Members Present:
Peter Fee, Chairman of the Trustees of the Hingham Bathing Beach.
John Riley, Selectmen
Sturt English, Harbor Development Committee
Ben Wilcox, Hingham Development and Industrial Commission
Judith Sneath, Hingham Planning Board and Hingham Downtown Association
Katy Lacy, Town Planner (non-voting member)
John Souther, Harbormaster
Ben Wilcox served as chairman for this meeting.
The Committee reviewed, and voted to approve the minutes of March 5.
State Restrictions relative to the Boat Ramp
Sturt English distributed copies of the Land Management Agreement (LMA) between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Department of Fish and Game regarding the public boat ramp located near the Town Pier and Iron Horse Park. Under the LMA, the state provided funds to construct and maintain the boat ramp. In exchange, the Town was subject to a variety of restrictions and conditions, including an obligation to allow full public access to all citizens of the Commonwealth. Mr. English pointed out that Condition 5 of the LMA states that “The Municipality shall not use or permit to be used any parking spaces or open area for purposes other than public access without written permission of the Public Access Board”. This condition has a footnote which goes on to say that “the facilities shall include the adjacent parking for thirty three car and trailer combinations and an additional ten (10) similar spaces at an off-site location as determined by the Town and approved by the Board.”
Mr. Fee indicated that it was his understanding that, based on a verbal agreement between the Town and the Trustees of the Bathing Beach, that the additional 10 car/trailer parking spaces can be accommodated on the grass areas adjacent to the Bathing Beach parking lot. Mr. Fee stated that he had nothing in writing specifying the terms of this agreement, but that, in fact, cars with trailers were directed to park in the Bathing Beach area when the 33 trailer spots at the Town lot were full. Nick Amdur noted that, in the past, trailers had also been sent to Station Street to park. Mr. Fee was asked about parking patterns at the Bathing Beach and he reiterated the points made at the last meeting that the lot was really only full on peak summer weekends. He noted that beach visitors tended to stay for a short time only, whereas sunbathers and users of the park-like area west of the Bathing Beach stayed longer.
Committee members questioned the extent of the restriction placed on the Town through Condition 5, asking whether it pertained to all of the Town-owned land in the inner harbor including the two parking areas and the Iron Horse Park, or whether it applied to the boat/trailer combination spaces only. Sturt English suggested that they contact Jack Shepard of the Public Access Board, or invite him to the next meeting for clarification.
Mr. English noted that it was his understanding that the current ramp was constructed by Cashman in the 1980s. John Riley stated that he would look in the Selectmen’s files to find out if there was a plan or additional information that would shed light on the terms of this agreement.
Harbor Master Plan-Information Gathering Process
Sturt English distributed copies of minutes from two public for a held by the Harbor Development Committee on 10/14/06 and 10/19/06 seeking public input on possible uses of or changes to the Harbor area. These information gathering sessions were held as a part of a Master Planning process funded by the CPC and overseen by the Harbor Development Committee, with consultant Mark Mazarelli. Sturt indicated that approximately 20 people attended each meeting, and provided suggestions on a wide variety of subjects, including specific management/operational issues (excessive goose poop, access challenges, lack of seating and lighting) as well as proposed uses (park vs. “working harborfront”). Ben Wilcox asked if there was any input regarding parking, or the lack of parking, and Sturt responded that there was very little discussion of parking except to the point that perhaps there was too much parking near the Bathing Beach, which could be transformed to green space.
Ben Wilcox noted that the Master Plan prepared by HDC basically reflected the status quo in terms of uses, but included many suggestions to improve the appearance and accessibility of the Harbor area. Sturt disagreed, saying that the Committee considered a variety of alternative uses and ownership patterns for the different zones within the Harbor area. He also noted that the focus of the project was the “land side” of the Harbor, since this was a CPC project funded in the Open Space category.
There was a brief discussion of the impact of the expanded use of the Lincoln Sailing Center. At times Sailing Center users were parking at 26 Summer, the Town Lot and the Gallery 360 lot due to overcrowding on Barnes Wharf. Ms. Lacy noted that the LMC had recently received a Special Permit A3 Parking Determination that included a variety of conditions that had not yet been implemented, including the designation of a formal parking area on-site, and restrictions preventing high-school students from driving to the site. Sturt English noted that he was on the Board of the LMC, and could talk to the coaches and staff about enforcement of parking restrictions. Ms. Lacy agreed to get Sturt the schedule that the LMC had submitted with their permit application, showing exactly what uses were scheduled for what times, and how many cars would be on site.
Sturt English went on to point out that there were many potential users of the Harbor parking lots, and it was difficult to tell at this point exactly how much parking might be required in the future as uses change. He noted that with the acquisition of the Mobil Station, and construction of a safer walkway use could go up. He also noted that there was increasing use of the Harbor lot by Kayakers and others driving to the area to launch small craft. Dana Baxter noted that the area was also used frequently as a venue for wedding and graduation photos.
