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News/Events - Meeting Minutes

MINUTES

MAY 22, 2008
 
Members Present:            Mr. Donald Walter, Chair; Mrs. Donna Chisholm, Vice Chairman; Mr. Mark Fenton, Mr. Robert Vogel,  Mr. William Limbacher

Others Present:            Ms. Laura Harbottle, Town Planner

Absent:             Mrs. Mary Patricia Brennan
 
Mr. Walter called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
 
ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA:  Mr. Limbacher moved to accept the agenda as written.  Mr. Fenton seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.

FORM A PLAN – 38 IRVING ROAD. Owner/Applicant:  Brendan & Melanie McCarthy, Assessor’s Map: 34-25-23 (34-25-23-O-R)
 
Mr. Neil Murphy, Engineer representing the applicant, explained the plan and said that the applicants purchased the lot from the Town. They’ve agreed to split it so that 2/3 would go to the applicant and the other third to the other abutter. Mr. Fenton moved to endorse the ANR. Mr. Vogel seconded and the vote was unanimous.
 
DISCUSSION/ACTION:  PLANNING BOARD LIAISON POSITIONS

Street Acceptance – Mr. Limbacher volunteered to stay on.

Conservation Commission – Mr. Fenton volunteered to stay on. Mr. Limbacher will be the backup.

Traffic Rules and Regulations Committee – Mr. Fenton volunteered. Mr. Limbacher will stay as backup.

Waterways Commission – Mr. Vogel volunteered and Mr. Limbacher will be the backup.

Zoning Board of Appeals – Mr. Limbacher volunteered. Mr. Walter will be the backup.

MAPC-SSC – Mrs. Chisholm will be the Planning Board’s representative and Mrs. Brennan will be the backup if she would like to still be involved.

Board of Health – Mr. Fenton volunteered.

Recreation – Mr. Fenton volunteered.

Disabilities  - Mr. Limbacher volunteered and Mr. Walter will be the backup.

Council on Aging - The liaison was Mrs. Brennan. The Board will check with her. Mrs. Chisholm will be the back up or will take it if Mrs. Brennan is not interested.

School Committee - Mr. Vogel volunteered. Mrs. Brennan was thought to be the back up. The Board will check with her.

Community Preservation Committee - Mr. Limbacher volunteered.

Public Building Commission - Mr. Walter volunteered and Mr. Vogel will be backup.

Board of Selectmen - Mr. Walter volunteered. Mr. Limbacher will be backup.

Design Review Committee - Mr. Walter volunteered. Mr. Vogel will be backup.

Water Resource Committee - The Board will check to see if Mrs. Brennan is interested. Mr. Fenton will be backup.

Historical Commission - Mr. Limbacher and Mrs. Chisholm volunteered.

Residential Development Committee - Mrs. Chisholm volunteered.
 
 
SITE PLAN WAIVER REQUEST– ST. MARY OF THE NATIVITY CEMETERY, MEETINGINGHOUSE LANE. Applicant: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
 
Atty. Frank Colpoys represented the applicant, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, for St. Mary’s Parish. He explained that the cemetery is over 100 years old. The old area is located on one side of the street and the area on the plan is on the corner of Meetinghouse Lane and Stockbridge Road. This area has been in development since the early 1980’s. There are only 10 grave sites left and it is a critical situation. They are requesting a waiver from site plan review for the next phase which will consist of 242 new grave sites. They have been before the ZBA who said that a Special Permit was not needed due to it being an extension of a pre-existing non-conforming situation and was of minimal impact. The original development of the phase which began in the 80’s did get a waiver from the Planning Board.
 
The site is just under five acres and has a small shed and a dumpster. There is a large pile of earth. There are a little over 1000 grave sites existing currently. The access drive has been pushed over and is about 15’ from the property line. Each of the sites will hold two pre-installed vaults which can be placed closer together, thus avoiding a lot of digging. Mr. John Chessia, the engineer hired by the applicant, said there’ll be more disruption during construction but once done, each burial won’t require large earth moving machinery. All spoils created by the new work plus the existing pile will be removed. It’ll be brought back to pre-existing grade. There will be between 2,000 and 4,000 yards of material. The shed will be relocated and the road will be extended and narrowed. This will avoid the dead-end situation. The narrowness will look less like an obvious entrance. The gates will be removed. Mr. Walter asked if it could be stipulated as one-way out?  Mr. Fenton said it could have an Exit Only sign. Mr. Colpoys said he didn’t think that would be a problem. The existing graves still need to be dug so there still needs to be a small stockpile area that will be taken care annually. Most of the area is overgrown with invasive plants such as bittersweet. There will be some trees saved which will be tagged. The plantings haven’t been specified.  St. Mary’s would like to work with the neighbors, marking the trees to be saved, deciding what can be planted and identifying the location for the screened plantings. A landscape plan wasn’t drawn up. They wanted to mark it in the field with the neighbors present. The entire area is about 12,000 SF including the road.
 
