===OCR macOS Vision=== ===PAGE 1=== Planning Board members present: Matt Allison, Chairman; David Prokowiew, Tanner Cole, Paula Bertram Planning Board member not present: Kenneth Chenis Also Present: Heather Lemieux, Town Manager; Adam Burney, Land Use Director The meeting opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Toale announced in accordance with the requirements of Open Meeting Law, the meeting is being recorded and broadcast over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Luck noted the Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast was tomorrow at the Senior Center from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Bill Tyler, 5 Graham St., acknowledged the service of the late Lance May to the Town, who passed away on December 20, 2018. One of his wishes was to have his service to the Town recognized formally. Mr. May served the town in many capacities over 40 years. He served on the Board of Selectmen and was Chairman; he was also Chair of other boards and commissions. He became the youngest person elected to office at the age of 22 (1971- Parks Commission). He served on the Housing Authority, Cable Advisory Committee, the Lunenburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame, LHS Alumni Committee and he was the current Chair of the Cemetery Commission. Mr. May loved Lunenburg and he put Lunenburg first in whatever capacity he was serving in. Carl Luck, 50 Sunset Lane, thanked the Board for all the work they do on behalf of the community, noting it's a tough job with very few rewards to it. He also wanted to thank them for not rushing to vote on the Planning Board request to place several marijuana prohibition articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant before hearing from the public. Relative to the request being made by the Planning Board, in my opinion, the most important omission from the joint meeting was any discussion on concrete evidence that the community wants this warrant article. With approval of the Planning Board, a letter was submitted to the Board of Selectmen by the Land Use Director on December 11", which attempts to explain and justify this request. In that letter, they stated that, "In this process, it became clear that there was a significant population that was in favor of the prohibition of all marijuana establishments." The letter goes on to say, "coupled with the anecdotal evidence of the listening sessions the Planning Board has held over the previous 6 months at their meetings, there is a divided electorate..." Mr. Luck stated he has watched or attended the Planning Board meetings over the last five months and reviewed all available minutes that involved discussion on marijuana zoning regulations and the Planning Board's desire to bring a warrant article on prohibition of marijuana to the town meeting. According to the available Planning Board minutes from the last five months, only two people have come forward at Planning Board meetings in support of any prohibition of marijuana. At least as many have made points inconsistent with prohibition. Where is the outcry from the silent but significant public? The only hard evidence of public opinion that I have been able to find related to the prohibition questions that was on a survey by the Planning Board was responded to by 150 residents. Ninety-four of those respondents were against prohibition of ===PAGE 2=== giving all Board members time to participate, or most egregiously without giving the community the opportunity to provide input in advance of any vote, information gathering or debate. This should happen before town meeting, not on the floor of town meeting. He hoped the Board would do their homework and not put this on the warrant because of an emotional argument made by one member of the Board of Selectmen that you, "just don't really like to hear from the people." A decision to put such an article on the ballot without time for public input and debate would in fact not be giving the public a chance to be heard. During the joint meeting with the Planning Board, one argument made by them was if no articles were put on the ballot, the public might put one on that is less desirable. This could be perceived by some as an attempt to suppress the public's voice and rights. If you proceed hastily to approve placing this on the warrant at the request of a few residents, what precedent and expectation do you set? Can any small group come to the Board of Selectmen and expect the Board of Selectmen to do their work for them in getting their special interest articles on the warrant? Do your own investigation or encourage the normal process, and let the interested parties get the required signatures and submit their own warrant articles. If the Planning Board sense is correct, there should be no problem in getting the signatures. Your decision could have significant influx on our community and the warrant article process itself. Mr. Toale noted the Planning Board was present tonight and a discussion on this is scheduled later if people want to comment further. John Baker, 53 Chase Road, stated he was in favor of the warrant article and this would put stress on our town