The regular meeting of the Raynham Planning Board opened at 6:30 p.m., on November 13, 2003, at Raynham Town Hall.~ Present were Dan Andrade, Burke Fountain, Carl Carlson, John Canto and Chris Gallagher.~ Also present were Town Planner Richard McCarthy, Administrative Assistant Maureen McKenney, John Schmid, Judith Nitsch Engineering, Inc. (JNEI).
6:34 p.m. – Jeff Mann presented Form A plan for land off South Street West/Judson Street.~ Mr. Fountain announced that he would not be voting on the plan.~ Board members reviewed the plan.~ Both plan and application were in order.~ Motion was made to approve the plan entitled “O’Brien Property 454 South Street West, Raynham, Massachusetts,” dated October 28, 2003, drawn by Cubellis Saivetz Associates, Braintree, MA, as a Form A plan; motion seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.~ The plan was endorsed.
6:40 p.m. – Town Planner update:~ Mr. McCarthy reminded the Board that a special Board meeting will be held on November 20, 2003, at Raynham Senior Center, for public hearing for rules and regulations for ARC by-law and for subdivision fee schedule.~ Mr. McCarthy also informed the Board that the Sewer Commission wants to submit a site plan to the Board at the November 20th special meeting, at which time they will be requesting a waiver of administrative fees.~ Board members were agreeable to the site plan being submitted on the 20th.
6:45 p.m. – Harry Titus of Signorama appeared before the Board to discuss a proposed sign for Broadway Motors, 147 Broadway.~ He noted that the zoning by-laws require a sign that is larger than 80 square feet must receive Planning Board approval.~ Mr. Titus explained that the proposed sign will be 92 sq. ft. and it will be internally illuminated.~ After discussion of the proposed sign, motion was made to send a letter to the Building Commissioner informing him that the Board approved of the sign; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
6:58 p.m. - Discussion with William Griffith was tabled as Mr. Griffith not yet present.
7:00 p.m. - Mello/225 R North Main Street hearing for subdivision/waiver of frontage plan reconvened.~ Extension of time-to-act was received from applicant Mello.~ Mr. Fountain read into the record a letter from Attorney Mark Gladstone, Braintree, MA, dated November 12, 2003, informing the Board that the restraining order prohibiting the Mellos from proceeding with action on the proposed plan is still in effect.~
Kerry Galligan asked the Board to clarify the time-to-act issue.~ Mr. Fountain explained that the Board has 135 days to act on a subdivision/waiver of frontage plan unless an extension of time-to-act is received.~ After discussion, motion was made to continue the public hearing to December 11, 2003, 8:15 p.m.; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
7:12 p.m. – William Griffith, Creative Homes, appeared before the Board and requested lot releases for lots 1 through 14 at Rolling Brook Estates.~ Correspondence from Town Counsel Antine, dated November 6, 2003, was discussed.~ Mr. Griffith submitted for the Board’s approval a copy of an addendum to the bond with the proper subdivision name.~ The Board approved of the addendum, and Mr. Griffith agreed to submit the original copy to the Planning Board office. Mr. McCarthy informed the Board that the dates on the bond were correct.~ After discussion, motion was made that based on the review by Town Counsel, the Board accept Bond No. B21869407 in the amount of $237,785, issued by Gulf Insurance Co. and to release lots 1 through 14 from the covenant in place on Rolling Brook subdivision approved on June 13, 2002; motion
seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.~ The Form J was signed and held in escrow until the original bond addendum is received at the Planning Board office.
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7:14 p.m. General business:~ After discussion, motion was made to cancel the November 27, 2003 meeting due to Thanksgiving holiday; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
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7:15 p.m. – Public hearing for proposed amendment to allow Associate Planning Board member was opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice.~ Mr. McCarthy explained to those present that the Board felt an Associate Planning Board Member was needed for special permit hearings because special permits require a supra majority of the Board for approval.~ He noted that at times Board members may miss a meeting or have conflicts and thus cannot vote on a special permit, which then creates a problem for an applicant.
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Mr. Andrade noted that there was confusion in the process of preparing the by-law and it was not forwarded to the Selectmen before being submitted for the Town Meeting warrant.~ Mr. Andrade agreed that the proposed by-law would benefit special permit applicants.