Mr. Colpoys said they have reached out to the neighbors who have been very cooperative. Ms. Harbottle said the idea of plantings along the side lot line will help screen the traffic. Mr. Colpoys said they will work with the neighbors directly to be sure it is done to their satisfaction.  Mr. Fenton asked if the existing gravel drive will get cleaned up and be removed. Mr. John Chessia said that the area will be grassed in; whether more like a lawn or a field he isn’t sure. The gravel road which goes back to the dumpster will stay. A gravel road for the new section was not considered  because they wanted it to match up with what is already there and the road will have to be plowed. In a funeral situation, many people are in high heels and gravel isn’t really good.  Mr. Fenton said the narrowness is advantageous. Mr. Limbacher said he’d like to have a look at what the landscaping is going to be. There was an issue on the Stockbridge Road side and he’d like to avoid that happening again. He doesn’t have a problem with working in the field but he’d like a schematic of what the plantings are going to be and where their approximate locations will be - along with showing the trees that are going to be saved and the area where they will be removed.  As far as time goes, Mr. John Chessiasaid, as far as time for this all to take place goes, the contract will probably be let in June and the work will not take long. Landscaping and seeding etc will probably be done by August. The vaults can be made quite quickly. Mr. Colpoys said the parish doesn’t want to be in a situation where no grave sites are available so they are motivated to get the work done in a timely manner. The ten remaining sites will be need based only.  
 
Donna Provost said Fr. Manning had told her the road would be an exit only. Mr. Colpoys said that is no problem. Mrs. Provost would have liked a gate because she said there is traffic in there at night. Mr. Colpoys said gating is a problem and they are trying to avoid it.  Mrs. Provost asked if there will be a problem with runoff?  Mr. John Chessia said the runoff basically will go to a very large depressed area. The soil out there now is not as pervious as gravel and the runoff will all go to the depression in the back.
 
Mr. Robert York of 45 Meeting House Lane said his land abuts the lower easterly section. He feels the exit on the easterly end does put all the traffic in Mrs. Provost’s yard and he said the screening really has to be effective. He said there is standing water there every spring and it is  1.5 – 2’ deep so anything that can be done to alleviate it would help both the people who live to the south as well as the Archdiocese.
 
Mr. Walter asked at what point would they feel they’d have to have a Storm Water Management Plan in place where they wouldn’t be able to rely on the land down below. That will probably happen not so much in the next phase as the one after that. Mr. Fenton said he is less inclined to presume low impact from a stormwater standpoint from the use of these pre-cast vaults.  His suspicion is that this will be a lot less pervious. He said if the Board is going to agree to forego site plan review, they will need certainty about the finish grading to maintain the kind of flow they are presupposing by the plan before them. The applicants are going to have to live up to the plan that is before the Board. Miss Harbottle said that once they get the Stormwater Regulations in place, if more than 15,000 SF is going to be disturbed, it’ll be subject to that bylaw.
 
Mr. Walter said if the Board deems the work to be minor or insignificant, they can grant the waiver from the site plan review if they so choose. They will issue conditions. He wants to be sure they have the buffer plan and that the 10’ drive will be an Exit Only road going out to Meeting House Lane. Miss Harbottle said it was mentioned that there should be an Exit Only sign at the new exit and the finish grading has to be maintained as much as possible so the drainage will be as seen on the plan. The pile of fill should be reduced significantly. Mrs. Provost asked what the construction time would be. Mr. Walter said they would put on their standard construction times as a condition and Mr. Colpoys said that’s agreeable.
 
