Zoning Board of Appeals, October 12, 2022

The town published an agenda for this meeting. No minutes have been published; the recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

feeshousinglegalplanning and zoningpublic commentpublic safetyroads and dpwtown departmentswater sewer

Present: the chair (chair); Adam Costa (Town Counsel); Dawn Bornstein (presenter (applicant's attorney)); Kevin O'Brien (presenter (applicant)); Wes fleas (presenter (project engineer)); Lisa (secretary / building inspector staff (referred to)); Patrick (Zoom/public access host). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 1:05:33Table traffic until consultant estimates are gathered, have staff identify consultants, and require agreed funds be deposited before the discussion continues. — moved by a board member, as heardpassed (voice vote, count not stated)

And 1 procedural: adjourn. (▶ 2:58:50).

The money

1. ▶ 14:20Application fee structure

   The board cited a minimum filing fee plus a per-unit administration fee and a technical peer-review fee under its regulations.

   as heard:a thousand dollar minimum feetwo hundred dollars per unit25 00045 000

2. ▶ 15:22Fee waiver request

   The applicant paid the minimum fee, requested a waiver, and argued the fee is excessive and unequal to non-40B treatment, citing the 40R fee.

   as heard:85 000forty five hundred dollars75025 per unit

3. ▶ 19:06Prior 40B comparison

   A board member recalled a prior 40B paying a general administration fee in a higher range than the applicant offers.

   as heard:25 to 30 thousand dollars

4. ▶ 38:24General administration fee calculation

   Town counsel computed the administration fee from the regulations and distinguished it from peer review escrow.

   as heard:41 0004 500

5. ▶ 25:39Peer review escrow

   Counsel described escrow accounts of varying size for peer review and said unspent funds are returned.

   as heard:10 15 twenty thousand dollarsa hundred and fifty thousand dollars

6. ▶ 28:24Peer review deposit structure

   The board floated a smaller initial deposit that must be replenished when low.

   as heard:thirty thousand10

7. ▶ 1:14:24School staffing cost of added students

   A resident estimated added teachers needed and a resulting budget increase.

   as heard:29 additional teachers83 0002 408 and 566 dollars10 percent

8. ▶ 2:30:46Water and sewer extension cost

   The applicant said cost figures are in the pro forma; a resident said sewer fees alone would exceed the estimate.

   as heard:four million

9. ▶ 2:36:39Water tank maintenance

   The water superintendent said tank painting is upcoming and the project's revenue may not cover long-term pump and storage costs.

   as heard:a million and a half dollars

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 45:04The fee waiver question was postponed while the board gathers actual fees from prior 40B projects and estimates its processing costs.
• ▶ 1:06:21Staff will identify peer-review consultants and gather scopes, with funding deposited before work begins.
• ▶ 1:10:12Peer-review selection (traffic, civil, fire) will be handled in public at the Oct 26 session after the first case.
• ▶ 2:29:42Board will seek feedback from the water district and Sewer Commission and review the intermunicipal agreements before deciding on water and sewer waivers.
• ▶ 2:58:10Hearing continued to October 26 (peer review at about 7:30 after first case), with November 9 as a possible next date.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Public comment

1. ▶ 1:11:38Teacher-to-student ratio and school budget impact of added students; opposes the development. — Chris Thibodeaux, as heard, resident, Howard Street, teacher in a nearby district
2. ▶ 1:16:08Route 13 and West Townsend Road accidents; asks for a full stormwater study and environmental peer review for Malpas Brook and Hickory Hills Lake. — Paula Bertram, as heard, representing Hickory Hills landowners and resident
3. ▶ 1:20:20Howard Street traffic history, school drop-off traffic, and congestion on Route 13 in Leominster. — John alotalo, as heard, resident, Howard Street
4. ▶ 1:22:28Speaks in support of the project because of the housing shortage and his own experience of homelessness. — Andy Klein, as heard, resident
5. ▶ 1:25:17Speeding, heavy construction equipment, and narrow road on Howard Street. — Adam deschino, as heard, resident, Howard Street
6. ▶ 1:27:40Speeding and safety on Howard Street; prefers fewer houses. — Patty Orban, as heard, resident, Howard Street
7. ▶ 1:30:11Fast traffic, accidents and danger to her farm's chickens on Howard Street. — Donna Jacobson, as heard, farm owner on the road
8. ▶ 1:31:18Environmental runoff and stormwater concerns, presented pictures to the board. — Dennis Rinke, as heard, resident, Howard Street
9. ▶ 2:31:28Argues the ZBA lacks authority to act for town meeting on sewer extension; sewer district planning history. — Paula Bertram, as heard, resident, former Sewer Commission member
10. ▶ 2:34:16Water district enabling act limits, project outside district boundary, pump station and storage tank costs, supply concerns. — Akron, as heard, water district superintendent
11. ▶ 2:40:08Maynard case not comparable; Leominster and Fitchburg capacity; earlier district votes. — John morielli, as heard, resident
12. ▶ 2:43:44Wants written request, scope of work, engineer plan; says intermunicipal agreements and the CWMP would need revision. — Dave McDonald, as heard, Sewer Commission member
13. ▶ 2:46:06Doubts the ZBA has authority; recommends deferring waivers until the engineering is heard. — Tom Alonso, as heard, select board member

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• planning and zoning135 min · 75%
• legal88 min · 49%
• water sewer76 min · 42%
• roads and dpw50 min · 28%
• public comment44 min · 25%
• fees32 min · 18%
• public safety13 min · 7%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:04Opening and correspondence read into record (Leominster, Fitchburg, fire chief, planning board)informational · 13:16 long · planning and zoning, public safety
2. ▶ 13:20Application fees and waiver requestpostponed pending more information · 31:44 long · fees, planning and zoning, legal
3. ▶ 45:04Applicant traffic reports and peer review processvoted to table and begin consultant selection · 25:48 long · planning and zoning, roads and dpw
4. ▶ 1:10:52Public comment on traffic and impactsinformational · 24:17 long · public comment, roads and dpw
5. ▶ 1:35:32Authority to waive water and sewer district requirementsno determination; seek district feedback · 55:56 long · water sewer, legal, planning and zoning
6. ▶ 2:31:28Public comment on water and sewerinformational · 19:50 long · public comment, water sewer
7. ▶ 2:51:18Scheduling, deadlines, adjournmentcontinued to Oct 26; adjourned · 7:52 long · planning and zoning

What the captions could not carry

• Exact voice-vote count on the traffic motion and adjournment
• Which board member made and seconded each motion
• Whether the fee and traffic scopes of the amended motion were fully captured

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 2:20:38Sewer connection feesWhat would extending sewer and water three miles cost and who would pay?
• ▶ 1:13:42Housing and school costsWhat would 200 new apartments mean for school enrolment and staffing costs?already answered: topic:enrolment-by-year
• ▶ 14:2040B application feesHow are the town's 40B application and peer review fees calculated compared with other permits?

Written 2026-10-16 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/zoning-board-of-appeals/2022-10-12-yv-WlFafkic.json — 4,622 caption segments, sha256 cb5ca9b5ea89…. All recorded meetings.