2005-08-22 Community Planning and Development Commission Minutes

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NS moved to continue the Public Hearing of the 175 Franklin Street Definitive Subdivision to September 26, 2005 at 7:30PM. SD seconded. Voted Approved 3:0:0. Public Comment/Minutes JB arrived and took his seat with the Board. Scheduling a Subdivision Regulations Review & Update. Town Engineer Joe Delaney agreed with the Board that such a review would be a good idea and said that he has asked his staff to read through the regulations to see if anything pops out that may warrant looking into. He noted that the last time the regulations were reviewed was back in 1997. He then touched on a few examples of possible changes to regulations that had recently been brought to his attention: • Accepting plans and as-builts in electronic format as suggested by GIS technician Kim Honetschlager (minutes of 2/15/05). Everyone agreed this was a good idea. • Increasing the radius of cul-de-sacs from 40' to 44'. The Fire Chief had told him that the fire trucks need the larger radius. • Keeping road grades to 6 degrees or less. The Fire Chief had told him that the ladder truck needs a grade of 6 degrees or less. Joe Delaney said that we might not want to - make this particular change because too shallow a grade would increase the size of retaining walls. The Board also expressed their interest in adding more specificity to the definitions of words and phrases found in the regulations. For example: dust, noise, lighting, "heavy equipment", and "hours of operation". The Board also had concerns over the size of garages and, noting a recent incident that had upset an entire street, suggested looking into adding dimensional controls to garages. CR said such controls were already in place. A garage cannot be larger than three cars and there are height restrictions too. He was aware of the incident the Board referred to and said there was more to it than just the structure's size. There was also a matter of use, which is a zoning issue, and aesthetics, which is always dangerous ground. CR did note that the Building Inspector feels that more restrictive language should be added to the definition of accessory buildings, but it has been hard trying to get such language passed at Town Meeting. Joe Delaney said that the coverage requirements come into play with accessory buildings but they still allow for tall buildings. No date was set for the review of the Subdivision Regulations. Spence Farm Setback. The Board noted that the buildings in the Archstone development seem a little close to West Street. Joe Delaney said that as it is a 40B project the setbacks don't have to meet regulations but in fact this project does meet the regulations. He added that it was his Page 2of8