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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-10-06 Planning Board MinutesMinutes of the Meeting of October 6, 1982. Chairman Mitchel called the meeting to order at 7:05 P.M. in Room 19, 52 Sanborn Street (the Community Center) with Board members A. Burne, M. Rich and J. Shaw present. Also present was V. Adams of the His- torical Commission and B. Hewitt of the League of Women Voters. Minutes the Board duly moved and seconded the acceptance of the minutes of September 15, September 22 and September 29, 1982 with corrections. It was unanimously voted to accept these minutes as corrected. Board of Appeals Hearing-Spence Farm Mr. Mitchel and Ms. Rich both attended the meeting regarding the continuation of the public hearing on Spence Farm on Thursday, September 30, 1982. Mr, Mitchel read the letter sent to~the Board of Appeals from this Board, dated September 27, 1982, into that meeting record. Ms. Rich, after obtaining the traffic data from the BPW late in the day of the scheduled hearing, presented an overview of the traffic flow and some of thA..,.dangers, as out- " iy legal questions lined in the MAPC West Street Traffic Study. a were raised and will have to be referred to Town Counsel for hi.s' opinion. The Board considered the questions of safety and traffic in this .,area and the effect additional traffic, exiting and turning will have upon an already dangerous situation. As has been their posi- tion, the Board unanimously agreed to be seriously concerned about the safety impacts to the traffic in this area and will refer all other legal matters to the Town Counsel and the Board of Appeals deliberations. Batchelder Land Swap - Meeting with Conservation Commission At 8:00 P.M., the Board adjourned to Room 18, the Community Center, to hear the presentation by the Conservation Commission regarding the proposed land swap of the Batchelder property off Franklin Street.' Tracy Dwyer of the Reading Chronicle and Ed Murphy of the Finance Committewas well as 6.citizens and 6 members of the Conservation Commission were present at this discussion. Co-Chairman of the Conservation Commission, Harold Hulse, intro- duced Mr. Robert Lemire, Consultant'on Land Use Planning, to give the Commission's overview of this land swap proposal. Mr. Lemire outlined the project stating their were 2 major areas of concern: 1) land use; 2) fairness to all concerned. Land Use - Mr..Lemire stated that this land abuts the Bare Meadow Brook, which is a high priority of the Conservation Commission for protection of the water supply to the Ipswich River. Bare Meadow drains the Cedar Swamp and is one of 12 major tributaries of the Ipswich River. The Ipswich River is approximately 35 miles long and is a source of water supply to approximately 16-22 communities. /82 e 2 Mr. Lemire outlined the Town's interest in this land and stated that the School Committee has signed off any interest in this land, the CRecreation Commmitee is satisfied that this will not. interfere with the horse ring, or land for an additional soccer or football field. (If left to be developed privately, full value could not be achieved unless some sort of higher use than is presently restricted by the Town' s Conservation By-laws would allow would have to be found. The benefits to the Town in accepting this land swap would be protection of the Ipswich River watershed area of Bare Meadow Brook., a development that is compatible with the neighborhood and would not adversely impact the traffic, health or safety of the neighboring residents, and a stabilized use of the land. The increase to the Town in tax revenue is an additional benefit. The question,of fairness was also discussed. Chairman Mitchel stated that those issues were the purview of the Selectmen and did not rest with the Planning Board. Land Use was the area of concern to this Board and the presentation more than adequately addressed that matter. Ms. Rich stated that she was pleased to see such a comprehensive study on this matter ready for the citizens of the Town, the Town Boards and Town Meeting to help them with their decision on the proposed land swap. Personally, she stated she was satisfied and would support the land swap proposal. Two citizens asked questions concerning the guarantee that this will be developed as presented. Although there is no guarantee that this will be the final development, the owners of this property would then have to comply with all the Zoning By-law rules and regulations as well as the Board of Survey and Conservation Commission laws. If a rezoning were sought, a process through the Town Boards and Town Meeting would be entailed. This would not be looked on favorably by the Planning Board, as they have reviewed the land swap proposal under existing Zoning laws and would be reluctant to see it developed otherwise After this discussion, it was duly moved, seconded and unanimously voted by the Board to support Articles26 and 27 on the Fall Town Meeting Warrant, as presented. Housing The Board then reconvened in the Planning Board office to continue .discussion on the listed agenda items. The Board voted to post- pone presentation of the housing reports to a later meeting. Mr. Mitchel reported on/the Land Use study he was doing. In 1968 ?,f;:38 o of the Town's land iwa-s; non-taxable. This did not include road- ways or churches. With the inclusion of the new projects such as Cedar Glen, etc.and the inclusion of the roadways as .tax-exempt properties, the total would be between 40-450 of the total land ___~"5 area within the Town, Mr. Mitchel mentioned this as part of the discussion that will be taking place next week with Mr. Agnew. The Board then discussed the formulation of a Master Plan. At present this Board does not have the staff or funds to do such a study and present a Master Plan to the Town. This matter was left for discussion at a sub- sequent meeting. Meeting Schedule October 13, 1982 - Meeting of Planning Board w/John Agnew scheduled for 8 P.M. October 14, 1982 - Continuation of Public Hearing of Board of Appeals on Spence Farm - Ms. Rich will attend. October 18, 1982 - Board of Survey public hearing on plans for Pine ,>Grove Estates off Haverhill Street - Mr. Shaw will attend. October 16, 17 and 24, 1982 @ 2 P.M. - Conservation Commission will be giving tours of proposed land swap of Batchelder property. October 20, 1982 - Public Hearingson Articles 29, 30 and 31-PB. October 26, 1982 - Public Hearing by Conservation Commission on land- filling of Camp Curtis Guild. October 27, 1982 - Public Hearing on Article 32-PB. Correspondence The Board reviewed the mail received. A letter from the Personnel Board re: negotiations with the Union was referred to the Secretary. Finances The Board unanimously approved the payment of bills payable in the amount of $18.85. There being no further business before the Board, it.was unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:55 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Kenneth G. Messina, Clerk