Mr. Fenton said they’ve been talking about a side walk in the area and some of the funding is from a developer. He thinks it’s all in the public way because it seems to be beyond the applicant’s berm and their foliage line but he wanted to let them know that this will be coming. The kids from the Jenkins School and their parents are going to the Selectmen on Tuesday to ask that this sidewalk be built. The order of conditions read that the Town had to come up with the appropriate permissions and do a design for the sidewalk. The developer will do the work. If one of those permissions is this applicant, although it doesn’t appear to be based on this plan, he’d like to ask that they acknowledge that they would be a willing abutter to that happening. He thinks the sidewalk is in the road layout but he’d still like to know that they wouldn’t be an adverse abutter. This would be on Stockbridge up to Vinal Road. Mr. Colpoys said he can’t imagine that it would be any problem.
 
Mr. Fenton moved to grant the site plan review waiver with the following conditions: (1) that the new roadway be marked and treed and signed as an exit only; (2) that the applicant share a landscape plan schematic and appraise the Planner and the Board about the intended cutting and rough location and species for screening plantings to minimize adverse impact on the abutters properties of traffic, headlights, and activities on the site; (3) that finish grade reflects what is  shown on the plan - specifically to assure that stormwater flow will not adversely affecting the abutter but returning as much as possible to the normal flow on the site, essentially southward; (4) the standard condition on construction operations such as time of day and days of the week be added to the decision and  (5) that the final landscaping schematic be submitted to the Planning Board for the file, and the field check should be done as necessary. Mr. Limbacher seconded and the vote was unanimous.
 
OLD BUSINESS, NEW BUSINESS, CORRESPONDENCE, ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS, UPDATES, ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES (January 11, 2008, February 14, 2008 AND MARCH 13, 2008)
 
Mr. Limbacher said he will be presenting a feasibility study which has been accepted by the Alternative Energy Committee to the Selectmen with a recommendation for the next set of steps that have to be done. He will indicate that he is speaking as the Planning Board member on that committee and not on behalf of the Planning Board.
 
Mr. Limbacher said he has become involved with the River Way which had to do with the Clapp Cemetery. He said there has been activity with the cemetery study that was done and the conditions that the Board put on it. There is really not a cemetery’s group but he has kind of adopted this as a personal project he is working on. He said they are looking at some of the signings, and he wanted to be sure the Board didn’t have any issues with him continuing to do that. There are a lot of private cemeteries in town that the town can take over and they are trying to ascertain who the descendents are to where the town can take control on it. The only other way to take it is to put money up to the state in case there are any heirs and that money might not get returned. The Board had no objection to Mr. Limbacher continuing with this.
 
Underground Sprinklers for Doctors Hill:  Ms. Harbottle thought this subject should go on to the next agenda. Mr. Walter said they have received a letter requesting that the Board rescind the prohibition of the installation of the underground sprinklers. Miss Harbottle said Rick Agnew on behalf of the water division of the DPW wanted to completely prohibit them in any new development.  She thinks that when you have a sprinkler and you’re in a recharge zone, you’re really just recharging so she’s not sure there is a problem. She has Emailed the water division supervisor and Mr. Agnew asking about this. This condition was in the special permit but there was never a bylaw. Mr. Walter said if people were going to put sprinklers in, they could sink their own wells. Mr. Vogel said you’re still taking water out of the aquifer even though it’s going back in. Mr. Fenton said there was a logic to the ruling and nothing has dramatically changed the logic.  He thinks it should be thought about more broadly. He doesn’t think this request should be acted on alone. The Board would like to discuss this as a policy. Miss Harbottle said she’d get together with Mr. Walter and Mrs. Chisholm and decide whether to make it an agenda item or not.
 
Villages at South River:  Mr. Walter said that regarding the memo that was sent to the Villages at South River, Mr. Al Bang, the Chairman, has asked for a meeting with Miss Harbottle and him to discuss that memo.
 
Mr. Limbacher moved to approve the minutes of January 11, February 14 and March 13 as provided in the packet. Mr. Fenton seconded. The vote was 4-0-1 with Mr. Vogel abstaining.
 
Mr. Fenton moved to adjourn the meeting at 9 PM.  Mr. Vogel seconded and the vote was unanimous.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
 
 
Kay Ramsey, Recording Secretary for the Evening
 
Robert Vogel, Clerk
 
Date Approved