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Wayne Arms, Raynham, MA, stated he felt the by-law should go to Town Meeting for a vote.~ He noted that Board members sometimes do have conflicts.~ He asked Mr. Andrade if there was potential conflict because Mr. Andrade’s brother did electrical work for developers.~ Mr. Andrade explained that he had received clarification on that issue from Boston and was informed that he had no conflict because he had no financial gain from his brother’s business.
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After discussion of the proposed by-law, the public hearing was closed.~ A motion was made to recommend approval at the Special Town Meeting of the proposed amendment to allow an Associate Planning Board; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
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7:31 p.m. Public hearing for Adult Retirement Community by-law was opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice. Mr. McCarthy explained the history of the ARC by-law.~ He explained the revisions to the proposed by-law, i.e., change in density, lot size, separation between dwelling units, parking.
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Michael Mazzolini, Pine Street, addressed the Board and stated his concerns with the over-55 restriction.~ He suggested that units be limited to two-bedrooms.~ During discussion, Mr. McCarthy explained that there is Massachusetts’ case law upholding the over-55 age restriction.
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Jean Crombie, King Street, addressed the Board and stated she felt the rights of residents of Residential A districts are not being protected in the by-law.
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James Burns, 24 White Street, noted that the 7.5% ratio of ARC dwelling units to single family dwellings in Raynham had not changed from previous versions of the by-law.
After further discussion of the by-law, the public hearing was closed.~ A motion was made to recommend approval of Article 18, Adult Retirement Community by-law, at the Special Town Meeting; motion seconded; motion passed four votes in favor with Mr. Gallagher abstaining.~
7:52 p.m. Public hearing for proposed amendments to Article Four was opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice.~ Mr. Fountain explained that the proposed amendments were technical changes that were necessary if Article 18 ARC passed at Town Meeting.~ He noted that if Article 18 did not pass, these amendments would be withdrawn.~ There were no questions from those present.~ A motion was made to recommend approval of the proposed amendments to Article 4 of the zoning by-laws; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
7:54 p.m. - Hampton Inn site plan public hearing opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice.~ Attorney William Rosa, Raynham, MA, appeared before the Board along with Jim Karam of First Bristol Corp. and Larry Silva, project engineer.~ Attorney Rosa briefly described the proposed 87-room hotel.~ He noted there will be no bar on site but there will be a small function room.~ He noted the Conservation Commission has agreed to the wetland line and a variance was granted by the ZBA to allow access to the site from Route 44.~
Board members reviewed the new plan with Mr. Silva and Attorney Rosa.~ Attorney Rosa noted that the existing utility easement on Judson Street would be abandoned by the Town if allowed at Town Meeting and another smaller easement will be granted.
The landscaping plan was discussed.~ Further improvement of the Judson Street access road was discussed.~ After discussion, Board members agreed that they would like a plan for upgrades to the Judson Street roadway.~~ Jeff Mann, owner of Raynham Flea Market, was present and explained that he has improved a portion of the road already and that it was done to Town standards.~ Attorney Rosa agreed to consult with the Highway Department regarding further road improvements.~ Mr. Silvia then reviewed the drainage plan for the Board.~
Correspondence dated November 13, 2003 from JNEI was reviewed along with the Traffic Peer Review from JNEI dated November 13, 2003.~ Site access from Route 44 was discussed.~ John Schmid noted that the police and fire chiefs had both raised concerns with the proposed site access.~ Mr. Silva noted that the plan had been revised to reflect JNEI concerns as well as the Mass. Highway “no access zone” issue.~ Board members discussed whether or not a traffic study was warranted.~ Mr. Karam felt a traffic study is not warranted because the hotel is a low trip generator and the access off Route 44 will be dictated by the State.
John Schmid stated that a bad situation was being made worse by the proposed access and that the access should be widened by 10 feet.~ Mr. Karam noted that they will be meeting with the State again but he felt they would not allow the “no access zone” to be used.~ John Schmid said that he wanted to attend the meeting between the applicant and the State DPW.
The Board also discussed the traffic pattern for exiting onto Judson Street.~ Cheryl Oldfield- Schondek addressed the Board and stated that it seemed a traffic study might be needed to address all issues. ~After further discussion, the public hearing was continued to December 11, 2003, 8:30 p.m.
8:44 p.m.- Forge Knoll subdivision public hearing opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice.~ Dan Aguiar, P.E., Sitec Engineering, and applicant Ronald Turowetz were present.~ Mr. Aguiar submitted a revised plan and reviewed it for the Board.~ He noted that the proposed 4-lot subdivision is situated on approximately 68 acres and is located in both Residential A and Farm and Forest districts, and the Conservation Commission has approved the wetland line.~
Correspondence dated November 11, 2003 was received from JNEI.~ Mr. Aguiar submitted correspondence dated November 12, 2003, in response to the JNEI letter.~ Mr. Aguiar and Mr. Schmid discussed the need for further soil testing at the site.~ Mr. Schmid told the Board that he thought the outstanding issues could be resolved.
Cheryl Oldfield-Schondek addressed the Board on behalf of an abutter to the project.~ She explained that the area is wet swampland and the plan will result in water damage to the abutters.~ She asked who will be responsible for the problems and what was the upland criteria for a plan.~ Mr. Gallagher explained the upland area requirements.~ Mrs. Oldfield-Schondek told the Board that the abutters were opposed to the plan.~
Mr. Aguiar further discussed the drainage plan.~ Leon Matthews, direct abutter, expressed concerns he had with water flowing onto his property.~ He noted that a new house recently built in the neighborhood has changed the water table and, as a result, he now had water problems.~ He asked how he could alleviate the water in his yard.~ Mr. Aguiar explained that the applicant was not required to alleviate existing water problems but that he would not be adding to those problems.~ Mr. Schmid noted that he could not be certain of the impact from one new house.~ Mrs. Oldfield-Schondek invited the Board to view the existing situation. After discussion, Mr. Aguiar and Mr. Schmid agreed to work further on the drainage plan.
Rick Willette, 457 South Main Street, agreed that the water table has changed since a new house was recently built in the area and asked who was responsible for the situation.~ The Board explained that a professional engineer is responsible for a plan once it is stamped.
After discussion, John Schmid asked that the applicant go beyond the stormwater requirements because the site is sensitive. The public hearing was continued to December 11, 2003, 9 p.m.
9:20 p.m. – Taunton Municipal Light Plant (TMLP) site plan public hearing was opened.~ Mr. Carlson read the hearing notice.~ Craig Horsfall, P.E., Hayward-Boynton & Williams, appeared along with Tom Zagorski, TMLP; Mike Barrett, Power Line Models; and Mike Horrigan, TMLP.~ Mr. Zagorski reviewed the plan for the Board, explaining that the proposed substation will be on South Street West, will be fenced in by concrete wall and trees and will generate minimal noise.~ He noted the substation is needed due to increased growth and usage in the area.
Mr. Andrade asked if anyone present had any comments or questions in favor of or opposed to the plan.~ No one responded.~ Mr. Fountain asked who would replace the arborvitaes if they die, and Mr. Zagorski explained that the maintenance crew could do it or some one will be hired if needed.
Mr. Zagorski then requested a waiver of the $2,500 project review fee.~ A motion was made to waive the review fee; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.~ After discussion, the public hearing was closed and a motion was made to approve the TMLP site plan as presented; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.~ Certificate of Action will be issued.
9:35 p.m.-~Developer Ron Turowetz appeared before the Board and requested a reduction in the bond being held for Finch Farm I subdivision.~ John Schmid informed the Board that there were sufficient funds in the bond account to rebuild the existing binder if needed and that all repairs to the road to date were done in compliance with the Town.~ He noted that he was waiting for comments from Highway Superintendent Roger Stolte on the matter. After discussion, Board members agreed they needed Mr. Stolte’s input before approving a bond reduction.~ The matter was continued to November 20, 2003, 6:30 p.m., Raynham Senior Center.~~
Minutes of October 23, 2003, were received.~ Motion was made to approve the minutes as submitted; seconded; motion passed on unanimous vote.
There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at approximately 9:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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