resources. He related personal experiences in dealing with impaired people while on the Police force. Ms. Adams stated she has attended all the Planning Board hearings and what they are doing is taking a bifurcated approach, which is to provide options. At no point has anyone on the Planning Board advocated for prohibition. They just want to proceed with a variety of options, prohibition being one of them. Public Hearing: Earth Removal Permit - PSG Realty 393-435, LLC-181 Leominster- Shirley Road Mr. Toale read the hearing notice aloud: To All Interested Parties: The Lunenburg Board of Selectmen will be holding a public hearing on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at 7:05 p.m. at Town Hall, 17 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Bilotta Meeting Room, Lunenburg, on the application submitted by PSG Realty 393-435 LLC., for an Earth Removal Permit in accordance with Article IX, § 9 of the Town Bylaws. Said application is for removal of 26,000 cubic yards of gravel located at 151 and 181 Leominster-Shirley Road, Lunenburg, MA. Plans are available for review in the Board of Selectmen office at 17 Main St. during office hours, Monday through Thursday. Jamie Toale, Chairman, Lunenburg Board of Selectmen Mr. Toale opened the hearing. Brian Marchetti, McCarty Engineering, presented on behalf of the application for PSG Realty 393-435 LLC. He stated we were here several months ago discussing this property. It was purchased in 2011; material was removed subsequently ===PAGE 3=== in and is crushed and resold as gravel. The remaining area will be maintained as compacted and stabilized gravel. There is a stormwater basin on the eastern portion of the site within the gravel area that is going to receive all the stormwater runoff from the open area. That is shown on the closure plan as well as the final contours. The remaining area outside the 13 acres is vegetated. Mr. Toale asked for any questions or comments from the Board. He pointed out there is a memo from the Building Commissioner and the Land Use Director recommending that we consider approving the earth removal permit but that a closure plan be provided when the earth removal permit comes up for renewal in August 2019. Land Use Director Burney reported there is a zone line that separates the rear eight acres of 181 Leominster Shirley Road. This area is zoned Residence B (RB) district and the front is zoned Office Park and Industrial. The use in the rear is not an allowed use within the RB zone. At the last Planning Board meeting, the property owner and Mr. Marchetti indicated they would be seeking a zoning map amendment at town meeting to move the zoning line out to the extent of the property, which would be a reasonable and legal alteration. That would certainly affect the Planning Board's final approval of the project. The Planning Board discussed several options on how they would proceed in February. In general, the engineering on the property has checked out with our review engineer and the Planning Board is supportive of the project. They feel the project is appropriate on the site. Ms. Luck asked how close the nearest residence is in the RB zone. Mr. Burney stated not that close. Mr. Toale asked for any public comment relative to the hearing. Mr. Marchetti stated the direct abutters to the property are Powell Stone & Gravel, P J Keating, the MBTA Railroad and the North Leominster Rod & Gun Club. We are preparing to submit a citizen's petition for a warrant article for Annual Town Meeting to amend the zoning. Mr. Toale closed the public hearing. Motion: D. McQuaid 2": P. Luck To approve the earth removal permit and delay the closure approval pending approval from the Planning Board Vote: All in Favor Open Space Committee re: Right of First Refusal Option for 994 Northfield Road Chair Brandon Kibbe reported they had called their meeting to order. Mr. Toale asked him to introduce the other members of the Open Space Committee. He introduced Karin Menard, representing Parks Commission: Ashley Maillet and Richard Brockelman, Members At Large; David Prokowiew, Planning Board; 1 am also a Member At Large; Bob Pease, Conservation Commission and Sarah Cammer, Member At Large. Mr. Kibbe stated we come before you tonight regarding the Right of First Refusal for 994 Northtield Road which is removing part of the property from Chapter 61 status. Mr. Kibbe read a letter to the Board aloud: Dear Selectboard members, On December 20, 2018, the Open Space ad hoc Committee met to to review the Chapter 61B notice of intent to convert to another use dated November 28, 2018, for 994 Northfield ===PAGE 4=== Unlike most Chapter 61 conversion notices that the Town receives, this notice was not triggered by a sale and accompanied by a non-contingent bona fide offer to purchase. Instead, this notice was triggered by the owner's intent to convert to non-qualified uses. Our committee raises this question, isn't filing a permit application to convert the use of the property an indication of intent? Therefore, was the timing of notice given improper? As previously noted by your Board, the process and timeline as provided by statute is quite different from this