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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-11-21 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting MinutesADJOURNED SUBSEQUENT TOWN MEETING Reading Memorial High School November 21, 1988 The meeting was called to order by the Moderator Paul C. Dustin, there being a quorum present. The Invocation was given by Reverend Alan B. Bond of the First Congregational Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ARTICLE 28. On motion of Carl H. Amon as amended by j Catherine A. Quimby, it was voted that the Town authorize the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Reading to convey all or any part of the following described property, formerly under the con- trol of the Board of Cemetery Trustees as a part of Charles Lawn Cemetery to the highest bidder and to determine the minimum amount not less than $5,000 (Five Thousand Dollars) to be paid for such conveyance; to authorize the Board of Selectmen to con- vey all or any part of such property only to an adjoining property owner and to be added to and made a part of the adjoin- ing lot for such amount or larger amount, and upon such other terms and conditions as the Board of Selectmen shall consider proper, and to deliver a deed therefor to said purchaser: The land shown on Board of Assessors' Plat 131, dated Jan. 1, 1967, Rev. Jan. 1, 1972 as a portion of Lot 8 consisting of ap- proximately 7,200 square feet and being bounded and described as follows: Beginning on the easterly sideline of Pearl Street, at a stone bound on the division property line between Lot 7 and Lot 8; Thence by a curved line to the left along the easterly sideline of Pearl Street, to a stone bound on the division property line between Lot 9 and Lot 8 a distance of 60.39 + feet, more or less; Thence easterly along the division property line between Lot 9 and Lot 8 a distance of 175± feet, more or less to a point; Thence southeasterly a distance of 25± feet, more or less to a point; Thence southwesterly a distance of 90± feet, more or less to a stone bound on the division property line between Lot 7 and Lot 8; Thence southwesterly along the division property line be- tween Lot 7 and Lot 8 a distance of 82.26± feet, more or less to the point of beginning of this description; Said parcel containing 7200± square feet, more or less. Intending to describe a 0.16 acre portion of Lot 8 located on the easterly side of Pearl Street and being between Lot 7 and Lot 9. Said Lots being shown on the Reading Assessor's Plat 131 dated January 1, 1972. ARTICLE 29. On motion of Edward F. Murphy, Jr., it was voted that the Town amend Article II of the Bylaws of the Town by inserting at the end thereof a new Section 10 as follows: "Section 10 Removal of Town Meeting Members for Absence "The Town Clerk shall mail, within thirty days after the ad- journment sine die of a Town Meeting, to every Town Meeting Member who has attended less than one half of the Town Meet- ing sessions since the most recent annual town election, a record of his attendance and a copy of Section 2-6 of the Reading Home Rule Charter. 270 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 21, 1988 "Town Meeting Members of each precinct shall consider at a Precinct Meeting to be conducted in accordance with Article II of these By Laws and Section 2-6 of the Charter, preced- ing the consideration of the article placed upon the annual Town Meeting Warrant in accordance with Section 2-6 of the Charter, the names of Town Meeting Members in that precinct appearing on said Warrant article and adopt recommendations to Town Meeting as to what action should be taken regarding each such Member. The chairman of each precinct or his designee shall make such recommendations along with support- ing evidence and rationale to Town Meeting. "The names of the Members subject to removal in accordance with Section 2-6 of the Charter shall be grouped by precinct in the Warrant article required by said section.. ARTICLE 30. On motion of George A. Theophanis, it was voted that the Town amend the Bylaws of the Town by adding the follow- ing as Article XXXVIII: "Article XXXVIII. Rules and Regulations. Section 1. All Town Agencies or Town Officers as defined in Section 8-7 of the Reading Home Rule Charter shall comply with the following procedures in the adoption or amendment of such rules or regulations which they are empowered to adopt or amend pursuant to these Bylaws, the Reading Home Rule Charter, the General Laws of the Commonwealth or any other enabling act. The provisions of this Bylaw shall be in addition to the filing requirements of Section 8-8 of the Reading Home Rule Charter. The provisions of this Bylaw shall not apply to the adoption, modification or amendment of any rules or regulations for which a procedure is other- wise provided by general or special law, or to rules and regulations which relate primarily to the internal opera- tions or procedures of a Town Agency or Town Officer. Section 2. No Town Agency or Town Officer shall adopt or amend any rule or regulation until after a public hearing, notice of the time and place of which, and of the subject matter, sufficient for identification, shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the Town Hall for a period of not less than seven (7) days before the date of such hearing and pub- lished in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town, not less than seven (7) days before the day of the hearing if such newspaper exists. Copies of the entire text shall be supplied to the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Com- mittee, the Bylaw Committee and the Town Counsel not less than seven (7) days prior to said hearing and shall be available to the public at the office of the Town Clerk and at said hearing. Prior to the adoption or amendment of any such rule or regulation the Town Counsel shall render an opinion to the Town Agency or Town Officer proposing such adoption or amendment. Notice of the adoption or amendment of any such rule or regulation shall be posted in a con- spicuous place in the Town Hall, and published once in a newspaper of general circulation of the Town, if such newspaper exists. A copy of all such rules or regulations so adopted or amended shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk; and, as provided in Section 8-8 of the Reading Home Rule Charter, they shall not become effective until ten (10) days following the date they are so filed. Section 3. Any resident of the Town may propose a rule or regulation or amendment to the same by notifying the ap- propriate Town Officer or Town Agency in writing with a copy 271 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 21, 1988 of the proposed rule or regulation or amendment. Within ninety (90) days of the receipt thereof the Town Officer or Town Agency shall afford such resident the opportunity to appear before said Town Officer or Town Agency to presen the rationale for the proposed rule or regulation or amend- ment. If the Town Officer or Town Agency determines to promulgate such rule, regulation or amendment it shall thereafter follow the provisions of this Bylaw. If the Town Officer or Town Agency determines not to promulgate such rule, regulation or amendment, it shall give written notification of the same to the proposing resident within thirty (30) days of the meeting on the proposal. ARTICLE 31. On motion of Stephen M. DiPietro, it was voted that the subject matter of Article 31 be indefinitely postponed. ARTICLE l., On motion of Eugene R. Nigro, it was voted to take Article 1 from the table. ARTICLE 1. The attached Report of Daniel A. Ensminger, Chairman of the Community Planning and Development Commission was accepted as a Report of Progress. ARTICLE 1. On motion of Eugene R. Nigro, it was voted to lay Article 1 on the table. ARTICLE 32. On motion of Russell T. Graham, it was voted that the subject matter of Article 32 be laid on the table. ARTICLE 33. On motion of Richard D. Howard, it was voted that the subject matter of Article 33 be laid on the table. ARTICLE 34. On motion of Mark J. Favaloro, it was voted that the Town of Reading amend the Reading Zoning By-Laws so as to substitute for the words "one hundred ($100.00) dollars" the words "three hundred ($300.00) dollars" in Section 7.2.2. of said Zoning By-Laws. 106 voted in the affirmative 22 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required ARTICLE 35. Richard D. Howard moved, as amended by Robert A. Brown, that the Town of Reading vote to amend the Reading Zoning By-Laws by adding the following sentences to the end of Section 6.1.1.1. thereof: "Said public off-street parking facility shall be con- sidered, for the purposes of these By-Laws, to consist of a parking lot, exclusive of access ways posted to prohibit parking thereon, constructed, owned, operated, and main- tained by the Town of Reading for the specific and exclusive provision of parking for patrons and employees of retail stores, offices, and consumer service establishments in the vicinity. Said three hundred (300) feet shall be construed as-the walking distance without crossing a main street be- tween the entrance parking space included within said facility and the farthest side of the building or portion of said building entirely containing such use." 272 Adjourned Subsequent Town Meeting November 21, 1988 76 voted in the affirmative 37 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required This motion was voted in the negative. ARTICLE 36. Thomas J. Stohlman moved that the Town' of Reading vote to amend Section 7.4.2.2. of the Reading Zoning By-Laws by deleting the phrase "including for use," so that said section will read: "To hear and decide petitions for variances in accordance with Section 10 of Chapter 40A.1" 43 voted in the affirmative 67 voted in the negative 2/3 vote required This motion was voted in the negative. On motion of Eugene R. Nigro, it was voted that this meeting stand adjourned to meet at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, November 28, 1988 in the Reading Memorial High School Auditorium. Meeting adjourned 10:40 P.M. 106 Town Meeting members present. A true copy. Attest: Doris M. Fantasia j Town Clerk DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 16 LOWELL STREET REPORT TO TOWN MEETING ON WARRANT ARTICLES 31-42 November 21, 1988 This the report of the CPDC given pursuant to law, on all warrant articles of the 1988 subsequent Town Meeting which pertain to zoning matters, Article 31 was placed on the warrant by a petitioner, Article 32 by the Board of Selectmen, and Articles 33-42 by the CPDC. CPDC's reasons for bringing Articles 33-42 before Town Meeting at this time are severalfold. While the Master Plan is being formulated, certain immediate needs have surfaced in a number of areas: , 1) Elimination of ambiguities in the Zoning by laws that are subject to different interpretations by the Town and by applicants. In some cases, litigation against the Town has occurred because the by- laws are not clear. Article 33 (one use per lot) and Article 35 (better definition of the 300-foot radius around-Town parking lots where parking exemptions are granted) address this issue. 2) Clarification and improvement of the site plan review process, by tightening the time frame requirements for site plan review and imposing more realistic trigger points for the process (Article 41) 3) Elimination of the uncontrolled storage of "junk cars" on Reading properties (Article 39) 4) Elimination of the power of the Town to grant "use" variances (Article 36) 5) Strengthening of the Town's powers to regulate certain automotive uses in all zones, and retail uses in the industrial zone (Articles 40, 42) other articles dealt with fines and parking space sizes in industrial areas. These by-law changes have been proposed by the CPDC in response to issues raised by citizens, businessmen, and CPDC members and staff during site plan re- views and other proceedings before the CPDC. At the time this report was prepared, the CPDC had been advised that Ar- ticles 31 and 32 were to be postponed by their proponents. Thus, the remainder of our presentation will deal with Articles 33-42. -2- The CPDC discussed the subject matter of Articles 33-42 at public meet- ings held on August 8, September 15, and September 26, 1988. The CPDC voted to place these articles on the Fall Town Meeting warrant on September 26 by a vote of 5-0.. Pursuant to Sections 5 and 11, Chapter 40A of the General Laws, legal notice of a public hearing on these articles was placed in the Reading Chronicle on September 30 and October 17, 198$', and was also posted in the Town Hall. This hearing was held on October '24, 1988, in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Hall Annex, at 7:45 P.M.. Relevant materials for this hear- ing were made available through the Community Planning office prior to and dur- ing the hearing over 40 copies of this material were distributed to the public. At the request of members of the Reading Business Community, an additional public meeting was held at 6:30 P.M. on November 21, 1988 in Room 127 of Reading Memorial High School. Among the issues discussed in this hearing were the desirability of eliminating the use variance, the potential hardships raised by use variance, the potential hardships raised by limiting uses to one per lot, and the reasons for the general wording in the Special Permit by-law (Article 42). Following the close of this hearing, the CPDC (with Chairman Ensminger and members Hines and Stohlman present in the quorum) voted as follows on the Articles: Article 33: Article 34: Article 35: j . Article 36: Articles 37, Article 39 Articles 40, Article 41 Supported Supported Supported Motion to 38 Motion to Supported 42 Supported Supported 3-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 support failed 2-0-1 support failed 1-1-1 3-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 The Commission reserved the right to reconsider some or all of its votes based on its meeting with members of the Reading Business Community on November 21, or to offer amendments or take other actions,on the floor of Town Meeting. As the result of our meeting with the business community this evening, which was very fruitful, the following decisions were made with the understanding that a businessmen's working group will be formed to resolve issues with the CPDC: Article 33 Table for additional study Articles 40,41,42 Present as amended All other articles Present as amended /hlj