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a. Natural and Cultural Resources - Author - Susan DeMatteo
i. Title - Spelling of Cultural
ii. Second paragraph - Fourth sentence, change to read as follows: "A
summary of the town's open space and natural resources can be found in
Table 8.1."
iii. The third and fourth paragraphs of the background section are being
"flagged" as potentials to include in the general introduction section of the
entire document. For now they can stay in this section. Just change the
last sentence of the fourth paragraph to conclude with the words "Town
Center."
iv. The historical commission date should be 1978, not 1977
v. In the sixth paragraph of the background section there is a sentence that
needs to be added. Virginia Adams will provide that sentence to Susan D.
directly.
Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2005 Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) Meeting
March 21, 2005
7:30 pm
Town Hall Conference Room
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Attendees: George Katsoul'_is, John Sasso, Janet Allen, Jack Russell, Peter Smargon, Jonathan
Barnes, Roberta Sullivan, Virginia Adams
Agenda & Discussion
(1) Schedule for Next Three Months
This meeting was the last meeting that we had officially scheduled thus far. Therefore, we first
identified dates for meetings over the next three months. Those dates are as follows:
Monday, April 4, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, June 6, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
(2) Chapter Reviews
At the last meeting we agreed to halt the prioritization process until we were able to make one
"last" pass through each chapter to ensure the background and analysis sections were accurate
and complete. This meeting focused on three of those chapters. Comments for each are listed
below. The action is for the chapter author to review and incorporate the changes into their
section and then resend to Chris and John.
vi. In the seventh paragraph, the last sentence was previously rewritten and
should be reflected in the most recent version of the document.
Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2005 Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) Meeting
vii. In the first paragraph of the analysis section, delete the word "tremendous"
from the first sentence.
viii. Need to confirm the status of Reading's permit application to make
connection to MWRA - Chris Reilly
ix. At the end of the Public Water supply section, add the following sentence:
"The town periodically performs surveys and assessments of the water
supply distribution system. Recommendations resulting from these
surveys and assessments are implemented under the direction of the
town's water and sewer/public works department, with capital
improvements budgeted through the town's capital plan."
x. In the paragraph under Noise, Light and Air Pollution, the committee felt
it was important to flag this paragraph and potentially add information
regarding the Noise and Light issues that are reviewed with each
development presented to the CPDC.
xi. At the end of the Stormwater Management section, add the following
sentence: "The town periodically performs surveys and assessments of the
Stormwater management system. Recommendations resulting from these
surveys and assessments are implemented under the direction of the
town's water and sewer/public works department, with capital
improvements budgeted through the town's capital plan."
xii. In the section for Wildlife Nuisances, change the third sentence to read as
follows: "Although these animals do well in suburban habitats, they can
become a nuisance at times, partly due to their large size."
xiii. In the third paragraph under Historic, change the end of the first sentence
to read as follows: "protecting the appear of these historic streets."
xiv. In the last paragraph under Historic, add the word "Local" between
"Street" and "Historic" in the second sentence. Also note, the Carriage
House By-Law is pending Town Meeting approval, just track this to
ensure it does happen before this document is released.
b. Open Space and Recreation - Author - Chris Reilly
i. George K. volunteered to put together a table that summarizes the major
categories of open space and natural resources and then provide this to
Chris and Fran to review. The Committee would like to ensure the
information in this document is accurate and exists in one central location
in the document.
I think this will probably be redundant given the Open Space Plan, i.e., reference that can be
made to existing info, which will be updated next year, but I would be happy to review.
ii. Delete the last paragraph (9"' paragraph) that was taken directly from the
Open Space & Rec. Plan.
iii. Replace the last paragraph just before the Analysis section with the
following: "The Town has continued to negotiation for developer
contributions to open space and recreational facilities as part of every
Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2005 Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) Meeting
project. As the supply of buildable land diminishes, and the cost of land
increases, this strategy will become more difficult to implement."
I'm not sure the amended statement would be accurate. The Town certainly has not negotiated
for contributions to open space and recreational facilities as part of every project. Further, I
think a distinction must be made between private and public development-generally the Town
is not seeking open space on municipal land, particularly if it conflicts with recreational
facilities or parking for school buildings.
iv. Under Strengthening and Expanding the Network, second paragraph, the
last sentence should read: "as it was on the Johnson Woods, the Archstone
Development at Spence Farm, and Maplewood Village at Salem Street
residential developments."
v. Under Accessibility, the committee requests that Chris Reilly verify the
statement in the first paragraph "the demand for recreational space in
particular continues to increase as residential development has amplified
and Reading's demographic continues to shift to younger families..." The
committee believes that this is not a true statement (regarding Reading's
demographics).
This is certainly the case please see http://www.ci.a°eadOnzma.uslplanninglread ogftnd.p
that not only shows trend but substantial increase in younger family cohorts.
Is there info the committee has that contradicts this?
vi. Under the Financial section, second paragraph, delete the first sentence up
through the words "relative value" and begin the sentence now saying
"The adoption of the C...". Remove the words "even more" from the
sentence as well.
vii. The introduction to Goal 3 really belongs with Goal 4. George K. has the
action to provide an introductory statement for Goal 3.
c. Transportation and Circulation - Author - George K.
i. After a discussion on the introduction of this section, the committee
agreed that we need to review the level of information that is warranted
here. George K. has taken the action to provide an update to the
committee.
d. Economic Development - Author - Jack Russell
i. The only comment was that Jack needs to summarize the ED section at the
end of the chapter (before the goals and objectives) in a set of three of four
top level findings. We discussed them at the meeting and Jack will
provide them as an update to the chapter.
ii. In the goals section, the items under each goal are "objectives," not
planned actions.
Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2005 Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) Meeting
Actions
(a) Authors are to update their sections in accordance with the comments above. Several
specific actions are also highlighted within the comments, please READ the comments
above carefully to ensure each person is aware of their actions
(b) Chris Reilly to reserve the room and post meeting notices for the next 6 meetings we
scheduled
(c) Each committee member to be prepared to discuss the Housing chapter. Other chapters
(Services and Facilities and Transportation) are pending updates by their respective
authors
Next Meeting
Monday, April 4th
Topic: Housing and other chapters as available - prioritization of goals and objectives of
completed chapters
All meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:30pm in the Town Hall Conference Room