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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20210920 - Zoning Advisory Committee - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON ZONING ADVISORY COMMITTEE Monday, September 20, 2021 7:00 PM REMOTE MEETING MINUTES Members Present: Mary Larson-Marlowe; Ted Barker-Hook; Ron Foisy; Curtis Smithson; Madhu Chandrasekar; Elyse Barrett-Mihajloski; Rachel Rossin; Sundar Sivaraman; Members Absent: John Coutinho Also Present: John Gelcich, Principal Planner; Scott Richardson, Chamber of Commerce Ms. Larson-Marlowe read the remote meeting script and called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. 1.Parking Regulations - presentation/ analysis of current state of parking regs and research of potential improvements (R. Foisy) Ms. Larson-Marlowe discussed the parking regulations that are currently in the Zoning Bylaw. Ms. Larson-Marlowe introduced Mr. Foisy to discuss the findings. Mr. Foisy introduced Mr. Richardson to join in the discussion about the parking findings from the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Richardson presented the information submitted for the meeting. Mr. Richardson presented the recommendations to ZAC outlined in the letter submitted for the meeting. The use categories contained in these recommendations include Warehouse, R&D and Industrial, Life Sciences Labs, and Offices. Mr. Sivaraman asked if these parking regulations (in their current form) serve as an inhibitor to new businesses. Mr. Richardson said it is a deterrent for developers. Mr. Barker-Hook asked if the robotics use would have tax benefits. Mr. Richardson said that may not be true. Mr. Barker-Hook asked what a counter argument to the parking changes would be. Mr. Richardson said the concern would be provisioning enough parking for tenants. Mr. Barker-Hook asked if the proposed changes are done in other towns or if these would be new in the area. Mr. Richardson said Framingham has some of the same ratios as well as other towns. Ms. Rossin asked what the proposed outcome is for this recommendation. Mr. Richardson said they intended the recommendation to encourage a modification of the parking requirements in the Zoning Bylaw. Ms. Larson-Marlowe discussed how the Planning Board generally handles the parking issue as it relates to applications before the Board. ZAC generally discussed how the Planning Board determines the required parking. Ms. Larson-Marlowe said she feels comfortable moving forward with these changes but asked the ZAC to consider their opinion on these changes. Mr. Barker-Hook said he has concerns with changes for parking where some businesses would need more spaces. Mr. Smithson responded that these are minimum requirements and developers could always build additional parking. He said developers usually build for the worst-case scenario with parking. Mr. Sivaraman concurred with this reasoning. The ZAC generally discussed this issue. 2.Low Impact Development Overview Mr. Gelcich gave an overview presentation of low impact development and how it relates to Hopkinton. Ms. Larson-Marlowe asked if LID strategies are more expensive than conventional stormwater. Mr. Gelcich said it is very site dependent. Mr. Smithson said porous paving on parking lots is desirable because it is dual use for stormwater and parking rather than having a large stormwater structure elsewhere on-site. Mr. Barker-Hook said the ConCom expects patios to be porous pavement these days. The ZAC generally discussed how the Planning Board can increase prevalence of LID infrastructure and how it applies to Hopkinton development. Ms. Barrett-Mihajloski commented that she is hesitant to require LID strategies since it may be beneficial to use conventional strategies in certain situations. 3.Work Plan review, adding in items from Growth Study Committee report Ms. Larson-Marlowe tabled this until the next meeting. 4.Schedule meetings through end of year, including Public Forum Ms. Larson-Marlowe said the next meetings will be October 6, 2021; October 25, 2021 (PUBLIC FORUM); November 8, 2021; November 22, 2021; and December 13, 2021. 5.Minutes of April 6, 2020; January 11, 2021; August 2, 2021 Mr. Barker-Hook moved to approve the minutes of April 6, 2020 as written. Ms. Rossin seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0-2 (Smithson, Barrett-Mihajloski abstained). [NOTE: these minutes were already approved on October 5, 2020 - the action taken on September 20, 2021 was erroneous] Mr. Smithson moved to approve the minutes of January 11, 2021 as written. Mr. Sivaraman seconded the motion. The motion was approved 8-0-0. Mr. Barker-Hook moved to approve the minutes of August 2, 2021 as written. Mr. Sivaraman seconded the motion. The motion was approved 7-0-1 (Smithson abstained). 6.Reorganization Ms. Larson-Marlowe asked for nominations for the positions of Chair and Vice Chair. Mr. Barker-Hook nominated Curtis Smithson as chair, Ms. Chandrasekar seconded the nomination. Mr. Smithson declined the nomination. Ms. Larson-Marlowe nominated Sundar Sivaraman as chair, Ms. Chandrasekar seconded the nomination. Mr. Sivaraman declined the nomination. He said he would be happy to serve as Vice Chair. ZAC generally discussed who would be interested in serving as Chair. After consideration of the situation, Mr. Smithson offered to serve in the Chair role. Mr. Barker-Hook nominated Curtis Smithson as Chair, Mr. Sivaraman seconded the motion. The Committee voted 8-0-0 in favor. Mr. Smithson elected Chair. Mr. Foisy nominated Mary Larson-Marlowe as Vice Chair, Mr. Barker-Hook seconded the nomination. Ms. Larson-Marlowe nominated Sundar Sivaraman as Vice Chair, Mr. Barker-Hook seconded the nomination. The Committee voted and Sundar Sivaraman was elected as Vice Chair with 5 votes to Ms. Larson-Marlowe’s 3 votes. Mr. Smithson moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Barrett-Mihajloski seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:44 PM. Documents:LID Presentation 09-20-21 EDC Memo re: Parking Minutes of April 6, 2020 Minutes of January 11, 2021 Minutes of August 2, 2021 Approved: