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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20210802 - Zoning Advisory Committee - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON ZONING ADVISORY COMMITTEE Monday, August 2, 2021 7:00 PM REMOTE MEETING MINUTES Members Present: Mary Larson-Marlowe; Ted Barker-Hook; Ron Foisy; Sundar Sivaraman; Ria McNamara; Rachel Rossin; Madhu Chandrasekar Members Absent: John Coutinho; Curtis Smithson Also Present: John Gelcich, Principal Planner Ms. Larson-Marlowe read the remote meeting script and called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. 1.Proposed Housekeeping Zoning Amendment: Gender Neutral Terms Ms. Larson-Marlowe reviewed the proposed bylaw and described the changes. Mr. Sivaraman said he welcomes this change. Mr. Foisy moved to recommend this amendment to the Planning Board. Mr. Sivaraman seconded the motion. The Committee voted unanimously to approve the motion. Ms. Chandrasekar arrived at this time. 2.Tree Protection/ Clear-Cutting proposed bylaw - discuss amendments to previous wording Ms. Larson-Marlowe shared the overview of the tree protection bylaw on the screen and gave an explanation on the proposed bylaw and background of the work done on the proposed bylaw thus far. Ms. Larson-Marlowe asked if ZAC should prioritize, table, or investigate this proposed bylaw further. Mr. Barker-Hook said he believes there should be investigation of overlap with other bylaws but should also move this bylaw forward. Mr. Barker-Hook said basal area is a viable way to measure trees that he would support using this measure. Mr. Barker-Hook said the percentages used would need to be looked at further to see what would be appropriate. Ms. McNamara said we should look at regional towns such as Weston, Wayland, and Wellesley to see what they are doing. Mr. Gelcich said we looked at these towns and they seemed more focused on tree protection rather than tree clearing. Ms. McNamara said she would support moving this proposed bylaw forward. Mr. Sivaraman said there needs to be a balance between property rights and town-wide needs. Mr. Foisy said he would propose a slower approach to this bylaw since the solar bylaw was amended and the OSLPD bylaw is “working well”. Mr. Foisy would like to take this up after next Town Meeting so as not to take up time during the “busy season” for Town Meeting. Ms. Chandrasekar said this may not be a priority, but should not be left out of the discussion. Ms. Rossin said she would support looking at this differently for existing developments versus new developments. Ms. Rossin said she is in support of the slower approach but acknowledges that getting through bylaws now would be beneficial. Ms. Larson-Marlowe said she would spend time researching this bylaw and should revisit often. She doesn’t think this could be ready for 2022 ATM since the deadline is a few months away. Ms. Larson-Marlowe tabled this discussion until a future meeting. 3.OSLPD bylaw modifications Ms. Larson-Marlowe briefly reviewed the reason and discussions undertaken for the OSLPD to make it work even better than it currently does. Ms. Larson-Marlowe asked if this should be tabled for now or continue working on the issues raised by HALT and others. Ms. Larson-Marlowe discussed the issue with cul-de-sac length, specifically whether cul-de-sacs should be allowed and that the maximum length only applies to the new portion of a cul-de-sac. Ms. Larson-Marlowe asked for feedback as to whether ZAC should work on the OSLPD. Ms. McNamara said there may need to be an option for developers to create a cul-de-sac with the option of making it a through street later. Mr. Barker-Hook said that there were changes proposed by HALT that seem relatively easy to make and maybe that’s where ZAC should look in making changes to the OSLPD. Mr. Barker-Hook also said that there is the possibility of creating smaller lot sizes to allow for more affordable houses. He also said he was concerned with giving more flexibility for cul-de-sacs to developers as it may have unintended consequences. Ms. Chandrasekar said she was surprised the modifications suggested by HALT were not immediately supported by developers. Mr. Sivaraman said he understood the sentiment to be “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Ms. Larson-Marlowe paused the meeting to thank Ms. McNamara for her service on ZAC since she was not going to apply for next term. ZAC generally discussed Ms. McNamara’s service and suggested anyone she knows that may be able to fill her shoes to apply for ZAC. Mr. Foisy said the HALT recommendations were essentially hindsight and foresight of future OSLPDs may not face the same issues if developers are not asking for them. Ms. Rossin said she is concerned that the Town doesn’t have a real plan for where we want to get to on open space and then work backwards from that point. Ms. Larson-Marlowe summarized the discussion for both the tree protection and OSLPD bylaws. She said OSLPD may be lower on the priority list than tree protection. 4.Minutes of July 19, 2021 No comments from ZAC on the minutes. Mr. Barker-Hook moved to approve the minutes as written. Mr. Foisy seconded the motion. ZAC voted unanimously to approve the motion. 5.Future Meetings Ms. Larson-Marlowe said the next meeting is August 30th. Mr. Sivaraman moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Foisy seconded the motion. ZAC voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:21 PM. Approved:September 20, 2021 Documents:Tree Clearing/Tree Cutting Bylaw OSLPD Bylaw Work Plan 2021 Housekeeping Zoning Amendment: Gender Neutral Terms Minutes of July 19, 2021