===PAGE 1=== TOWN OF L UNENBURG Office of the Planning Board Matthew Allison, Chair Tel: (978) 582 -4147, ext 5 Tanner Cole, Vice Chair Fax: (978) 582 -4353 Paula Bertram, Clerk 960 Massachusetts Avenue Matthew Brenner, Member Lunenburg, MA 01462 Erik Torgerse n, Member Adam R. Burney Land Use Director Marjorie J. Boggio Administrative Assistant Minutes August 24, 2020 Meeting Posted: Yes Time: 6:30 PM Roll Call conducted by Adam Burney, Land Use Director: Matthew Allison, present; Tanner Cole, present; Paula Bertram, present; Matthew Brenner, present; Erik Torgersen, present. A. Bu rney prefaced the meeting with the following reading . In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this m eeting is being recorded and broadcast over Lunenburg Public Access and this meeting of the Planning Board is being conduc ted remotely. The Town of Lunenburg, in response to the COVID -19 (Corona Virus), is currently following the guidance from the Lunenburg Board of Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the CDC regarding the virus and steps communities can take to prevent the spread and all town facilities are open by appointment only outside the open hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Monday throug h Thursday. In accordance with the Governor’s Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L.c.30A, Section 20, all public meetings are being conducted remotely. The Governor’ s Order, which you can find posted on the Town’s website COVID-19 Information Center page, accessed through the Town Manager’s webpage allows public bodies to meet entirely remotely so long as reasonable public access is afforded so that the public can follow along with the deliberations of the meeting. Ensuring public access does not ensure public participation unless such participation is required by law. This meeting will feature public comment. For this meeting the Planning Board is convening by video conferencing via Zoom and FacebookLive as posted on the Tow n’s website identifying how the public may join. For Zoom meetings, please note that this meeting is being recorded and that some attendees are participating by video conference. Accordingly please be aware that other folks may be able to see you and tak e care not to screen share your computer. Anything that you broadcast may be captured by the recording. A. Burney then covered the ground rules for effective business and to ensure accurate meeting minutes. PUBLIC COMMENT: M. Allison inquired if “p ublic comment” should pertain to subject matters that were listed on the agenda or matters not listed on the Board’s agenda. Board discussion resulted in retaining the current process. ANR PLANS: 27 The Clearing- Michael Cooper, 43 The Clearing, is purchasing a small piece of property that currently houses a garage from Christopher Dobi, 27 The Clearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals issued a special permit dimensional variation to C. Dobi which allowed him to sell the aforementioned piece to M. Cooper, while still retaining the legality of his lot. P. Bertram made Motion to endorse the ANR Plan for 27 The Clearing, T. Cole Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, aye; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 5-0. 524 Northfield Road - Ed McSweeney, Bray Ave 9 LLC, w ould be purchasing Lot A, 4 0,000 SF, from the current property owners, Mr. and Mrs. Brightman. T. Cole had concern that no feedback had been received from the Board of Health in the event the house on the remaining land had to update its septic system at some point in the future. E. McSweeney responded the ===PAGE 2=== Minutes 08.24.2020 Page 2 Board of Health Agent ha d viewed an approved perc test on both Lot A and the remaining Brightman property . E. McSweeney would be installing a new system on the Brightman property. P. Bertram made Motion to endorse the ANR Plan for 524 Northfield Road, T. Cole Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, aye; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 5-0. 300 Holman Street West - Ed McSweeney, Bray Ave 9 LLC presented the plan. Lots 1 and 2 were previously approved by the Board. On tonight’s ANR Plan, Lot 3, 80,000 SF and Lot 4, 80,210 SF were being created with both having frontage on Holman Street. Lot 5 , 160,104 SF would have frontage on Northfield Road. To make Lot 5 possible, there w ould be an even land exchange between the property owners of 524 Northfield Road and 300 Holman Street West . This would be accomplished through the creation of Outlots B and C, each containing 34,791 SF; Outlot B would be used in creating Lot 5. P. Bertram made Motion to endorse the ANR Plan for 300 Holman Street West, T. Cole Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, aye; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING: Northfield Road- see separate minutes 361 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE: BrightFarms, Update - Pre-submission overview given by Sean O’ Neill, Applicant. BrightFarms is a producer of salad greens and looked at the property behind Wal-Mart and Hannaford on Massachusetts Avenue as a possible site for a greenhouse. BrightFarms anticipated employing approximately 60 individuals at this site. A preliminary MEPA filing has taken place. Test wells and bo rings have yet to take place. The service roadway would be an extension of the current Wal-Mart/Hannaford drive. The project would be in two phases. Phase 1 would include a 270,000± SF greenhouse with a 53,000 SF± head house. Phase 2 would be similar t o Phase 1, thereby doubling the facility and also t he number of employees. S. O’Neill attended a preliminary meeting with various Town officials to discuss the project. An easement w ould be provided on the easterly side of the site for public access to T own-owned land. The development of Phase 2 w ould be contingent upon the economy. An ANR Plan was tentatively scheduled for Board endorsement the same evening as the public hearing. 1325 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE: M. Allison noted that at a recent Select B oard meeting the Town’s Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement Officer indicated that the applicant was in compliance with the earth removal permit granted for the site. (T. Cole requested this be an agenda item as he had received communication from an abutter.) Applicant/property owner Dan Proctor responded that he assumed there was a complaint that he had been working on-site later than the authorized earth removal hours of 8AM – 4:30PM. This took place on August 4 th which was the evening of the torn ado watch/warning and he was taking a dead tree down which was leaning against the house to preclude it coming down on the house . He stated he was running his exca vator, turned around and an abutter was on the property taking pictures. D. Proctor turned the equipment off and informed the abutter he was working on the house site, not the earth removal. He believe d it was approximately 4:40PM. T. Cole responded , that was one of the email concerns raised by the abutter. A. Burney read the subject email in to record. In the email, abutters Mr . & Mrs. Cliff Smith and Pam Anzaldi opined that D. Proctor was not adhering to what was agreed upon at the site plan meeting and the final meeting. Attached to the email was a letter from the same aforementioned indiv iduals addressed to Mr. Proctor which was also read into record. In that letter, they opined that D. Proctor had not fulfilled his responsibilities, e.g., building a six foot berm for the length of 150 feet. P. Bertram inquired as to the berm wording in the Board’s Decision. “The applicant shall install a four (4) to six (6) foot high seeded earthen berm from the eastern property line along the northern property line in lieu of the plantings originally proposed .” P. Bertram had the understanding that th e berm was to be constructed prior to any excavation and inquired if this could be confirmed from the meeting video. T. Cole also had a similar recollection. He would like to see the abutters’ concerns addressed , but went on to note that the Building Com missioner is the enforcement authority. A. Burney noted that the Conditions were from the Motion the Board took at the Hearing and if an issue was not specifically called out, it might not have been included in the Conditions. P. Bertram suggested in t he future the Board sign its Decisions during a meeting instead of having the Decision circulated for input and then Board members coming into the office to sign . The Board agreed this would allow for discussion of Decisions amongst the members during a m eeting. M. Allison remarked he had reviewed the video of the Board’s hearing and stated that the berm was to be constructed prior to any excavation. He went on to remark that the Board is to remain impartial and not show any favoritism, either to developers or to abutters. M. Allison felt the Board did everything it could to represent the abutters’ concerns during this project and stated it was now in the hands of the ===PAGE 3=== Minutes 08.24.2020 Page 3 Building Commissioner. P. Bertram felt it was important t hat the construction of the berm prior to any excavation should have been part of the Board’s Decision. A. Burney stressed that Decisions are listed on the Board’s agenda which allowed the Board opportunity for discussion. M. Allison and P. Bertram reque sted that m oving forward, individual Board Decisions be listed separately on the agenda, outside of “Director’s Items”. M. Brenner proposed that when a Decision c ame before the Board , members specifically ask each other if the requested changes were included in the Decision. A. Burney suggested another possibility would be for the Board to not vote to approve/disapprove a special permit/site plan approval after the close of the hearing. Once the hearing closed, the Board could discuss proposed conditions. A Decision would then be drafted, reviewed and discussed at the subsequent Board meeting and then voted at the following meeting. For site plan and special permits, after a hearing closes, the Board has 90 days to render its decision. D. Proctor noted this was not a normal spring and was very dry. He apologized that the 4 -6 foot berm was not constructed prior to excavation. He did note he had to construct an entrance way in order to get his trucks off the road. He stated he did not finish the berm due to a conversation with another abutter who had voiced concerns over the amount of trees that would have to come down for the berm; 26 trees came down to build the berm. He put a curve in the berm to try and keep a 100 - year oak tree from coming down. As abutters voiced displeasure with the curve, he straightened out the berm and consequently took down the oak tree. The berm had been constructed and needed to be loamed and seeded. M. Allison noted the Board w ould be working on streamlining its pro cess. D. Proctor announced this had been a painful, expensive process and he would