Peace Abbey Potential Development

The Planning Board has 3 zoning articles on the warrant for the 2013 Annual Town Meeting (which is scheduled for Saturday, May 4 at 10:00 AM at Lindquist Commons). Two of the three articles (along with a non-zoning article) pertain to the potential development at the North Main Street property that was once the home of the Peace Abbey.

One of the articles would rezone all of the subject property from Residential A to EA (one section of it is already EA, which stands for Elderly and Affordable). One of the requirements for rezoning to EA is that there be a Preliminary Development Plan presented to and approved at Town Meeting. A Preliminary Development Plan has not yet been presented. However, the general concept at this point is to construct several new units of age-restricted housing. The former Peace Abbey building may be used for other uses. 

The second related article would allow limited retail, office and assisted living uses in an EA district. This would provide some alternative uses for the existing building while potentially offering services to the residents of the new units as well as Woodhaven and Leland Farms (and others).

The third article, which is not a zoning article, would convey a small amount of Town-owned land from the Woodhaven parcel to the new owner of the Peace Abbey property. The conveyance would be done in accordance with state and local laws which govern such transfers of ownership. The conveyance would provide the opportunity to tie the new development into Village Way and allow the current driveway on North Main Street to be closed. It would also provide land area for a septic system and bring the total land area of the project up to the minimum of 6 acres.

The Planning Board has scheduled a hearing on these articles (and a third article to allow one retail outlet within a Planned Unit Development to include a maximum of 6000 square feet of gross floor area (the current limit is 2500 for all retail outlets) at its meeting of Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

PERMITTING ISSUES IN SHERBORN

The process of obtaining permits for many kinds of work is often discussed in a negative manner. There is a feeling that the process is difficult, inefficient, unfair or worse. Like much conventional wisdom, there is an element of truth to these feelings. However, much is also attributed to misunderstanding, lack of knowledge about the process, and failure on the part of the applicants (or their representatives) to do due diligence in advance to learn about the necessary steps. Sometimes what are described as "town" restrictions are actually state laws that the Town must enforce. In other cases, what is described as flaws in the process are actually not procedural issues but substantive regulations that may prevent a particular project from getting approved.

In an attempt to address these issues, several years ago I prepared a document called the "Permitting Procedures Manual." The manual includes a brief one-page description of the mission and permits issued by each relevant board, commission and department. It also includes a table listing each of the boards, commissions and departments, the permits that they issue and the types of projects that require permits. In addition, there it includes flow charts for the process of building a single family home and for obtaining a site plan approval for a business.

The Permitting Procedures Manual, which is on the main page of the Town web site,  is a good place to start any project as it provides a simple explanation of the permits needed and the steps necessary to at least initiate the project. Most boards and commissions meet twice per month, and some permits require a public hearing that needs to be advertised in the newspaper so that step alone can require 3-4 weeks.  Knowing in advance the permits needed  for any particular project, as well as the meeting schedule of the applicable boards and commissions, can minimize the time needed to obtain the necessary permits. 

Another helpful hint is that Town staff is available to help guide applicants through the permitting process. Most town staff are part-time employees with varying schedules. However, Mondays are the best days to come to the office as the staff for all of the relevant boards, commissions and departments (Building Department, Conservation Commission, Planning Board and Board of Health) are in the office for most of the day. 

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FUNDING

Article 10 on the warrant for the 2012 Annual Town Meeting again requests funding for a stormwater management program.  The purpose of this article is to comply with the required elements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Last year, Town Meeting approved borrowing $400,000 for this program, but it was defeated at Town Election. Since then, we have taken steps to significantly reduce this amount by limiting its provisions to the minimum area of Town (the “urbanized area”) required by federal law. The requested amount now is $160,000.

Also, we have done a significant amount of the required mapping of the drainage systems within the urbanized area in-house. We also plan to continue the in-house mapping and supplement it with the purchase of a GPS unit to allow us to map the drainage system in areas where we do not possess paper maps as well as to help improve the accuracy of the maps. And finally, the Assessor’s Office was able to use a different state program to update the Assessor’s Maps (which was originally part of this program) at no cost to the Town.

The funding will be used for a number of projects. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

•    Mapping -- The existing Town-owned stormwater management system (i.e. catch basins, manholes, culverts, detention basins, leaching galleys, etc.) will be mapped in Geographic Information System format.

•    Inspections -- All elements of the Town system will be inspected to determine its condition and to identify possible illicit discharges.

•    Sampling -- The water discharged from all outfalls will be sampled in both dry and wet conditions. This will help determine where additional treatment or system upgrades are necessary.

•    Pollution Prevention -- A stormwater pollution prevention plan will be prepared for all regulated Town facilities including the Police and Fire Stations, CMD Garage, Town Hall, and Library.

•    Operation and Maintenance -- An operation and maintenance plan for the stormwater system will be developed.

•    Phosphorus Management -- Phosphorus has become a pollutant of increasing concern because it encourages excessive plant growth and results in an imbalance in surface water ecosystems. A plan to address phosphorus discharges will be prepared.

•    Identify Grants -- Grants may be available to help offset the costs of the program and/or to fund improvements to the stormwater management system. Such grants will be identified as part of the program.

