===PAGE 1=== TOWN OF LUNENBURG Office of the Planning Board Matthew Brenner, Chair Timothy Willsmer, Vice Chair Amanda Reid, Clerk Matthew Allison, Member Glenn McLeod, Member Vacancy - Land Use Director Logan O’Connell - Admin Asst. Tel: (978) 582-4146, ext. 5 Fax: (978) 582-4353 960 Massachusetts Avenue Lunenburg, MA 01462 MINUTES 2024-08-12 Meeting Posted: Yes Address: Town Hall, 17 Main Street, Lunenburg, MA Time: 6:00 P.M. Present: Matthew Allison, Glenn McLeod, Amanda Reid Absent: Matthew Brenner, Timothy Willsmer CALL TO ORDER A. Reid called the meeting to order at 6:01 P.M and led the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC COMMENT None. PUBLIC HEARINGS Both scheduled Public Hearings were delayed to the next meeting due to issues with quorum: 255 Sunny Hill Rd – Stormwater Permit (Cont. FROM 2024-07-22, TO 2024-08-26) G. McLeod was ineligible to vote on this since it started prior to his tenure on the Board, leaving only 2 eligible members. 3 Lancaster Ave – Special Permit (Cont. TO 2024-08-26) Special Permits require 4 members to take action on, and only 3 were available tonight. M. Allison moved to continue both hearings to 2024-08-26. G. McLeod seconded. Voice vote, passed unanimously. DECISIONS 240 Summer St ===PAGE 2=== 2 of 5 - Planning Board Minutes, 2024-08-12 As M. Allison was absent from the 07-22 Public Hearing, only 2 eligible members were available to vote. M. Allison can become eligible after reviewing the hearing content and filing a Mullins Rule Certification (M.G.L. c39 Section 23D, Adopted Town Meeting 2006-12-05). M. Allison moved to continue the decisions for 240 Summer St (Site Plan Approval, Stormwater Permit) to 2024-08-26. G. McLeod seconded. Voice vote, passed unanimously. CERTIFICATES OF COMPLETION 1295 - 1325 Massachusetts Avenue Greg Roy (Dillis & Roy) offered to answer any questions from the Board about the As-Built plan. M. Allison asked why the finish floor elevation was raised by one foot on the As-Built plan (Graves Engineering, Inc review, comment 2). Dan Proctor (1529 Mass. Ave) said it addressed a groundwater issue and left the height under 30 ft. M. Allison asked whether there had been any feedback from the Building Commissioner on the site. R. Harris relayed the Building Commissioner’s explanation that the bank won’t release any of the units to be sold or occupied until a Certificate of Completion was issued for the Stormwater Permit of 1295 Mass Ave. G. Roy confirmed all of the Stormwater construction for the 1295 was completed. M. Allison asked whether the Board was signing off on the complete Stormwater before or after construction. R. Harris clarified that the Board was being asked to sign the Certificate of Completion for 1295 Mass. Ave’s specifically, while the Certificates of Completion for 1315 and 1325 Mass Ave’s were upcoming decisions after the rest of the buildings were finished and the final site stability had been confirmed. He further clarified that although one Stormwater Permit was issued for the whole site, Certificates of Completion could be issued on an individual lot or address basis. M. Allison asked whether the Board would be requiring a Performance Guarantee for the other sites. R. Harris said that it wouldn’t be necessary given GEI’s recent review. M. Allison moved to issue a Certificate of Completion for 1295 Mass Ave’s Stormwater improvements for that portion of the project. G. McLeod seconded. Voice vote, passed unanimously. BOARD DISCUSSIONS Advisory Board Notification Procedures L. O’Connell gave context. Lots 1 and 3 at 20 Kilburn St were recently converted out of Chapter 61B for Residential Use. The Notice of Intent (NOI) dated 2024-05-15 was given to the Planning Department, although the date of receipt isn’t known due to staffing changes and onboarding difficulties. The Open Space Committee (OSC) also wasn’t notified when the NOI arrived with the Planning Department, and ultimately received it from them with short notice. He opined that the ===PAGE 3=== 3 of 5 - Planning Board Minutes, 2024-08-12 infrequency of the Chapter conversion process caused the lack of clear staff procedure on handling them. G. McLeod agreed and said it was important to immediately notify the OSC. He mentioned their request to be notified when any parcel of >=5km currently within Chapter comes before the Planning Board, and asked where the data on properties currently within Chapter was available. R. Harris explained that there should be a table in the appendix of Lunenburg’s Open Space Recreation plan listing all parcels under Chapter 61, 61A and 61B. He also mentioned that the Assessor’s Office should have this data. M. Allison noted that previous discussion about streamlining this process between the OSC and Planning Board was taking place before the previous Land Use Director left, and it likely fell through the cracks. He agreed that the