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