes with changes. Mr. Milowe seconded the motion and the Board voted 3-0-1(Hauser).

 

Next Meeting Dates

12/14, 1/4, 1/8, 2/1, 2/15, 2/29, 3/14, 3/28, 4/11, 4/25, 5/9

 

Other

1. Ms. Bingham will write an article for the Sharon Advocate to inform the town about the scenic roadway changes.

 

2. Ms. Price spoke to Mr. Houston regarding the updating of the subdivision regulations and perhaps splitting the process up into phases. Ms. Bingham said she will work on trying to input her changes. Mr. O’Cain said he will make updates as well.

 

3. Ms. Levitts will verify the Kendall Fund balance.

 

New Business

Ms. Price said there are two potential articles to perhaps study. The first is the large house tear downs on small lots as proposed by Laura Nelson as well as the adult entertainment article. Ms. Price said she contacted MAPC for template bylaws and awaits a response. She said this would be a good starting place.

 

Adjournment

Mr. Milowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 PM and Ms. Bingham seconded the motion. The Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of adjournment.