type of Chapter 61 notice. Namely, sale price is to determined by appraisal and that appraisal is due only 30 days after receiving notice. Not only is this process much more condensed than its counterpart that involves a bona fide offer, the statute is quite ambiguous as to what action establishes "intent to convert" on the part of the landowner and when the Town's right of first refusal is triggered in that proces. Furthermore, because this type of withdrawal notice is quite rare, the courts have little record to help clarify the ambiguity as since confirmed by Town Counsel. Chapter 61 provides a very important open space protection role in town. First and foremost, Chapter 61 provides property tax shelter for private landowners to maintain their property as undeveloped for forest, farm and recreational open space. For its part, the Town receives the Right of First Refusal in exchange for a significant reduction in its property tax revenues. In other words, the Town indirectly pays a substantial amount of money for these rights. The townspeople should demand that we are ardent stewards of this resource. There may only be a limited amount of these opportunities that the Town may be interested in actually in pursuing and it would be a shame to lose one of those opportunities on account of a procedural problem. We respectfully request your consideration of the following two action items. 1) Allow the Chapter 61B Notice of Intent to Convert to other use at 994 Northfield Road, dated November 28, 2018 to lapse without taking action. Since the statutory timeline is expiring, this will have no impact on the landowner in terms of their ability to proceed. This will however preserve precedence for any future notice of an intent to convert not accompanied by a non contingent bona fide offer to purchase. 2) Pursue establishment of guidelines or a policy to advise other Chapter 61 landowners that the Town should be consulted prior to seeking permits for any non- qualified use to determine if notice is required. Likewise this procedure should direct land use boards to consider a property's potential enrollment in Chapter 61 programs as part of their regular course of business to assure that no notice is required. At a minimum this procedural change should be reviewed by your board, the Board of Assessors and the Planning Board. As part of developing these guidelines and procedures we would also recommend formally seeking guidance from the Dept. of Revenue on the question on timing for landowners to file these types of notices with the Town. Thank you for your attention to these matters. Respectfully submitted, the ad hoe Open Space Committee ===PAGE 5=== Vanto Vices, the Town will benefit from the solar project via tax revenue upon completion of the solar project. Secondly, the benefits will also accrue for the residents of town via the community solar component. Neither of those things will happen until the project moves forward and is turned on. Discussion ensued about taking no action. Mr. Toale stated he wanted to check with Town Counsel further before changing course. 2. Minutes/ Warrants/ Action File Issues Minutes of October 9, October 11 and November 6, 2018 were approved. Ms. Luck had a correction for the November 7 minutes. The Board signed accounts payable warrants in the amounts of $3,636,545.81 and $825,905.42, payroll warrants in the amounts of $0.01, $933.40 and $780,190.13; and deductions warrants in the amount of $599,936.26 and $186,334.54. 3. Committee Reports Ms. Luck reported the Central Mass Regional Stormwater Coalition held their annual meeting in November 2018. MA DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg and MA DEP Stormwater Coordinator Frederick Civian addressed the meeting thanking the organization for its leadership and for setting an example of how much stronger communities are when they work together. The next steering committee meeting is tomorrow in Charlton. On December 3, MART discontinued the Lunenburg route as public need was not there. The plan now is that anyone living along the former MART route may call MART at 978-345- 7711 to be picked up and dropped off anywhere along it. The complimentary ADA service to the fixed route is provided to affected people up to ¾ of a mile on either side of the route. Clients who require this service are required to fill out an ADA application and submit it to the MART office. If they are found to eligible to be transported, they can call the office to schedule their transportation. The funds dedicated to that route will now go to the MBTA. Mr. Toale reported the Board has their first focus group meeting regarding the five municipal buildings with the Architectural Preservation District Commission (APDC), Historical Commission and the Lunenburg Historical Society on January 15. Mr. McQuaid stated he would like to hold targeted discussions on each of the buildings, their historical significance. What is an acceptable fast forward for each building, can we knock it down or move it to another location or try to sell it? If that is not okay, what is a reasonable use to put in it? Mr. Toale stated in an earlier conversation with the Historical