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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-11-30 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting Minutes11C.4Aj ADJOURNED SUBSEQUENT TOWN METING Reading Memorial High School Auditorium November 30, 1978 The meeting was called to order by the Moderator, Kenneth C. Latham, at 8:00 P.M. The invocation was given by the Rev. Richard M. Woodman of the Unitarian Univer*ist Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ARTICLE 18. On motion of Maureen T. O'Brien it was voted that the Town amend the Zoning By -laws by adopting a new Zoning Map and renaming Residence Districts, as follows: A. By deleting paragraphs 3.1., 3.2., 3.2.1., 3.2.2. and 3.2.3. and substituting therefor new paragraphs 3.1. and 3.2. as follows: 3.1. Districts For the purpose of this By -law, the Town of Reading is hereby divided into eleven (11) zoning districts, as follows: Type Full Name Short Name Residence Single Family 10 District 5 -10 Residence Single Family 20 District 5 -20 Residence Single Family 40 District 5 -40 Residence Apartment 40 District A -40 Residence Apartment 80 District A -80 Business Business A District BUS. A Business Business B District BUS. B Business Business C District BUS. C Industrial Industrial District IND Overlay Flood Plain District F Overlay Wetlands Protection District W 3.2. Zoning Map Districts are shown, defined and bounded on the map entitled "Reading Zoning Map ", dated September 18, 1978, as amended, consisting of an index map and 35 sheets containing 39 detailed maps, prepared and signed by the Planning Board, which constitutes a part of these By -laws. The map shall be kept on file and current by the Planning Board, who shall supply copies to the Town Clerk, the Building Inspector and the Board of Appeals. B. By deleting paragraph 3.3.1.2. and 3.3.1.3. and substituting therefor the new paragraph 3.3.1.2. as follows: 3.3.1.2. Where a boundary of an Overlay District is indicated as a contour, the boundary shall be the noted contour based on the mean sea level datum. Where a boundary apparently follows property lines, street lines, the end of drainage structures or other features, or extensions thereof, it shall be so interpreted. Where a boundary is indicated as approximately parallel to a street line or bank of a water body or watercourse, together with a single noted dimension, it shall be interpreted as parallel and located the noted distance from such street line or the mean high water line along such bank. The mean high water line is that elevation, at the bank of a waterbody, where vegetation changes from predominately terrestial to aquatic, and along the bank of a watercourse where the annual high water has left a definite mark in the channel. C. By deleting in paragraph 4.2.2., Table of Uses, the column headings "RESIDENCE A", "RESIDENCE B ", and "RESIDENCE B -1" and substituting therefor new column headings "5 -10, 5 -20, S -4011, "A -40 ", and "A -80" respectively. D. By deleting in paragraph 4.3.2.7. "Residence A" and substituting therefor "Single Family ". E. By deleting paragraphs 4.4.1., 4.4.1.1., 4.4.1.2., 4.4.1.3., 4.4.1.4., 4.4.1.5., 4.5.1. 4.5.1.1., 4.5.1.2., 4.5.1.3., 4.5.1.4. and 4.5.5. in their entirety. F. By deleting in paragraph 5.1.2., Table of Dimensional Controls, "A -1 ", "A -2111 "A -311, "R -B" and "B -1" in the stub headings and substituting therefor "5- 10 ", "5 -2011, "S -4011, "A -40" and "A -80" respectively. .r 123 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 30, 1978 G. By deleting in paragraph 5.2.2. "Residence A2" and substituting therefor "Single Family 20 ". H. By deleting in paragraphs 5.2.5.1., 5.2.6.1., 5.2.7.1. and 6.1.2.6 "Residence B" and substituting therefor "Apartment 40 ". I. By deleting in paragraphs 5.2.6.2., 5.2.7.2., 5.2.8.1. and 6.1.2.5 "Residence B -1" and substituting therefor " Apratment 80 ". J. By deleting in paragraph 5.3.2.1. "Residence A -1 ", "Residence A -2" and "Residence A -3" and substituting therefor "Single Family 1011, "Single Family 20" and "Single Family 40" respectively. K. By adding the following as paragraph 7.1.1.1.: 7.1.1.1. Whenever an application is made for a building permit which the Building Inspector believes may be affected by an Overlay District boundary, the Inpsector shall require the applicant to provide as part of such application a plan, certified by a registered land surveyor, of the lot on which such building is intended to be built showing the exact location of the district boundary. Such plan shall not be required where a permit is applied for solely for interior work. 108 voted in the affirmative 18 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 19. On motion of Maureen T. O'Brien it was voted that the Town amend the Zoning By -laws by deleting paragraph 6.3.1.2. and substituting therefor a new paragraph 6.3.1.2 as follows: 6.3.1.2. A nonconforming lot may be built upon for one or two family use in any district permitting such use provided, at the time of its recording or endorsement, whichever occurred sooner, it conformed to the then existing requirements; it has at least five thousand (5,000) square feet of area and fifty (50) feet of frontage; and it was not held in common ownership with any adjoining land subsequent to February 1, low 1978. 