2006-06-19 Community Planning and Development Commission Minutes

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CR said all Board positions, full and associate, will be made official on July 10. JS said the Board of Selectmen will appoint a subcommittee on June 27 for the implementation of the Downtown Parking Task Force. JS recommended having one of the Board's associate members on that committee. The Board agreed. CR said he would inform the Town Manager of this decision. Public Comments / Minutes There were neither public comments nor minutes to review. Joint Workshop Economic Development Commission (EDC) Mr. Russell Graham, Ms. Shelia Clark, and Ms. Meghan Young-Tafoya of the EDC were present. Mr. Graham said the committee will attempt to reach out to those businesses and developers they think would fit well with the goals specified in Reading's Master Plan. JS suggested the EDC review the list of Master Plan priority actions and make their own priority list from it. JS said the CPDC would like to work closely with the EDC so they might want to focus on action items that involve the CPDC and Town Planner. The Board and EDC briefly discussed some of the issues in which they have a mutual interest and in which the Board can provide information and guidance: • Mixed-Use - e.g. Charles Building Development • Signage The EDC may be in a position to better communicate to businesses what the town considers appropriate signage. Ms. Tafoya-Young said the EDC wants to make it easier for businesses to find the information they need about signs, permits, etc... • 40R (Smart Growth Initiative) and 40B's RH said a recurring theme is how to make Reading "business friendly". To become so, the town will have to become proactive in its response to inquiries from businesses and developers and the EDC could be a great help in this regard. The upcoming Streetscape project and the plans for similar improvements to the South Main business zone were mentioned as points the EDC should present to businesses and developers when promoting Reading. Mr. Russell asked when the EDC could tell people the Streetscape project would finish. CR said it is essentially fully funded and should begin this autumn and may finish in two years. Ms. Young-Tafoya asked the Board if they had any knowledge of towns that completed a similar project. The consensus of the Board was that Melrose and Winchester were two towns which had attractively redone their downtown districts. The Board suggested the EDC use other communities as examples and ask: Do we want Reading to be like this? Page 2 of 9