MINUTES

October 23, 2008

Members Present: Mrs. Donna Chisholm, Vice Chairman, Mr. Robert Vogel, Mr. William Limbacher, Mrs. Patricia Brennan Finnie, Associate

Members Absent: Mr. Donald Walter, Chairman, Mr. Mark Fenton

Others Present: Ms. Laura Harbottle, Town Planner
See Sign-in List for names of others present at this meeting.

Mrs. Chisholm called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.

ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA: Mr. William Limbacher moved to accept the agenda as written. Mrs. Pat Brennan Finnie seconded the Motion and the vote was unanimous.

ACCOUNTING: Motion duly moved by Mr. Limbacher, Seconded by Mr. Vogel, and voted unanimously to pay the following:
1. Chessia Consulting Services – Walnut Tree Hill - $550.00
2. CEI – The Glen - $4,364.96
3. Patriot Ledger – The Animal Shelter, The Glen, 18 Beaver Dam Rd. - $1,002.75

EXECUTIVE SESSION
MOTION: Mr. Limbacher Moved to go into Executive Session for the purposes of discussing issues regarding pending litigation and return to regular session at the end of Executive Session. Mrs. Brennan Finnie Seconded the Motion. A roll call vote was taken with Mr. Limbacher, Mr. Vogel, Mrs. Brennan Finnie, and Mrs. Chisholm all saying ‘aye’ to indicate that they agreed with the Motion to go into Executive Session.
MOTION: Mr. Limbacher Moved to go out of Executive Session and return to Regular Session. Mr. Vogel Seconded the Motion. A roll call vote was taken. Mr. Limbacher, Mr. Vogel, Mrs. Brennan Finnie, and Mrs. Chisholm all said ‘aye’ to indicate that they agreed to go out of Executive Session and return to regular session.

Motion: Mr. Limbacher moved to continue the 3 public hearings to November 13, 2008 at 7:30pm at the applicant’s request. Seconded by Mr. Vogel and the vote was unanimous.

TOWN PLANNER REPORT:
Ms. Harbottle informed the Board that there was a pre-construction meeting on the Greenbush Streetscape held this week. There will not be on-street parallel parking on Old Country Way but there will be a sidewalk. Mrs. Brennan Finnie asked if anyone made public notice that the denial of the parking affected the way that the Planning Board’s permit was granted. Mr. Limbacher responded that he spoke to Al Bangert who said that after consulting with the Police and Fire Chiefs, it was better to not have the parking for safety reasons. He also said that the DPW would find it more difficult to plow because of the cut in and cut out. He also said they were going to put sidewalk all the way up to Berkshire Rd. rather than the parking.

Mr. Limbacher said the cost of building a sidewalk is approximately $100.00 to $125.00 per foot and the cost for the parking was approximately $7,000.00. He doesn’t see how you can build a sidewalk up to Berkshire at the same cost. Mrs. Brennan Finnie said she has heard public complaints that they don’t feel the town should construct a sidewalk from Berkshire to Greenbush for adult commuters when there are children walking on Stockbridge to Jenkins School. Mrs. Chisholm said that unfortunately that is what the money was granted for. Mr. Limbacher stated he attended a meeting on 10/16 for the bike path on Gannett Rd. He said people were thinking the discussion was whether you should do it or not do it. However, a lot of the people when asked to sign petitions and asked to get involved said it was positioned as a 4 ft. sidewalk as opposed to an 8 ft. bike path. He stated he feels there is a lot of confusion regarding issues with the sidewalks in town.

Mr. Limbacher updated the Board on alternative energy. He stated that along with wind turbines the committee is also looking into solar energy. He said the committee met with 2 providers of electricity through solar. They are still looking at loan versus third party on the wind turbine but they are also looking at PPA [Power Purchase Agreements] for solar. They are looking at a grant to put a small one up on the high school that could be used for education. Also looking into putting a large solar unit up on the high school.

Ms. Harbottle told the Board that Karen Sunnarborg would have a draft of the Housing Plan within the next few weeks. They have met a couple of times with the Residential Development Committee who has been very involved with the plan. The Planning Board meeting on 11/20 will have attendants from the Housing Authority, the Residential Development Committee and Karen Sunnarborg.

Ms. Harbottle also told the Board that there was an Affordable Accessory Dwelling Permit issued a couple of years back on Old Oaken Bucket Road. The application was unique in that the dwelling was a separate building behind the house. The woman who owns the house had her father-in-law living there. The father-in-law has just passed away and the owners want to now bring it in line with what it should be to be affordable. The Housing Authority is going to create a list of people that make 80% of the median income or less and from the list they will have a lottery. The landlords of the different units will get a list of 5 applicants that they can choose from. There will be affirmative marketing in newspapers in Scituate and surrounding communities. It will not be limited to Scituate residents and they can’t be rented to family and count in the inventory.

Ms. Harbottle continued her report by stating CZM has a program where they give towns assistance with different projects. One project that we have is the two different flood plains in Scituate. We have the FEMA flood district and the town’s Flood Plain and Watershed District, which is different. This creates a lot of confusion. Ms Harbottle stated that she, Mr. Duggan and Mr. Kalishes would like to get one district to help everyone understand it better. We would try to get CCM assistance to be used with how we merge those two zoning districts and any other provisions we should build into Zoning. Mr. Limbacher asked if this would be an article that would go to town meeting. Ms. Harbottle responded yes.

PLANNING BOARD BUDGET APPROVAL:

Ms. Harbottle presented the Board a copy of the 2010 Planning Board Budget. Mr. Limbacher asked about the cut back on office supply from $4,400.00 to $2,000.00. Ms. Harbottle explained that a budget for mapping software had been included in the previous year, which explains the difference. The Board proceeded with discussion about the budget items. Mr. Limbacher moved to accept the 2010 budget as presented. Mrs. Brennan Finnie seconded and the vote was unanimous.

Motion to Adjourn: Motion duly Moved by Mr. Limbacher, Seconded by Mrs. Brennan Finnie, and voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Maureen Galvin
Secretary
Planning Board

Robert Vogel, Clerk

Date Approved: