TOWN MEETING IS APRIL 24 -- PLANNING BOARD HAS 5 ARTICLES

Town Meeting is coming up next Tuesday, April 24, 2018! The Planning Board has 5 zoning articles on the warrant. The Board is proposing and recommending changes to the accessory apartment bylaw, creating outdoor entertainment regulations applicable to the entire Business General district rather than tying it only to restaurants, allowing certain limited events not tied to agriculture to be hosted by farms, and replacing the unworkable "cluster" subdivision bylaw with a more workable version. The Board is not recommending the fifth article to allow commercial solar facilities outside the solar overlay district by special permit. More work is needed on that one.

A more complete discussion (as well as the complete text) of each of those articles can be found on the Town web site at https://www.sherbornma.org/home/news/april-24-2018-annual-town-meeting-information. Click on the item called

Planning Board Summary of Changes to Zoning Articles (April 19, 2018).

Town Meeting begins at 7:00 PM at Lindquist Commons at Dover-Sherborn High School in Dover.

PLANNING BOARD TO HOLD HEARING ON ZONING CHANGES

The Sherborn Planning Board will hold a public hearing regarding its proposed amendments to the Zoning Bylaw on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, beginning at 7:00 PM at Town Hall. The Planning Board is proposing 5 amendments to the Zoning Bylaw for consideration at this year's Annual Town Meeting in April.

The five articles sponsored by the Planning Board are the following:

1. Accessory Apartments -- This article would loosen the requirements to qualify for a special permit by removing the limit on occupancy to relatives and domestic help and allowing the collection of rent. It would require that the owner occupy either the main house of the apartment.

2. Outdoor entertainment in the Business General district -- This amendment would remove the restriction against outdoor entertainment from restaurants and apply it to the entire Business General district. It will still require a special permit and there would be restrictions on hours and noise.

3. Farm events -- This article would help support the sustainability of agriculture in Sherborn by allowing farms to hold special events like weddings or other personal recognition events. Farms wishing to host such events would be subject to site plan review and there would be restrictions on hours and noise.

4. Solar facilities -- Currently, large scale solar photovoltaic facilities are allowed by right but limited to an overlay district that consists only of the closed landfill site. This article would provide for locations outside the overlay district but only by special permit. A maximum of 10% of any such facilities could be located on land that had been in active agriculture or woodlands within the previous five years.

5. Open Space Subdivisions -- The current open space subdivision bylaw has never been used and includes several disincentives. The proposed replacement is based on an updated state model and contains many important updates. It would flip the current situation by allowing open space subdivisions by right and requiring a special permit for conventional development. It would also require that at least 60% of the parcel be preserved as open space, provide maximum flexibility for design within the parcel but require an expanded setback from the entire perimeter. It would still require that a conventional plan be provided to determine the number of housing units that could be permitted and then allow flexibility in arranging those units. The minimum required  protected open space could include no greater percentage of wetlands than the parcel as a whole has.

After receiving input from residents, the Planning Board will prepare a report recommending that Town Meeting support each articles as is, support them with changes, or oppose them. Town Meeting is on Tuesday, April 24.

"COMPLETE STREETS" FORUM TO BE HELD ON JANUARY 16

The Planning Board will host a community forum on January 16, 2018 at 7:00 PM in Town Hall to discuss the draft prioritization plan for the Town's Complete Streets program, as well as how the plan relates to the draft Circulation element of the new General Plan.

The Complete Streets program is a MassDot initiative that encourages streets to serve multiple functions in addition to vehicular travel. The intent is to encourage safe movement for all users, including bicycle and pedestrian access, better connections between transit and other modes, handicapped accessibility, street trees and other measures to encourage walking and improved health, and reduced costs through reduced maintenance costs.

The MassDOT program has three tiers. Tier 1 is adoption of a Complete Streets policy, which Sherborn has already done (and for which it has won a national award from Smart Growth America). Tier 2, which is 100% funded by MassDOT,  is the development of a prioritization plan of identified  projects that will advance the goals of the program. The projects can include sidewalks, bike lanes, off-road trails, road and intersection improvements that enhance use by multiple users, street trees and benches, improved crosswalks, etc. The prioritization plan, being prepared by consultants Green International,  is the focus of the forum. Once a prioritization plan is approved by MassDOT, the Town becomes eligible for Tier 3, which is funding to implement the projects in the plan.

A sampling of the projects included in the draft prioritization plan include:

• ·         Sidewalk on east side of North Main Street;
• ·         Tighten curb radii at Coolidge/North Main and Eliot/North Main;
• ·         Repair sidewalk on North Main north of Hunting Lane.;
• ·         Provide ADA-compliant curb ramps with detectable warning panels at crosswalks;
• ·     Improve Bay Circuit Trail trailheads with crosswalk, connecting sidewalk, wayfinding signs, etc.;
• ·         Install speed feedback devices on North Main and Eliot.