Commission, he had asked if they were interested in placing some of their historical items for display in Town Hall. At that time, there was no interest. He would like to explore that. Ms. Adams requested the discussion include the historical significance of the land as well. Mr. Toale stated the Board would meet on January 22 for regular business. ===PAGE 6=== members who worked to keep this topic alive so that more voices could be heard. When reading the task of the Planning Board, per the moratorium warrant question, the warrant article as it appeared in the May 6, 2017 and the November 13, 2018 warrants, states that the Planning Board's job is to address the potential impacts of recreational marijuana and to consider adopting new provisions of the zoning bylaw to address the impact of recreational and operational impact of marijuana establishments and marijuana retailers and related uses. Clearly, the task is not to advocate for the complete prohibition of marijuana establishments in Lunenburg. The Planning Board is clearly reaching outside the scope of their charter and you haven't even done the impact study yet. Although the Board of Selectmen does have the power and authority to pose a warrant article and ballot question to the residents to prohibit marijuana in Lunenburg, such a decision should be based on a firm belief that a significant amount of residents want such a warrant article to be put to the town. The facts of the matter indicate otherwise. The town voted in favor of legalization of recreational marijuana on the state ballot. One would hope that the voter support of legislation was just that. A significant number of Lunenburg voters participated in the state election decision. It is very likely that a much smaller number will participate in the town meeting and the subsequent vote this year. There should be a very compelling reason and data to support re-voting this where fewer voices will most likely be heard. There is no indication that the Town wants to prohibit marijuana evidenced by lack of attendance and public input during the public sessions held on recreational marijuana. Two people spoke for prohibition at the Planning Board meetings; that is not overwhelming support. Ms. Adams asserted that the citizens should have a vote. Ms. Bertram stressed that the Planning Board is not talking about outright prohibition and we are not voting on the decriminalization of marijuana; that vote has passed. We are looking for the Selectmen to place five (5) ballot questions for the five (5) different uses. Do we want these five uses in Town? We are working on a bylaw and there will be public hearings, and we will solicit public feedback for potential changes to this bylaw that will be voted on at a town meeting. Mr. McQuaid asserted he has never said I did not want this on the ballot or in town meeting. His major concern is a lack of guidance or recommendation for any of this. He hoped when this does come up at town meeting, that you present the bylaw first on how you would regulate it so people can see what the alternative is before they say no to it. I want to make sure people are educated and understand what they actually are voting for, and not voting out of emotion and fear. I don't support it and there are plenty of reasons to allow it in town and regulate it. Ms. Luck added there is no public outcry and I am unwilling to vote to put this on the ballot without substantial public outcry. I respect the Planning Board as individuals. The impact study has not been done. People have not been educated. Land Use Director Burney stated he has not been an advocate for or against. I have been working with the board to craft the language that they want and noted the Planning Board has been working on this for the past eight (8) months, and there has not been an outcry for or against. They have had a dozen or so meetings where they have discussed marijuana and I think the most well-attended meeting had ten people there. What they are hearing and ===PAGE 7=== vote, I probably will vote to send it the voters because that is the only solution I can think of. But I will be very disappointed because there will be lot less voters than the number that came out in November. Ms. Adams noted that the November election voted on a different circumstance. The amount of people that show up have no impact on any future vote. Mr. Toale and Ms. Luck disagreed with her. Ms. Bertram noted if we don't put this on the ballot and we go forward with the regulations in May, they will be passed and any permit that comes in will be permissible under these regulations for any and all of the five uses. I am not looking for prohibition, it is my personal belief and I believe we have a responsibility to affirm that the people of Lunenburg did not simply vote for decriminalization but they are voting to accept all five uses. Both the ballot vote and a town meeting vote are required. If both of them don't pass, then the regulations that are passed by our community will be what governs. I want you to understand if we don't put this on the ballot, we have all five uses. Is that what the people of Lunenburg want? Mr. Burney noted the