March 28, 2006
Regular Session 7:38 pm
Mr. MacIver, Mr. Edmundson, Ms. Tully
Voted - to accept the minutes of February 28, 2006.
Transfer of Restaurant Common Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages License
Mr. Ambrose advised that he is in the midst of negotiations with three restaurateurs for the property located at 1217 Main Street. It has been a long, complicated process because Mr. Ambrose is quite concerned that the business be transferred to a restaurateur who is prepared to operate the type of business that would be successful in that location. It is necessary that whoever takes over the business would be willing to keep up the landscaping, image and the like. Mr. Ambrose noted that it is a prominent entry to the town and it must be treated accordingly.
Voted - to grant Anthony J. Ambrose, Manager, Chop House Associates LP d/b/a Blackfin Chophouse and Raw Bar, 1217 Main Street, a three month extension to transfer his Restaurant Common Victualler All Alcoholic Beverages License. This extension would end June 30, 2006 and would allow Mr. Ambrose time to negotiate with three prospective purchasers.
Traffic Rules and Regulations
Ms. Tully explained that the last fall the Board had voted to create some overnight parking on South Street near Treasures. In order to allow for the creation of apartments above the businesses in the Square some additional overnight parking is necessary.
Voted - to amend the Traffic Rules and Regulations at Article V, Section 10, No All Night Parking as follows:
HINGHAM SQUARE - Overnight parking will be allowed on a portion of South Street from Main Street to North Street in the designated areas on the north side of South Street from Main Street to North Street. Parking would not be allowed during snow or emergency conditions.
STATION STREET - Overnight parking will be allowed on the Station Street parking lot in the designated are of the Southeast corner of the lot. The designated spaces will abut the Greenbush Railway. Residents are encouraged to move vehicles immediately after a snow event to allow public works crews to clear the parking lot.
The following procedures must be followed:
Downtown Overlay District residents must obtain a parking sticker from the Town Clerk's Office. A vehicle registration must be presented to the Town Clerk and must match the resident's address. The sticker must be displayed in the left rear window of the resident's vehicle. There is a limit of two permits per vehicle address.
Ms. Tully noted that Boston MPO is holding walkable community workshops this spring. They plan to do two and half-hour presentations on making a community more walkable. Mr. Cristello suggested that it might be interesting to have some people attend and find out how the Town could put this on.
Voted - to appoint Richard Moneghan a member of the Development and Industrial Commission for a term ending in
Selectmen's Reports.
Mr. Trendowicz asked for a letter on the agreement to use federal funding on some of the roadwork related to the shipyard redevelopment. A building has been taken down recently and there appears to be slow but incremental progress. The Central Fire Station Building Committee met last night and things are proceeding. Mr. MacIver reported he had received input from various constituents on the swap pile. There were complaints
that the hours of operation were random and closed earlier than they should. Mr. Cristello and Mr. MacIver will sit down and talk with Randy Sylvester next week. Mr. Cristello advised that he had discussed the swap area with Mr. Stigliani just today. The rules have not been formal up to this point and they would like to establish formal rules.
Mr. MacIver will be meeting with Mr. Tzimorangas and Mr. Heisner to speak about energy policy. Mr. Cristello reported that he had attended a meeting on the Plymouth County Reverse 911 system and is working on procedures for using this system. The one downside is that there are only 23 phone lines so to do a town-wide notification would take hours but on a smaller scale like a school it would be very doable.
Overview of Special Permit Granting Authority Zoning Article.
Ms. Murphy noted that it was very evident at the Town forum that there is a great deal of concern regarding the amount and scope of development and how it is being managed. The Planning Board looked at ways they could help mitigate adverse impacts of development. Ms. Lacy did research and looked at the existing process. An applicant files an application for multi-family or commercial developments with the Zoning Board of Appeals, who then forwards it to the Planning Board. The ZBA and Planning Board both do site plan review. The use may be appropriate; the redevelopment may be appropriate; but how does one mitigate the adverse impacts on the town? There are times when the Planning Board makes recommendations and it is not until things are issued that it is realized that the recommendations have not been included. The Planning Board noted that Zoning Board never comes back to ask questions. Ms. Murphy noted that Hingham is very much behind the curve.
There are various ways to amend by-law: a full transfer of the process or binding site plan review. When the Planning Board submitted the article it was decided to go with the full transfer of the process because the use is part of the planning process. At the meeting with Advisory Committee the Planning Board was asked if it would consider binding site plan review. The goal of this process would be the issuance of decisions that benefit the Town, respect the rights of abutters and place the issuance of Special Permit A2 in the hands of the elected Planning Board for a more streamlined policy.
One of the main issues is the discretion in the A2 Special Permit Process. The Planning Board feels that the two-layer system has a bad history of communication and that the Zoning Board of Appeals members do not view the recommendations as being as important as the Planning Board. Mr. McGrath noted that generally when an applicant goes to the ZBA it is for specific regulatory relief. In a special permit an applicant is not entitled to get a special permit. There is no entitlement; the discretion that the Zoning Board of Appeals gets is extraordinary. Mr. McGrath said the process is inherently oppositional and the lack of clarity is causing the problem. Mr. Healy noted that the members of the Planning Board are elected to do what is best for the town. They are sensitive to the citizenry because they are elected and if the Planning Board recommendations have no weight, they are being undervalued.
Ms. Tully noted that in 1978 site plan review by both authorities was required by the By-law. Mr. McGrath that the dual process could be collapsed into a single-track process. At the end of the process there will only be one decision maker. The Board asked if the Planning Board conditions were binding would there be a process for the Zoning Board of Appeals to remove a condition. Mr. MacIver commented that what we are really doing here is talking about who is making the final decision on a series of land use decisions. No one has a monopoly on what is good for the town.
The Planning Board felt that as elected planning officials there is a responsibility that they have not been fulfilling. The current process is onerous, not a good customer oriented policy for the town. Mr. McLaughlin noted that the first time the Zoning Board of Appeals heard about the communication problem was after the article was submitted. In the overwhelming number of cases the recommendations have been implemented. The recommendations that were not implemented were not, in the opinion of the ZBA, detrimental to the project. Perhaps they should advise the Planning Board if they are not going to implement a particular recommendation. If there is the perception that there is too much development or too much too fast - this won't change that. A "Special Permit is a use contemplated by the by-law. Mr. Macmillan remarked that having been involved in the zoning field for a number of years, he would say that the boards could work together and there is no reason why they should not work together. This is a question of who is going to be the boss, not a change for the betterment of the zoning bylaw. The structure has been in place for a generation or more and it has served the town well over time. Mr. Macmillan recommended a study committee that would include the Planning Board among others.
Mr. MacIver said he would hate to see this become a proxy issue that diverts attention from the rate and scale and scope of development. Mr. Alvarado said he believes that there is an issue. The Town by-laws give significant discretion and development can be slowed by prudent decisions making it so painful for the developer that the deal dies on the vine. Ms. Power noted that within the past five years the Town has the nursery school, Damon Farms, Carousel Academy, and the Derby Street Shoppes. She remarked that the meetings have been very educational and very informative. This article makes it easier for citizens to engage in a difficult process. The second positive impact is that the article would allow the citizens to vote for the body that puts forward the permit; the third thing is that the Planning Board is looking at factors that help with mitigation for citizens. Mr. Connolly said that he does not believe that Hingham has received the right mitigation for some of the large project coming before them. Mr. Ratner commented that no one is asking for a tightening of restrictions. The Planning Board has made recommendations over the years and those recommendations have not been implemented.
The Board announced that it would take the matter under advisement.
Meeting adjourned 9:50 pm.
Betty Foley, Clerk