never do this again in Lun enburg. He also asserted that the Board had been less then respectful in its treatment of him. M. Allison felt it was not within the Board’s pur view to single out this project and that it was in the Building Commissioner’s hands. Pan Anzaldi commented that in addition to contacting a Board mem ber she also contacted the Building Commissioner and the Select Board prior to its meeting the week of Au gust 17th. At that meeting, the Select Board Chair asked her if she had been contacted by the Building Commissioner. She responded that he had contacted her via email and informed her that he and A. Burney had conducted a site visit prior to receiving her letter. The Board planned to discuss the Decision process and standard Conditions at an upcoming meeting. ANR PLANS: Discussion of Process - T. Cole opined there should be more involvement with the Board of Health and the Conservation Commission prior to an ANR Plan being presented to the Board . A. Burney responded he would need to investigate what the Board ha d the right to require statutorily. For lots that ha d existing residences the Board could possibly require that the applicant provide a Board o f Health compliance that the Plan met the requirements of a Title V reserve area. If the land was vacant, he d id not know if the Board c ould legally require Board of Health approval prior to presentation to the Planning Board. The ongoing process of depa rtmental review prior to presentation to the Board was not commonly done in communities and was not required in the Rules & Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land . Board endorsement d id not guarantee lot buildability. P. Bertram noted that if ther e was an existing dwelling on the property with a private well there would be required setbacks and it would also be important to ensure there was a potable water supply. M. Allison felt the Board had the leeway to make the State process more stringent. M. Brenner, after having recently attended a subdivision webinar, noted the Board is extremely limited in the reasons it could disapprove an ANR. A. Burney noted one of the requirements could be for the applicant to depict the reserve area for a Title V and certification from the Board of Health that the reserve area met the requirements for Title V. MINUTES APPROVAL: 08.10.2020- T. Cole made Motion to approve, M. Brenner Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, abstained; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 4-0. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Storm Water Task Force- No meetings held. Agricultural Commission- Meeting scheduled for August 27th. TCP Building Design Committee- A concept was developed with the building divided into four areas; town, school, community and PACC. If the Boys & Girls Club was incorporated into the building, an addition would most likely be required. The Committee was reluctant to put an addition on the building. Open Space Ad Hoc Committee- The Committee was at full membership and met August 20 th. Moving forward, the Committee hoped to work with various boards/commissions/committees in implementation of the Open Space Plan. None of the Committee members expressed interest in serving on the Economic Development Committee and would inquire outside of the Committee. ===PAGE 4=== Minutes 08.24.2020 Page 4 The Committee reviewed the 250 Howard Street removal from Chapter and w ould recommend unanimously to the Select Board that the Town move forward with the purchase of the property. MRPC- No report. Meeting scheduled for September 3rd. MJTC- No report. Meeting scheduled for September 9th. Capital Planning Committee- No report. DIRECTOR’S ITEMS: 250 Howard Street, 61B Release - The offer for this 15± acre parcel was $50,000. One of the Master Plan goals was the preservation of open space. The Town recently purchased property to the south and purchase of 250 Howard Street would add to that open space. P. Bertram made Motion that the Board reco mmend the Select Board seek to purchase the parcel, M. Brenner Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, aye; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 5-0. Master Plan- The Board anticipated seeing the Donahue contract for the population profile by the close of 2020. Rules & Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land - Ongoing. Due to the full schedule for the Board’s September 14 th meeting A. Burney recommended the workshop be pushed off to October. T. Cole suggested possibly discussing a portion of the ANR process. MEETING SCHEDULE: September 14- ANR Plan, 452 Northfield Road ANR Plan, 237 Prospect Street Hearing Continuation, Northfield Road (scenic road) Public Hearing, Site Plan Approval, Bright Farms Workshop September 28 ONGOING ITEMS: Chapter 204, Stormwater and Storm Sewers- Will be submitted for fall special town meeting. LID Bylaw- P. Bertram opined there were ways to strengthen the current stormwater bylaw to incorporate some of the LID. She recommended the Board incorporate some of project narrative from the Westminster bylaw. ADJOURNMENT: P. Bertram made Motion to adjourn, T. Cole Seconded, Roll Call Vote - T. Cole, aye; P. Bertram, aye; M. Brenner, aye; E. Torgersen, aye; M. Allison, aye. Vote passed 5-0. Adjourned 10:27 PM. Documents used at meeting: Minutes, 08.10.2020 ANR Plans: 27 The Clearing 524 Northfield Road 300 Holman Street West 361 Massachusetts Avenue, Proposed Conditions Plan 250 Howard Street, Notice of Intent to Sell