Board always intended that there would be six warrant articles; five to cover each individual use and one for the total regulation for zoning Ms. Lemieux emphasized that the Planning Board is coming before the Board of Selectmen looking for assistance and suggested the Board of Selectmen view it as such. Mr. Toale asked for public comment. Pete Stella, 31 Chase Road, stated he was one of the 53% that voted for legalization, but he does not want it in his town. Fitchburg can have the 3% tax. He feels it needs to go to citizen vote. Ms. Bertram noted that she also voted yes, but does not want it in Lunenburg. She wants to understand the potential impacts. She did not realize that by voting to decriminalize, there would be a potential for it to be in Lunenburg. I have talked to many people. John Baker, 53 Chase Road, noted that the crime rate rose in Colorado once marijuana was legalized. This will further stretch the resources and manpower of the Police Department. Paul Smith, 800 Chase Road, believes it should go to a vote. Dr. Gary Moritz, Pastor, Twin City Baptist stated research has shown that ingesting marijuana affects the teenage brain. It has a drastic effect on families. He sees the effects daily and feels it should be banned. Mr. Allison reminded all that households of two or more people are allowed to grow up to 12 plants on their property, possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to smoke marijuana in their home. This issue is about zoning and commercialization of marijuana. Carl Luck, 50 Sunset Lane, noted Ms. Bertram's comment about wanting to understand the impacts. It is the responsibility of the town to let the townspeople know what the impacts of the votes are; the pluses and the minuses. It has to do with these five uses in town. This is about opportunity to build business, create jobs and generate taxes. He reminded that the moratorium warrant article stated there shall be a planning process to address the potential impacts of recreational marijuana in town. There needs to be education. Mr. Prokowiew stated there is no mandate for an impact study. Our regulations are an assessment of the impact. ===PAGE 8=== Town to take money away from drug dealers and make it safer and generate revenue for the Town. Ms. Luck agreed and stated that being a marijuana-free community will not decrease the amount of marijuana smoked in Lunenburg. She also felt there hadn't been enough public input to vote tonight. Mr. Toale is concerned that a smaller amount of people will vote and it won't reflect a mandate on what the Town really wants. Vote: 3 in favor, 1 against (Luck) Mr. Toale thanked the Planning Board and the public for their input. The Planning Board adjourned their meeting. INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS/ RE-APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS 1) Resignation from the Library Director, Martha Moore effective March 30, 2019 Ms. Lemieux stated this was notification to this Board of her resignation as she is retiring. 2) Vacancy on the Cemetery Commission Ms. Lemieux stated the vacancy has been posted and the tentative plan is to jointly appoint to the position with the Cemetery Commission on January 22nd TOWN MANAGER REPORT ADA Project Grant from MA Office on Disability(TM Goal #2): I received notification from the MA Office on Disability that we received a grant award in the amount of $7,500 for accessibility improvements to the Lane, Cowdrey, and Small Town Forest properties. We were not awarded the planning grant or the two other project grants for North Cemetery and improvements to town facilities but we will be able to apply for these projects next fall. Update on Tier 3 Complete Streets Application: The Mass DOT Municipal Grants Program Administrator contacted me today to relay our request for Tier 3 Complete Streets Construction funding was not approved. MassDOT received 30 Tier 3 applications and only 11 applications were funded and out of those 11, 10 of them were only partially funded. We had a satisfactory score but other applications scored higher and the advice 1 received over the phone was projects that provided for bicycle accommodations and improved transit would likely improve our score. I have already spoken with the DPW Director about setting up a meeting with WorldTech Engineering to review the projects we submitted for and how we can propose to amend the application for the next grant round in April. Town Facilities (TM Goal #2): • RFP for Rental of Space at the TC Passios: School Facilities Director John Londa reached out to Shapiro Educational Collaborative to find out why they did not submit a bid and he responded that there were too many modifications and the lease would be for a relatively short time. ===PAGE 9=== Business Manager Michael Cassidy on January 2nd to discuss the School's FY2020 budget proposal that was presented to the School Committee in December and provided the Superintendent a target budget that would be needed to create a balanced budget for next year. The Capital Planning Committee will be meeting Tuesday, January 15th at 5:15 p.m. in Town Hall to prioritize capital requests. Per the Charter, I will