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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-05-05 Planning Board MinutesMin- tes of the Meeting of May 5, 1982. The meeting was . called to order at 7-;35 by :~K.. messing _ with Board members A. Burne, M_ Rich- and J. Shaw present, There were approximately .14 citizens present and Reading Chronicle. staff, Ed Coletta. The Chairman arrived at 3:45 P.M. and chaired the meeting. Correspondence - Letters re; Article 27 were received from Latham & Latham, Conservation Commission and Reading Citizens for Controlled Development. The discussion on these. Was deferred until the listed agenda item was reached. Finances The Finance Committee hearing on the requested Capital Outlay item for updating the zoning maps CA.rticle 25) was scheduled for last night at 9:15 P.AT. After review by the FinCom, the amount of $1905 was unanimously approved (7-1) and such recommendation will be presented to.Town Meeting by the Finance. Committee. The Secretary was instructed to insure the encumbered $250 for FX83. Bills Payable totalling $1.28.72 were unanimously approved and signed for payment. Minutes Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously approved the minutes of April 28, 1982 with corrections. Horizon Homes The Board of Appeals has agreed that the new plans submitted for construction of the 74 units of elderly housing off Bay State Road is in compliance with the Comprehensive Permit. The loading and unloading space has been allowed to be reduced from the required 4 ,spaces to 1 space and although inadvertently omitted from the new plans will be accommodated in the rear of the building and approved by the Building Inspector. The Chairman requested that a copy of the plans with the loading/unloading space defined, be obtained for the Board's review. Article 25 - Annual Town Meeting The Chairman reviewed the requested funds for updating the Zoning Maps and asked the Secretary to prepare viewgraphs with some of the required changes highlighted for presentation to Town Meeting. Article 27 The Chairman read a letter received by this offices from the Reading Citizens for Controlled Development regarding Article 27'.. The letter requests that they be sent copies of all correspondence relating to this matter. The Chairman stated that the Board has sent copies of correspondence to Dana Pedersen in the past but will comply with the request for all future correspondence to be Page 2 5/5/82 forwarded to the Committee's secretary.. The Board was also in receipt of 2 letters from O. Bradley Latham regarding this article. The first letter requests that&ne~a infor- mation be received by the Board as the public hearing has'--1ieen_. formally closed. It also requests that they be informed of all meetings regarding this matter where the Board will be discussing. relevant issues. The second letter stated that Mr. Latham will not be able to attend this evening`s meeting because of such short notice and commitments with other Town Board, but again requests that no new information be received by the Board from the opponents of this article., After review of the correspondence relating to this article, Mr. Burne questioned Mr. Svirsky of the Reading Citizens group asking if this group would be a watchdog for all future development within the Town. Mr. Svirsky answered that this group will be dealing with matters relating to the rezoning of the Dooley property on Main Street. Ms. Rich reviewed the correspondence from Latham & Latham and took exception to the expressed accusation that the Board had received,comments~ from the opposing side in this matter. She felt that this had not been the case. Also she noted that the meetings of the planning Board are public meetings and posted accordingly. No one from the Planning Board has invited the abutters but they have faithfully attended all Planning Board meetings and that the proponents have been given the same opportunity. .Mr. Burne and Mr. Messina both stated that the opponents had been allowed some input into the Planning Board discussions and that the Board might. -"):)-a criticized for this. Chairman Mitchel then chaired a brief discussion with the final result being that all input shall be received in writing and the Board then can make their determination. If the information is such that would demand reopening of the public hearing, then the Board would be able to adequately assess this if the information is written. The Board unanimously agreed upon this action. The Board then reviewed the letter from the Board of Public Works in response to questions the Board had forwarded on the adequacy ,of water pressure and water and sewer demand for all projects allowable within this property. The Board of Public Works state that the Town's services and demands will not be taxed with the proposed 48 unit condo development and can adequately service the other 2 proposals 'as well. The Board then discussed the letter from the Conservation Commission whereby they state that. they agree with "conservation restrictions" in principle, but will not accept a conservation restriction on this proposal until Town meeting approves the rezoning of the land. Page 3 5/5/82 The Board then discussed what the alternatives for this Board would be: all action now depends upon the Planning Board Board agreed to act quickly to come to a recommendation - Chairman will discuss with Town Counsel the different alternatives: Contract zoning vs. conditional zoning Secretary will forward a copy of the Conservation Commission's letter to this Board as soon as possible to Town Counsel for his review - Board will try to come to a recommendation at their next meeting which will be scheduled for Thursday, May 13, 1982 at 7:30 P.M. The Reading Citizens for Controlled Development then asked the Board exactly what the conservation restriction would involve. The Secretary was requested to forward copies of the letter from the proponent, developer and attorney of the proposed development dated April 7, 1982 as well as the April. 14, 1982 letter from the Conservation Commission. Article 28 The Board has received a request from Mr. Curt Nitzche of the Industrial Development Commission to arrange a meeting to discuss the Dump Site development. The Board has agreed to meet with this group on Wednesday, May 19, 1982 at 8:15 P.M. if mutually acceptable. Highland School Development Committee called the Chairman to ask for a mutually agreeable date to meet with this Board to discuss the proposed library plans for this building. The Board has agreed to meet with this group on Tuesday, May 25, 1982 at 8 P.M. The Secretary will inform each group to see if these dates are satisfactory. Meeting Schedule The Board has agreed to the following meeting schedule: Thursday, May 13, 1982 at 7:30 P.M.; Wednesday, May 19, 1982 at 7:30 P..M., IDC @'8:15 PM Tuesday, May 25, 1982 at 7 P.M.; Highland Comm. @ 8 PM Population Study f Ms. Rich reported that she. has rece ved,word that the economic data on the 1980 census -.would not be available, before. late. Summer-early Fall. The expected date for completion of the entire census data is not for 3-4 more years. Other Business Gift of Conservation Land by Rivers Construction: The Board felt that in principle they had not objection to such land being received by the Conservation Commission as a gift but felt that they did not have sufficient evidence to either support or object in this case. The Secretary will so inform the Commission. .Cluster Development: The large parcel of land off Sanborn Lane is being discussed as an area by a private developer for cluster housing. The Board will continue to review this and has appointed Mr. Shaw to oversee all related matters. Upon a motion duly made and seconded the Board unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:50 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Kenneth G. Messina, Clerk