·       Public Information – At a minimum, at least two brochures or flyers per year for five years must be prepared and distributed to the public explaining various aspects of the stormwater management program, including what individuals can do to minimize its impacts.

It should be noted that the contracted amount is a maximum and that charges will be billed on a time and materials basis. We will continue to do as much as possible in-house in order to keep these costs to a minimum.

Protection of both surface and groundwater resources is critical to the future of Sherborn, and has therefore always been a high priority. Last year, Town Meeting approved a new stormwater management bylaw. This program is the next step in our ongoing effort to protect these resources.

MORE ENERGY INITIATIVES!

Sherborn is continuing its efforts to pursue energy efficiency as well as renewable and alternative energy. Last year, we participated in a regional solicitation through Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) for an energy services company. The Request for Qualifications resulted in 8 very good proposals. After an intensive evaluation process, the firm of Ameresco, based in Framingham, was selected.

The program consists of two phases. The first phase is to conduct "investment grade audits" of Town buildings. This process involves reviewing energy bills, occupancy patterns and conducting a comprehensive physical examination of Town buildings. The result is a list of recommended physical improvements, including the cost of the improvements and an estimate of the the energy cost savings that will result. As a result of this solicitation, we are able to get the audits done for 4.5 cents per square foot.

The second phase, which is optional, allows us to contract with Ameresco to implement a package of some or all of the recommended improvements. The contract would include a guarantee by Ameresco of a certain level of savings that will result. The cost of the improvements would then be paid for using the resulting savings. The Town can choose to use its normal bonding capacity to finance the improvements, enter into a lease purchase agreement or other mechanism, but whatever is chosen will be backed by the guaranteed savings.Since we have funding from our Green Communities grant, we can fold that funding into the program to enhance the level of capital improvements we can make through this program. Conversely, if we decide not to pursue a contract with Ameresco, we still have the series of improvements that we are funding with our grant.

Another effort, which is actually part of our Green Communities grant, is the installation of a "Big Belly" solar trash compactor. The unit was delivered to the Community Maintenance and Development recently and will shortly be installed near the concession stand at Jameson Fields. In addition to using solar energy to compact the trash, it also can send an automatic email when it is nearing capacity to indicate that it will soon need to be emptied. Thus, the compacting reduces the number of trips needed to empty it and the email notification further ensures that trips are not made needlessly when the unit is not nearly full.

Third, in a program similar to the ESCO solicitation, we have indicated our interest in working with MAPC again on a regional solicitation to develop a solar photovoltaic facility at our landfill site. Joining with other Towns in a regional solicitation is likely to generate more interest and a more beneficial  proposal than going it alone. We also have indicated an interest in a regional solicitation for the purchase of LED street lights, though no decision has yet been made on whether to pursue that.

SHERBORN RECEIVES GREEN COMMUNITIES GRANT

Thanks to the initiative of the Board of Selectmen, the strong support of the Planning Board, and the exceptional hard work of the Energy Committee, Sherborn has been awarded $137,450 from the Massachusetts Green Communities program to implement energy efficiency improvements in Town buildings and vehicles. The improvements will, in turn, save more money for the Town while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

GREEN COMMUNITY GRANT APPROVED!

Sherborn has been awarded a grant in the amount of $137,450 as a direct result of its attainment of status as a designated Green Community. The funds will be used for improvements in lighting, insulation, environmental controls, etc. at Town buildings including Pine Hill School, Town Hall, and the Fire and Police Stations. It also includes funds for anti-idling devices for certain Town vehicles. The great thing is that, in addition to the grant funding these improvements, the improvements themselves will reduce energy use thus resulting in more savings!

In addition to the funds, the Town will also receive road signs indicating its status as a Green Community and a "Big Belly" trash barrel with a solar-powered compactor to reduce the frequency of emptying.

SHERBORN:AT A CROSSROADS - A PLANNING BOARD REPORT ON THE TOWN CENTER

The Planning Board has been spending several months on studying the Town Center and preparing a report on its existing conditions and potential impacts of changes under two different scenarios. The report includes information on the following:

• Previous Town Center Improvement Efforts, including the major zoning changes, proposed road reconstruction plans and previous studies including the 1958, 1975 and 2001 Master Plans, the 1971 Town Center Study, the 1981 Zoning Study Committee report, the 1989 Town Center Master Plan,  the 2001 Livability Charrette, the 2001 General Plan, the 2004 Community Development Plan and the 2007 Final Report of the Town Center Water District Workgroup 

• Documentation of Existing Conditions, including existing lot areas, building space, parking spaces and other information regarding the Primary Commercial Area and other areas within the Town Center 

• Resident Survey and Citizen Input, including the results of a citizens survey conducted in 2008, and input from a set of public forums conducted in June and October of 2008 

• Estimates of Future Development, based on alternative assumptions and visions 

• An Evaluation of the Impacts of Alternatives, including fiscal impacts

The report does not yet include recommendations. The Planning Board has drafted a set of potential recommendations that span a wide range of options. Its plan is to present the report without recommendations in order to receive feedback and input from other boards and commissions as well as the general public before committing to specific recommendations. It is intended to be an inclusive process in an effort to achieve consensus on the actions the Town should pursue.

This report is the first step toward an update of the 2001 General Plan. Following the finalization of the the Town Center report, the Planning Board will begin to update the other elements of the General Plan. The full draft report is available here.