126 voted in the affirmative 0 voted in the negative On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to take Article 1 from the table. ARTICLE 1. The following report was read by Charles J. Keller for the Planning Board. Planning Board Report Article 20 Pursuant to Section 5, Chapter 40A., General Laws, a Public Hearing was held on this proposed Article on Thursday, November 9, 1978, at 7:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Community Center. Sixteen (16) persons were present at the hearing. There was no opposition. The Article proposes an amendment to the Zoning Map to include all land at or below the eighty (80) foot contour within the block bounded by North Main Street, Pearl Street and Franklin Street be in the Wetlands Protection District. The intent is to apply restrictions to a low lying wet area which, until recently, was believed to have been controlled years ago. In 1970 the Town adopted Flood Plain Zoning, and applied it to portions of the Town which were described in the By -law but not mapped. Subsequent unofficial maps inadver- tently included the subject areas. These were checked in the Summer of 1978 when Article 18 on the Warrant for this Town Meeting was being prepared. At the time it was discovered that the subject areas did not fall within the description of the areas zoned in 1970. The present Article is designed to rectify this omission. Evidence was presented at the hearing that the subject areas were consistent in nature with other sections of the Town which had already been so protected, that such protection was essential to retain the existing drainage of adjacent homes and streets, and that such zoning had been recommended in the 1970 presentation to Town Meeting and then excluded inadvertently because of the wording of the motion. The Board was also advised of current developer interest and activity in the area which lends a degree of urgency to the issue. 124 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 30, 1978 We conclude, for the reasons cited above, that the subject areas are indeed appropriate for inclusion in the Wetlands Protection District and strongly recommend the adoption of the Article. This report was accepted as a report of progress. ARTICLE 1. The following report was read by Charles J. Keller for the Planning Board. Planning Board Report Article 20 Pursuant to Section 5, Chapter 40A., General Laws, a Public Hearing was held on this proposed Article on Thursday, November 9, 1978, at 7:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Community Center. Sixteen (16) persons were present at the hearing. There was no opposition. The Article proposes an amendment to the Zoning Map to include all land at or below the eighty (80) foot contour within the block bounded by North Main Street, Pearl Street and Franklin Street be in the Wetlands Protection District. The intent is to apply restrictions to a low lying wet area which, until recently, was believed to have been controlled years ago. In 1970 the Town adopted Flood Plain Zoning, and applied it to portions of the Town which were described in the By -law but not mapped. Subsequent unofficial maps inadver- tently included the subject areas. These were checked in the Summer of 1978 when Article 18 on the Warrant for this Town Meeting was being prepared. At the time it was discovered that the subject areas did not fall within the description of the areas zoned in 1970. The present Article is designed to rectify this omission. Evidence was presented at the hearing that the subject areas were consistent in nature with other sections of the Town which had already been so protected, that such protection was essential to retain the existing drainage of adjacent homes and streets, and that such zoning had been recommended in the 1970 presentation to Town Meeting and then excluded inadvertently because of the wording of the motion. The Board was also advised of current developer interest and activity in the area which lends a degree of urgency to the issue. We conclude, for the reasons cited above, that the subject areas are indeed appropriate for inclusion in the Wetlands Protection District and strongly recommend the adoption of the Article. This report was accepted as a report of progress. ARTICLE 1. The following report was read by Charles J. Keller for the Planning Board: Planning Board Report Article 21 Pursuant to Section 5, Chapter 40A, General Laws, a Public Hearing was held on the proposed Article on Thursday, November 9, 