Overview of Harbor Zoning Requirements
Ms. Lacy provided the group with a brief overview of the zoning designations for each of the properties within the Harbor Area. The 3 Otis, 26 Summer, Gallery 360 and Mobil Station parcels are all zoned Waterfront Business, and the rest are zoned Official and Open Space. Ms. Lacy went over the use and intensity restrictions for each of these zones, and noted that the committee may want to look at a wholesale revision of the zoning requirements for this district to reflect the desired outcome for the area.
Parking Waivers
The Committee talked briefly about how parking waivers had been granted historically downtown and in the Waterfront Business District. M.J. Shultz described the “system” adopted by the ZBA for the Downtown Business District, where most of the buildings pre-dated zoning. This current off-street parking requirements, including the waiver process, works well for changing uses or minor changes to existing buildings, but would present major challenges for any new building or brand new use. She pointed out that the Harbor area used to be a part of Business A, but was carved off as the Waterfront Business District in an effort to create a distinct waterfront zone with protected view corridors and targeted uses. Maggie Merrill noted that downtown businesses such as Stars were using the harbor area for parking more and more frequently, and questioned whether the use of the harbor for overflow parking for downtown seemed like the best use for the area. Ms. Sneath pointed out that the fact of the matter was that the current parking regulations for the Harbor area were spelled out in the Zoning By-Law, which was adopted by Town Meeting, and the only way to change them would be to change the By-Law. Ben Wilcox noted that the current system for granting parking waivers was highly discretionary, which had advantages and disadvantages for the applicants and the permitting authority. Ben went on to say that, to a certain extent, the availability of parking played a major role in determining what kinds of uses could actually be accommodated at the Harbor.
Clarification on Role of Harbor Parking Committee
John Riley stated that, while the initial role of this committee was to look at issues related to parking in the harbor, and specifically, the desirability of leasing, selling or otherwise allowing private businesses to lay claim to town-owned land for parking, that he had asked the other Selectmen about expanding the role of the group to address long-terms master planning for the area. He noted that he was concerned that the Harbor Development Committee’s Master Plan, while providing an excellent treatment plan for the various zones in the Harbor, did not reflect sufficient input from the community about what uses they wanted to see in the Harbor. He pointed out that while there was obviously interest in leaving much of the harbor area open, that there was also interest in the development of town-controlled facilities that could generate revenue for the Town, such as the marinas in Hull and Scituate. Maggie Merrill noted that it seemed clear to her that there was great interest on the part of the boating community to provide facilities for boaters, including slips, mooring, parking and marine services. John Riley noted that he wanted to get a more comprehensive understanding of the interests of not just boaters, but all harbor users, and suggested the use of some sort of Town-wide survey. Katy Lacy and Sturt English both expressed concern about the utility and effectiveness of a survey unless it was extremely targeted, and noted that surveys were generally undertaken by specialized professionals. Ben Wilcox noted that it was often more effective to generate a plan or series of recommendations, which would generate responses, much like what was done for the Downtown Plan, or the plans for the DPW/Athletic Fields off Fort Hill Street.
Nick Amdur pointed out that the Harbor Development Committee has spent a lot of time and effort on their plan, and should work closely with this group if they proceed with the development of alternatives. Judy Sneath concurred.
Nick Bonn and Peter Railsback, in the audience, asked for information regarding the current situation at 3 Otis Street, and whether the slips currently in place there could be used this boating season. Mr. Riley explained that Building Commissioner had recently issued an enforcement order indicating that the slips did not comply with the Town’s off-street parking requirements, and that was being appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals on May 22. Members of the group asked M.J. Shultz and the Harbormaster questions about how the slips were established at 3 Otis Street. Harbormaster Charlie Souther noted that there was litigation in process due to the Harbormaster’s decision not to issue mooring permits for these slips until the parking issue was resolved, and said that is was not appropriate to discuss this matter at this time. Mr. Riley reiterated that it was not the role of this committee to resolve the short-term parking issue at 3 Otis Street, which would be resolved by the ZBA and perhaps ultimately the Land Court.
Harbormaster Souther went on to suggest several recommendations for the long-term development of the Harbor including removing the rotary, and using the excess land to provide additional parking for the Lincoln Sailing Center. He noted that his sense was that while parking was an issue during the good weather months, that the group should keep in mind that there was little demand for parking in this area during the winter. He also provided a clarification regarding the restrictions put in place by the state’s Public Access Board, saying that his understanding was simply that they wanted to ensure the provision of sufficient trailer parking, NOT that they were requiring the Town to leave all of the parking open for public access. He also concurred that there was the potential for the Town to generate additional revenues through the management of some sort of marina operation at the Harbor.
John Riley set the date for the next meeting on June 12. Sturt English was assigned the role of Chairman. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 PM.
Katy Lacy, Town Planner