HomeMy Public PortalAbout20131007 - Planning Board - Meeting Minutes
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HOPKINTON PLANNING BOARD
Monday, October 7, 2013 7:30 P.M.
Town Hall, 18 Main St., Hopkinton, MA
MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT: Ken Weismantel, Chairman, John Coutinho, Vice Chairman, John
Ferrari, Todd Holbrook, Deb Thomas, Matthew Wade, Claire Wright
MEMBERS ABSENT: Brian Karp, Dick MacDonald
Present: Elaine Lazarus, Director of Land Use, Planning & Permitting; Cobi Wallace, Permitting
Assistant
Mr. Weismantel opened the meeting and thanked HCAM for taping the meeting. He noted the
Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC) has scheduled its annual public forum on October 28, 2013.
He noted this will be an opportunity for citizens and Town boards to provide ideas for proposed
zoning map and zoning bylaw changes for the next town meeting.
1. Legacy Farms South – Performance Guarantee
Ms. Lazarus noted this concerns the second half of Legacy Farms (Road) South starting just
beyond the roundabout heading toward Clinton St. She noted Weston & Sampson, the Town’s
inspecting engineer, has reviewed the performance guarantee estimate submitted by the
developer and recommends setting the amount at $94,913.40 for this section, for a total of
$193,183.80 for the subdivision. She noted this reflects the Town’s cost to complete the entire
roadway, from East Main St. to Clinton St. Mr. Weismantel asked if the amount was discussed
with Legacy Farms, and Ms. Lazarus stated it was and they agree with the amount. In response
to a question of Mr. Weismantel, Ms. Lazarus referred to the location of two parcels recently
conveyed to Pulte Homes.
Mr. Weismantel stated he is concerned about the lack of progress on the East Main St. road
improvements that Legacy Farms is required to construct, and would like to put the developer on
notice that the Board may want to bond that work as well. He noted Mr. MacDowell has stated
he is having trouble with Verizon with respect to the fiber optic cable network in the road, but
there are known sight distance problems and Legacy Farms is starting to fill up. He noted a
condition of approval of the Legacy Farms South definitive subdivision plan required the
improvements to be done concurrently with the road, and this should be discussed.
Ms. Thomas moved to set the performance guarantee amount for the second portion of Legacy
Farms South at $94,913.40, for a total of $193,183.80 for the entire length of the road. Mr.
Coutinho seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously in favor.
2. Peloquin Estates - Request for Lot Release
Ms. Lazarus noted this concerns a request for the release of Land Court Lot 27 (1 Cobblers Way,
Lot 9) from the Conditional Approval Agreement for Peloquin Estates. It was noted the lot was
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already released from the Agreement and recorded in the Registry of Deeds but a separate
document needs to be recorded with the Land Court. Ms. Lazarus stated the performance
guarantee for the subdivision covers the entire roadway. Ms. Thomas moved to release Land
Court Lot 27 in the Peloquin Estates subdivision from the Conditional Approval Agreement. Mr.
Coutinho seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously in favor.
3. Zoning Advisory Committee Appointments
It was noted that two additional people have requested appointment to the ZAC, and Mr.
Coutinho stated they had attended the first meeting. Mr. Coutinho moved to appoint Ria
McNamara and Matthew Tighe to the ZAC for a term to expire on July 31, 2014. Mr. Holbrook
seconded the motion and the Board voted unanimously in favor.
4. Water Management Act Permit Discussion
Mr. Weismantel referred to the discussion with State Representative Carolyn Dykema at a
previous Planning Board meeting. He stated that as a follow-up to that discussion, he, Norman
Khumalo, Town Manager, Ms. Lazarus, John Westerling, Director of Public Works, and David
Daltorio, Town Engineer, met with Rep. Dykema, representatives of the DEP and the Executive
Office of Housing and Economic Development at the State House. He noted they explained
Hopkinton’s concerns with the current water policy and ongoing efforts to reduce the level of
unaccounted for water. He noted the current requirement of maintaining unaccounted for water
to an acceptable level for a period of 3 years puts Hopkinton in purgatory and causes it to miss
out on an economic upcycle. He noted the DEP stated the Town should not interpret it that way
as they too want to see more commercial and affordable housing development, and they will be
happy to work with the Town. Mr. Weismantel noted the DEP suggested the Town should
increase capacity by using the water allocated to Legacy Farms by contract. Mr. Weismantel
noted their response to DEP was that the Town cannot do that, and it appears DEP understands.