1978, at 8:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Community Center. Four persons attended the hearing. The Article proposes an amendment to the Zoning Map relating wholly to the access drive of the Summit Towers apartment development off Summer Street. The proposed change would place the drive in the same zoning district as the remainder of the development. The proposal has been made, at least in part, because of the anomalous legal position that the present owner of the development finds himself in as the result of past actions of the Town. The zoning district in which Summit Towers is located does not extend out to any street from which access could be gained, the apartment district being surrounded by other districts which prohibit apartments. The Supreme Court has held in several cases that access to a use is part of the use. As applied to this development, the access to the prohibited apartment use should have been prohibited in the surrounding district in which the access drive crosses. Evidence was presented at the hearing that the original developer of SummitTowers, aware of this problem, petitioned the Board of Appeals for relief in 1969. The Board responded that the problem" ... requires no action...", and permits for construction were issued. The present owner consequently finds himself in possession of a development which the Town should not have allowed to be built, which cannot be expanded, but which also cannot be removed by the Town because the statute of limitations on enforcement of the By -law has run. 12,5 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 30, 1978 The Board was sufficiently concerned about the access problem and related traffic problems of this development to delay its decision on the Article until the ramifications of the change on the legal status of all access points could be investigated. We are now satisfied that no adverse result is likely and therefore recommend correction of the inequities resulting from this unusual situation in the only manner remaining to the Town, - by adoption of the Article. This report was accepted as a report of progress. ARTICLE 1. The following report was read by Barry J. Mitchel, Chairman of the Police Station Building Committee. A renovation and expansion project for the Pleasant Street Police Station was funded by a Federal grant of $290,000, and supplemented by a Town Meeting appropriation of $66,000 on March 6, 1978. The final contract award went to Petruccelli Construction Company of Lynn, Mass., in the amount of $290,000. Construction work has progressed steadily and on schedule since ground- breaking on April 11. As of October 31, the project was approximately 67.5 percent complete. The new addition is now enclosed and under roof, and work is progressing on the interior of the combined structures. The project is expected to be substantially completed by January 17, 1979, in compliance with provisions of the Federal grant. The Committee is coordinating with the Police Chief and the Architect to assure a smooth transition to full occupancy of the new quarters when construction is finished. Respectfully submitted, Barry J. Mitchel, Chairman Douglass L. Barker, Secretary John B. Miller Anthony L. Rickley Ralph J. Snyder, Jr. This report was accepted as a report of progress. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to lay Article 1 on the table. " ARTICLE 20. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted that the Town amend the Zoning By -Laws by amending the map entitled: "Reading Zoning Map" dated September 18, 1978, as amended, by including within the Wetlands Protection District the areas of land designated on the attached map entitled: "Amendment to the Wetlands Protection District, Article 20, Town Meeting, November 13, 1978 ", said areas of land being further described as all that land at and below the eighty (80) foot contour elevation (U.S.G.S. datum) in the area bounded Westerly by North Main Street (Route 28), Northerly and Easterly by Pearl Street, and Southerly by Franklin Street. 126 voted in the affirmative 0 voted in the negative ARTICLE 21. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to amend the Zoning By -Laws and the Zoning Map of the Town to change that portion of the access road from Summer Avenue on Assessors' Plot 14, Lot 3, which is now located in Residence A -1 (S- 10) Zone to Residence B -1 (APT 80) Zone, all as shown in orange and described "Proposed Addition to B -1 Zone" on a map entitled "Plan of Land in Reading, Mass. Scale 1" equals 401, August 24, 1973, Dana F. Perkins & Sons, Inc. ", a copy of which is attached to this Motion, excluding, however, so much of the access road which has been changed from Residence A -1 (5 -10) Zone to Residence B -1 (APt 80) Zone by vote of this Town Meeting under Article 18 of the Warrant. 