OSC should be immediately notified when the Planning Department receives an NOI. M. Allison, G. McLeod and R. Harris discussed the function and timeline of Chapter 61 conversions. R. Harris reiterated that although the Town only has 120 days to decide whether to exercise its right of first refusal, it has a following period of time for the Town Meeting process and acquire the funding to actually make the purchase. Legal Advisory – Affordable Homes Act R. Harris explained that recent amendments to the Affordable Homes Act regarding Accessory Dwelling Units would likely require changes to the zoning bylaw, and would go into effect February 2025. G. McLeod opined that this restricted the regulatory options available to local communities, as well as individuals’ property rights, similar to the MBTA Communities Act. R. Harris replied that the State had taken greater control over certain uses (i.e. solar, agricultural, educational or religious uses), and also doing so with Accessory Dwelling Units. ABUTTING COMMUNITY NOTICES R. Harris explained this new agenda item, saying he suggested it so that Board members would have an opportunity to discuss any notices of interest (i.e. for properties close to the Town Line). COMMITTEE REPORTS Master Plan Steering Committee T. Willsmer was absent, no report. Open Space Committee See Advisory Board Notification Procedures discussion above. ===PAGE 4=== 4 of 5 - Planning Board Minutes, 2024-08-12 Municipal Building Design Committee Per M. Allison it hasn’t met recently, but it is still being talked about at Select Board meetings. Agricultural Commission The Planning Board has no representative to the Agricultural Commission right now. This will be discussed at the next meeting where all members are present. Capital Planning Committee M. Brenner was absent, no report. Economic Development Committee Per G. McLeod the EDC meet & greet at Low Places Ranch is scheduled for September 26th 5:30 PM Storm Water Task Force T. Willsmer was absent, no report. Montachusett Regional Planning Commission Per A. Reid, met last week on Thursday. Lots of talk about Nashoba Valley Hospital’s pending closure. A Public Hearing about this from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is scheduled at the Devens Commerce Center on August 15th 6:00 PM. A recent state law for the Devens housing cap failed to include the group representing the public works & school districts of Devens, which overlap Shirley, Ayer and Harvard. This is an ongoing topic. Montachusett Joint Transportation Committee Per A. Reid, hasn’t met. Upcoming meeting is on 2024-08-13. MINUTES APPROVAL The Board reviewed proposed minutes for its meetings on 2024-06-10, 2024-07-08 and 2024-07-22, as well as minutes for 255 Sunny Hill Rd’s Public Hearings on 2024-07-08 and 2024-07-22. The spelling of a commenter’s name was corrected in the minutes for 2024-06-10. M. Allison moved to approve the minutes for the Planning Board’s June 12th, July 8th, and July 22nd meeting, as well as the minutes for the 255 Sunny Hill Rd Public Hearings on July 8th and July 22nd with the scrivener’s error amended. G. McLeod seconded. Voice vote, passed unanimously. MEETING SCHEDULE All meetings are 6:00 P.M. at Town Hall on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, unless otherwise noted. Upcoming meetings: 2024-08-26, 2024-09-09. ===PAGE 5=== 5 of 5 - Planning Board Minutes, 2024-08-12 R. Harris noted that his last meeting was on 2024-08-26, and his contract ended 2024-08-31. He suggested verifying board member availability before the 2024-08-26, which is planned to have another discussion with the Water District. He also noted that there has been some discussion with the MRPC to provide staff support in the period between the end of his contract and the hiring of a full-time Land Use Director. BOARD COMMENT Regarding MRPC staff support after Richard’s departure, M. Allison mentioned the Town Manager Screening Committee’s recent discussion of using a staffing firm in its search and expressed concern about the level of “outsourcing”. G. McLeod asked L. O’Connell about recent progress with hiring a full-time Land Use Director. He replied that he’d seen at least one interview take place, although Brian Gingras might know more. ADJOURNMENT M. Allison moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:52 PM. G. McLeod seconded. Voice vote, passed unanimously. Documents Referenced: 2024-07-29_ 1325 Mass Ave_ SWP As-Built Plan 2024-08-09_ 1325 Mass Ave_ GEI Review As-Built Plan and Construction Completeness 2024-07-31_ OSC Notification Procedure Recommendations and Full Email Chain 2024-08-08_ Legal Advisory, Affordable Homes Act 2024-06-10_ Planning Board_ Minutes 2024-07-08_ Planning Board_ Minutes 2024-07-08_ 255 Sunny Hill Rd_ Public Hearing Minutes 2024-07-22_ Planning Board_ Minutes 2024-07-22_ 255 Sunny Hill Rd_ Public Hearing Minutes