Ms. Lazarus stated she feels the discussion was productive, and they also discussed the
Stormwater Management Initiative (SWMI). Mr. Weismantel noted they were told that the
Town’s situation is not as bad as originally thought, and they are now not advocating using pre-
Pilgrim conditions as the baseline, but will use 2005 as a baseline instead. He noted the SWMI
regulations will be available for comment in January 2014, and it will have a big impact on
places such as Hopkinton. Ms. Lazarus noted the SWMI tries to look at water in a holistic way,
and Mr. Weismantel stated that sounds like a good idea but the implementation is in the details
and could be very expensive. He noted keeping withdrawal levels low does not necessarily stop
residential growth, because Town water users are subject to water bans while people on private
wells are not. He noted the DEP is not flatly refusing requests to increase the limit, and
Hopkinton can consider itself open for business.
5. Sidewalks
Ms. Lazarus referred to a Sidewalk Program Strategic Initiative that she and the Director of the
DPW submitted to the Town Manager. She stated the discussion will continue with respect to
sidewalk design, construction and maintenance, much like the beginning of the pavement
management program. She noted the recent sidewalk survey results and the Board’s recent
sidewalk plan component of the updated Master Plan are a starting point, but the intent is to get
more community input before determining specific sidewalk priorities. Mr. Weismantel noted he
hopes more money will be spent on building actual sidewalks than on planning for the totality,
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and he would not like to see a whole year spent on developing a sidewalk master plan. Ms.
Wright asked if there is any flexibility in design or whether specific standards for each type of
street have to be met. She added it appears in recent years sidewalks are very wide while in the
old days a simple asphalt path was sufficient. She noted on some of the rural streets in Town,
such as Ash St., there is just no room for massive sidewalks. Ms. Lazarus stated the Town has to
adhere to ADA requirements but sidewalks can meander and do not have to be straight.
Mr. Weismantel noted he sent an email to the Town Manager with respect to the work being
done on the bridge at Rt. 85 near the Southborough town line, which includes a sidewalk to
Lincoln St. He noted the work is being done with state funding, and it will be interesting to see
if they will pay for a further extension from Lincoln St. to Hopkinton State Park. He noted he
can envision a parking lot right at the State Park gate which could be used for train station
overflow parking during the week, generating revenue for the MBTA and the Park. It was noted
that overflow parking will be important as the economy continues to recover.
6. Hawthorn Retirement Community – East Main St. (Legacy Farms)
Mr. Weismantel stated he attended a recent neighborhood presentation of a Hawthorn Retirement
Community proposal for a portion of the Legacy Farms commercial parcel on the south side of
East Main St. He noted the plan will create 127 rental retirement suites in a facility where all
meals are provided. It was noted that this is the same company that is building a similar facility
in Westborough. Mr. Weismantel noted Hawthorn is willing to give tours of the facility, which
is close to completion. He noted Hawthorn will come before the Planning Board within the next
few months. He stated the facility would use about half of the parcel.
7. Other Business
Mr. Weismantel noted PerkinElmer will be emailing invitations to the ribbon cutting for their
newly expanded facility at 68 Elm St. He stated that the Community Preservation Committee is
looking for funding proposals for the May, 2014 annual town meeting, and the deadline is
October 25.
Adjourned: 8:00 PM
Cobi Wallace, Permitting Assistant
Approved: November 18, 2013
Documents used at the meeting:
Meeting agenda
Memo to Planning Board from Elaine Lazarus dated October 3, 2013
Strategic Initiative: Sidewalk Program
Form K – Usual Form of Release of Conditions of Planning Board Approval – Hopkinton Planning
Board, Land Court lot 27, Peloquin Estates
Plan entitled “Legacy Farms Road South” Overall Lotting Plan, dated October 28, 2010, prepared by
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.