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HomeMy Public PortalAboutPB Minutes 2000-02-08 PLANNING BOARD 2/8/00 MINUTES A meeting of the Orleans Planning Board was held on February 8, 2000 in Meeting Room A, Orleans Town Hall. Present were Chairman Alan Conklin, Sims McGrath, Nate Pulling, Associate Rosemary Plesset, Director of Planning George Meservey, Assistant Planner Ron Dilauro, and Secretary Janet Albahari. Absent were Mark Zivan, Ron Wolanski, and Associate John Wherry. Alan Conklin called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Public hearing for the potential zoning change of Old Tote Road. Sims McGrath read the legal ad that appeared in both the 1/25/00 and 2/1/00 issues of The Cape Codder, and the public hearing was opened. Twenty-one people were in attendance. The following is a summary of the comments received from the public at said meeting. John Farnworth, of South Shore Mental Health: We will be trying to sell our building. The zoning change will limit the marketability of the building. Could you possibly change the area to a Limited Business (LB) zone? George Meservey explained that if the area was changed to LB, then an addition, enlargement or change of use to an existing business would be allowed. If the area is changed to Residential(R), then an existing business would be grandfathered, but it would not be allowed to change use or expand. Jim Trainor: If the use of the South Shore Mental Health building was to be terminated for 2 years, the pre-existing, nonconforming use would no longer be grandfathered. Will Joy: It appears that you would not want Old Tote Road to be in the R district, where the minimum lot size would be 1 acre, and you would have 25' setbacks. If you want to put on an addition, you would need to go to the ZBA. Tom Vander Linden, of 8 Old Tote Road: Old Tote Road used to be zoned R, but was changed to General Business. He wants it to be changed back to R. He does not want the road to become public. Real Estate Agent Jim Trainor, representing the Woodbury's: His clients had a chance to sell their land for business use, but decided to use the land to build affordable housing. Under the General Business use, this could be a reasonable task. If the zoning was to be changed, however, this use would be precluded. George Meservey said that affordable housing could be built in the Limited Business Zone as well. Jim Trainer: This piece sits in the middle of the GB. Problems have come about in the Finlay Road area, with residents on one side and commercial uses in the other. In other words, GB goes to R with no buffer. A Limited Business area would be a buffer between the two zones. Steve Woolcheck, South Shore Mental Health: It would be appropriate to change the zoning to LB. That way the characteristics of the neighborhood would be protected. Will Joy: It may be more productive to have the area changed to LB. This would leave flexibility for home businesses. The value of the houses could be increased. Tom Vander Linden: has lived there for 22 years. He has not seen high values. He does not see how changing the zone to LB would increase the value of his house. Todd Holland, affordable housing advocate: this smacks of spot zoning. The area has coexisted with businesses. The Woodburys' plans are important to the affordable housing stock. Tom Vander Linden: The residents want Old Tote Road to be zoned R. Pamela Herrick: The Woodburys' affordable housing idea is a good opportunity to improve the affordable housing stock. The burden of increasing the stock would normally fall on the taxpayers' shoulders. Now is the time to build affordable housing. Planning Board 218100 Minutes Page I Mike Murphy worked on affordable housing projects in 1986 - 87. He was concerned about negative impacts on wildlife and groundwater from the higher density allowed by affordable housing. His preference is to see Old Tote Road changed to R, but would agree to have it changed to LB. Tom Vander Linden: was concerned that if affordable housing was to be built on the Woodburys' property, the town may want Old Tote Road improved. Steve Woolcheck: Changing the area to an R district will negatively impact the investment of the Lower Cape Human Services, which owns South Shore Mental Health. MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to close the public hearing on the proposed amendment to change the zoning of Old Tote Road from GB to R. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Sims McGrath said that hardships might be imposed on certain property owners if an R district is put into place. He also said that it may be a good idea to change the road to LB now, and, if need be, change it again in the future. MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to hold a public hearing on March 14, 2000, at 7:00 PM on a proposed zoning amendment that would change the zoning of Old Tote Road from General Business to Limited Business. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Continued Public hearing on the proposed building height amendment (Discussion continued from 1/11/00.) Eight people attended this hearing. The Planning Board received a memo dated 2/8/00 from Ron Wolanski, wherein the Assistant Town Planner revised the language in the above-mentioned proposed amendment. The revised language to describe how the building height should be determined was as follows: "Mean grade for each side shall be determined by averaging the existing grade at three points on each side at the foundation (both corners and the mid-point of the wall)." David Lyttle held up a foundation plan that he said was typical of current designs. It had several sides and rounded walls; it was not square. He said that the proposed bylaw is as confusing as the old one, and the new one could create hardships for people. He said the current bylaw is not all that bad. Will Joy agreed with David Lyttle. Peter Hunter said that few appeals to the ZBA concern building height. He suggested that the bylaw not be changed unless the change is helpful. MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to postpone the vote and table indefinitely the proposed amendment to the building height definition. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Road acceptance - Opa's Way In a memo addressed to the Planning Board, from Administrative Assistant Linde MacLeod, dated 1/26/00, the Board was asked to review an application for a road layout for Opa's Way. The Board was also asked to report on their review to the Board of Selectmen. George Meservey said that the road was inspected and approved, and the lots have been released. He also said that the Town has initiated an action to accept the road as a public way. To date, there is no as-built plan on file with the Town. Planning Board 218100 Minutes Page 2 MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to recommend that the Selectmen approve the application for the road layout for Opa's Way, pending receipt of an as-built plan and the setting of monuments. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Discuss Village Center Planning This item has been rescheduled for 2/22/00. Discuss revisions to the proposed amateur radio tower bylaw Ron Wolanski told the Board that he has revised the proposed bylaw regarding amateur radio towers by inserting the language specified by the Board as a result of the 1/11/00 public hearing. MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to submit for inclusion in the warrant for the May 00 Town Meeting the proposed amendment relating to communication structures to address amateur radio towers by amending sections 164-4, Definitions and 164-13, Schedule of Use Regulations, and adding Section 164-39.1, Amateur Radio Towers. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Approval of Minutes MOTION: On a motion by Sims McGrath, seconded by Nate Pulling, the Board voted to approve the minutes of 1/11/00. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. Adiournment MOTION: On a motion by Nate Pulling, seconded by Rosemary Plesset, the Board voted to adjourn the meeting. VOTE: 4-0-0, Unanimous. SIGNED: DATE: Clerk Mark Zivan Planning Board 218100 Minutes Page 3