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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-03-21 Master Plan Advisory Commitee MinutesDate: Time: Place: 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 L_ i 'vt_Ei~ G, MASS. j £zr 20 P 12: 21 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