provide the Selectmen with a Capital Plan by the end of January, at the January 22nd meeting. Updates to the Town Website: After being live with the new website since September and hearing some feedback, I have spoken with the IT Director about making a few changes, including changing one of the buttons on the homepage from Charter/Bylaws to Town Calendar and changing the Important Documents button to Town Finances. Another change being considered is changing the title of the "Get Connected" button to "Citizen Engagement and Transparency Center". The IT Director looked at the analytics to find out how frequently the current buttons were being clicked and found that the Charter/Bylaws button and Important Documents was rarely used. Other updates include adding new pages for the Charter Review Committee, the Open Space Committee, and the Cultural Council, as none had their own page on the last website. Attendance at Meetings and other announcements: • Town Counsel Office Hours: Monday, January 28t 12-4 pm; Monday, February 258 am-12 pm. Vacancies: The following paid positions are currently posted: • Building Commissioner • Local Inspector The following is a list of vacancies on the following committees: • Agricultural Commission (1 regular member, 2 alternate member vacancies) • Architectural Preservation District Commission (1 vacancy for a design professional/craftsperson) • Cemetery Commission (1 regular member- jointly appointed until 2019 ATE) • Cultural Council (multiple vacancies) • Green Communities Task Force (1 vacancy-Citizen at Large position) • Zoning Board of Appeals (2 Associate vacancies) ===PAGE 10=== mature way. I think what you are recommending as a town and get involved very early and maybe take a look at all our Chapter 61 inventory and maybe have discussions with the landowners and develop exit strategies to make everyone whole. Mr. Kibbe agreed and believed individual landowners have their rights and I don't think we should be pounding down their doors to force them into something they don't want to do. But when it comes time when they want to make a decision with their property, we want to be at a place to be talking with them at the outset. There is a lot of property under C. 61 in town and there is probably a handful of those properties that the town would actually have an interest in to make the investment to take on as recreation or conservation land. Ms. Luck asked how that would happen. Mr. Kibbe noted the Open Space Committee has their criteria. We identify priority areas in town that are either for wildlife habitat, scenic, agricultural protection or drinking water supply. If they are in one of those areas, another set of criteria is used, of which at least three of those must be met. Motion: D. McQuaid 2"d: P. Luck To take no action on the Right of First Refusal for the C. 61 property located at 994 Northfield Road Vote: All in Favor Mr. Toale believed the board supported the effort to be more proactive on this issue. Ms. Luck stated she researched the tax paid back to the town when properties are removed from c. 61. Since 2004, the Town received $167,837 and in 2006, the town received $44,000. She suggested seriously considering placing this money into a fund for future land acquisitions of open space because when it comes up we don't have any funding. Peter Stella, 31 Chase Road, stated he had a problem with open space especially in a town where they restrict everybody from doing whatever they want. To him, putting money aside for more open space makes no sense. There is a lot of open space in town already. Mr. Toale stated this should be a town meeting decision. The Board thanked the committee again. Mr. Toale asked for any further comment before moving on. The Open Space Committee exited the meeting to continue their meeting in the Ritter Building. Discussion on Placing A Ballot Question on the May 18, 2019 Annual Town Election Ballot Prohibiting the Sale of Adult Recreational Marijuana Planning Board Chairman Matt Allison called the Planning Board meeting to order. Mr. Toale stated this is a continuation of the joint discussion we had last time we met and we were missing a member at that time who had some input. I felt we needed to continue this discussion. There was an election in November of 2016 where the town voted on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. As a result, the state has been working on their regulations on the state level. In the interim, we are trying to determine what impact that has on our town. Unless towns that had a "yes" vote do something locally with bylaws and zoning, it becomes legal in those towns. Another possibility is prohibition in town. Mr. Allison noted that in Lunenburg, the vote was over 50% in favor of legalization, so we are a "yes? town. Ms. Bertram wanted to comment to some of the comments made in public comment earlier. The citizens of Lunenburg voted on the legalization of marijuana. What people may not have been aware of is the potential impact of what that is and the five ===PAGE 11=== Elaiem. Peterson Elaine M. Peterson Executive Assistant to the Town Manager RECEIVED & FILED FEB 2 0 2019 LUNENBURG TOWN CLERK OFFICE