Town of Sharon Planning Board

Draft Meeting Minutes of 3/28/12

Amended and Approved on 4/11/12

Sharon Town Hall

Filmed by SCTV

 

Planning Board Attendees

Susan Price, Chair

Anne Bingham

Eli Hauser, Vice Chair - absent

Pat Pannone, Clerk 

David Milowe

Peter O’Cain, Town Engineer

 

Attendees

Tom Houston

Joe Roach, Selectman

Ben Puritz, Town Administrator

Rich Powell, Selectman

Michael Gelbwasser – Sharon Patch

Steve Kokkotos, 19 Colburn Drive

 

Chair Report

Ms. Price called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM and reviewed the Chair’s Report.

 

Meeting Minutes

Mr. Milowe moved to approve the minutes of 3/21/12 as amended. Ms. Bingham seconded the motion. The Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of approval.

 

Bond Reduction Cattail Lane

Mr. O’Cain presented the Board with a Bond Reduction letter for Townsman IV Subdivision dated March 28, 2012. He explained that the developer, Mark Iverson, Goodheart, LLC 14 Hickory Way, Sharon, MA, is requesting a bond reduction for completed items on Cattail Lane.

 

Ms. Bingham moved to approve a bond reduction for Cattail Lane and stated that Peter O’Cain reduce the bond from $139,787.34 to $30,000, a reduction of $109, 787.34. The Board voted 3-0-1 in favor of the reduction. (Ms. Price abstained.).

 

Ms. Levitts will issue a letter to the Town Treasurer regarding the bond reduction.

 

Telecommunications Bylaw

Chair Price began the conversation by stating that the Selectmen wanted to meet with the Planning Board regarding the Telecommunications Bylaw.

 

Selectmen Powell said that a tower is going up at East Foxboro Street. This raises the issue of whether the Town has an updated plan of where towers could be located to be unobtrusive. He continued by stating that if there are gaps in coverage within the Town, Federal Law allows virtual cart blanche to locate therein the town. Sometimes they can co-locate but the Federal Law controls the process. Each carrier has different needs and there may be gaps in their coverage.

 

Ms. Bingham said that, based on the 2006 Cellular/PCS Antenna Site Feasibility study, 9 locations were identified. She asked if any were particularly favorable.

 

Mr. Puritz commented that the golf course has a site on it. There are two on the Massapoag tank; there is one on the steeple at the Unitarian Church, one on Ward’s Berry Farm and one at the DPW on Farnham Road. He said there are monopoles in Sharon, which are permitted through the ZBA. The bylaw encourages co-location and defines the overlay district. If there is an inability to site, there is a mechanism through the ZBA to do it. As technology evolved, additional functions created more demand. Due to the Telecommunications Act, certain entitlements are provided to the carriers.

 

Ms. Bingham asked how high the monopoles are and Mr. Puritz replied they can be 140 feet in height and the ZBA has to approve them.

 

Mr. Powell said our bylaw encourages co-location but this does not always work for gaps in coverage.

 

Mr. Puritz thinks we are all covered at this point. There could be a resurgence of activity as technology increases. The Town is becoming gapless and there are fewer and fewer requests.

 

After reviewing the maps previously prepared from the AT&T Consultant, Mr. Pannone said he was trying to figure how the plan woks because he saw gaps on the maps.

 

Mr. Puritz said that the gaps are far less than a few years ago. AT&T has considerable gaps which puts them in the position of entitlement.

 

Mr. Pannone said that the proposed sites seem to be on the East side of Town near the train tracks.

 

Mr. O’Cain said that the problem with the east side of Town is that Borderland Park is there and the town is not in control of it.

 

Mr. Puritz said that most gaps have been addressed. Small gaps have been recently identified by AT&T for their network. He said that given the evolving technology and broadcast points in town, it is time to reevaluate the configuration of the overlay district. He suggested the Planning Board may want to review the provisions of the bylaw.

 

Chair Price said the Selectmen want the Planning Board to look at the Telecommunications Bylaw and update the 2006 study with a new study.

 

Mr. Puritz said that if a new study were pursued there are associated costs. We would seek funding from Town Meeting for that purpose. He also suggested the establishment of a feasibility committee to evaluate the accuracy of the existing study. He said he can arrange for the RFP engineer who did the analysis for SideBand to meet with the working group.

 

Mr. O’Cain provided the IDK study which was prepared in 2010 in response to the AT&T filing. He suggested that this be updated.

 

Tom Houston said that he has general background knowledge of the process. He said the current section of the bylaw is well written. It sights the proclivity of radio frequency and addresses the aesthetics of the towers.

 

 

Mr. O’Cain asked Mr. Houston if there are 50 carriers whether the Town needs to provide full coverage to all 50 and he replied yes. The onus is on the municipality to provide equal access.

 

Mr. Powell said that if a task force is formed, it is worthwhile to determine where technology is going.

 

Mr. Milowe asked how the tower height is selected. Mr. Puritz said that the bylaw states 120 feet and if a site specific circumstance warrants a variance there is allowance for that. The height has to be over the trees but the line of sight is also a requirement.

 

Ms. Bingham asked if at this point anyone but AT&T is knocking at our door. Mr. Puritz said no but there maybe an application from Nextel.

 

Ms. Price asked if the Selectmen had any recommendations as to whom should be on the task force and Mr. Powell suggested a member of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Selectmen appointee and an abutter or citizen who has gone through the process. He said that so much of Town land is conservation that it is good to get a group together to discuss and determine what is needed.

 

Mr. Puritz said that the consultant is an ex public official so he understands the concerns of the municipality. His name is Ivan Pagonovich.  He said he may be willing to attend a meeting of the working group.

 

Mr. O’Cain asked if the discussion to identify sites is limited to town owned land or all of Sharon. Mr. Puritz replied public sites but said it is good to understand the potential private owned sites that could fill gaps. Mr. O’Cain said you cannot always pick where to put the towers.

 

Mr. Milowe commented that when the 2006 analysis was performed there were not smart phones and multifunction devices.

 

 

 

 

Adjournment

Mr. Milowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 PM and Mr. Pannone seconded the motion. The Board voted 4-0-0 in favor of adjournment.

 

Attachments

1. March 28, 2012 memorandum from Town Engineer Peter O’Cain for a bond reduction for Townsman IV subdivision.

2. Cellular/PCS Antenna Site Feasibility Report by SideBand Systems dated March 2006.

3. Maps of coverage as prepared by the AT&T consultant