126 voted in the affirmative 0 voted inthe negative ARTICLE 22. Frank A. Smith, Jr. moved that the Town amend Article II, Section 1, Rule 12 of the Town By -Laws by adding the following sentence: "A motion to move the previous question shall require an 80% vote in the affirmative ". This motion did not pass. 126 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 30, 1978 On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to take Article 1 from the table. ARTICLE 1. Donald E. Trudeau presented a verbal report of the Finance Committeeon the Capital Outlay Plan. This report was accepted as a report of progress. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to lay Article 1 on the table. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to take Article 2 from the table. ARTICLE 2. Donald E. Trudeau moved that the Town Meeting adopt Capital Outlay Plan B as described in the Report of Progress presented by the Finance Committee under Article 1 of this Town Meeting in accordance with Article 3, Section 11 of the Town's By -Laws. This motion did not pass. ARTICLE 2. Donald E. Trudeau moved that the Town Meeting adopt Capital Outlay Plan C as described in the Report of Progress presented by the Finance Committee under Article 1 of this Town Meeting in accordance with Article 3, Section 11 of the Town's By -Laws. This motion did not pass. ARTICLE 2. Donald E. Trudeau moved that the Town Meeting adopt Capital Outlay Plan A as described in the Report of Progress presented by the Finance Committee under Article 1 of this Town Meeting in accordance with Article 3, Section 11 of the Town's By -Laws. This motion did not pass. ARTICLE 2. Paul T. Metcalf moved that the Moderator appoint a committee of eight Town Meeting members to consider, study and make recommendations on the use of the following: The Town Hall, Library, Community Center, LowellStreet School, Prospect Street School, Depot, and any other building that may be made available to the Town for municipal or non - municipal usage and purposes during their existence. Said study shall include the possibility of disposing of the Community Center, the Lowell Street School, the Prospect Street School, the Depot and other properties that may be made available for municipal or non - municipal use; including but not limited to a study of the school population reduction in the next ten years and any buildings that may be turned back to the Town or reduced in requirements for school usage so as to make a portion thereof available for school or other municipal purposes. When considering the disposal of buildings the committee should look into the cost of demolition, the sale of land without the buildings, the sale of land with buildings intact, all to be considered at current market value with the proceeds to be returned to the Town. Further, the committee shall have made available to it any previous studies, plans, estimates or other necessary information from which to gather aid in completing its study. Also, all Town boards shall cooperate with this committee with whatever required materials, etc. that may be helpful in the conclusions of the committee. A report shall be made at the next Town Meeting and at future Town Meetings until an article is, or articles are, submitted to Town Meeting which the committee feels will solve the problems in the best interests of the Town, including the possible requirements of zoning changes necessary to accomplish the same. This motion did not pass. 127 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 30, 1978 ARTICLE 2. On motion of James R. Boucher it was voted that the By -Law Committee be, and hereby is, instructed to prepare an article, or articles, as required to change the date of the Subsequent Town Meeting from November to a convenient date in October, and that said article, or articles, be included in the warrant for the 1979 Annual Town Meeting. ARTICLE 2. On motion of Barry J. Mitchel it was voted that the Board of Public Works be and hereby is instructed to prepare a report for presentation at the next Town Meeting, addressing the problems of theft and vandalism at the Public Works property on John Street, including but not limited to these items: 1. The cost to the Town during the year preceding said report, including an estimate of the cost of police investigations; 2. Town insurance coverage against theft and vandalism; 3. Existing security measures, possible security improvements, and estimated costs of same. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr., it was voted that Article 2 be indefinitely postponed. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted to take Article 1 from the table. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted that Article 1 be indefinitely postponed. On motion of Frank A. Smith, Jr. it was voted that this meeting stand adjourned sine die at 10:55 P. M., November 30, 1978. 147 Town Meeting members were present. A true copy. Attest: Lawrence Drew Town Clerk I