Planning Board
Town of Princeton, MA Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
March 1, 2023
Town Hall Annex and GoToMeeting
Board Members present in-person: Ian Catlow, John Mirick, and Tom Sullivan, and Alternates Corey Burnham-Howard and Lisa Drexhage
Board Members present, remote: Ann Neuburg
Absent: Rud Mason
Public Participation, in person: Larry DeBlois
Public Participation, remote: Phil Gott
Call to order: 7:30 PM
ANR Plan Reviews
There were no ANR plans to review.
Review and approve meeting minutes of January 18, 2023
MOTION to approve minutes
Motion: Ian Catlow; second: Ann Neuburg
Vote: unanimous
Public Hearing on proposed zoning amendments
At 7:35 PM, the Chair started the public hearing on the proposed zoning amendments.
The first proposed amendment was to change references to “Board of Selectmen” in the Zoning By-Laws to “Selectboard” and to change all gender specific references to “Selectmen” to non-gender specific references to “Members of the Selectboard.” The Chair observed that the amendment had been approved at the May 2022 Town Meeting along with an identical amendment to the Town’s general by-laws. However, by statute amendments to zoning by-laws require that the Planning Board first hold a public hearing on proposed amendments. Because the by-law amendment in 2022 had been proposed by the Board of Selectmen, there had been no public hearing by the Planning Board in 2022, the Attorney General disallowed the amendment, requiring a “do over.”
There were no questions or comments on this proposed amendment.
The second proposed amendment was to adopt a new section of the Zoning By-Laws to facilitate and encourage the use of solar energy. The Chair gave a general outline of the provisions, and observed that the current initiative for a “solar farm” on the old Town landfill off of Hubbardston Road was consistent with the provisions for a “large scale solar energy system” in the proposed amendment.
There were comments and questions from Phil Gott and Larry DeBlois about how the proposed amendment would apply if solar energy systems were proposed for multiple buildings on the same parcel, or one building with an otherwise suitable roof surface of more than 1,750 square feet. These possibilities had not come up while the Board was working on the proposed amendment.
The public hearing concluded at approximately 8:00 PM
Discussion of modification to solar energy system by-law amendment
The Board, with participation by Phil Gott and Larry DeBlois, discussed the issues raised during the public hearing. There was consensus that so long as roof-mounted systems were parallel to the plane of the roof, the area of the panels from a land use viewpoint was inconsequential, and the location of panels on multiple buildings, should be allowed. The Board will work on a new draft at the March 15 meeting. The Chair commented that March 1 had been selected for the public hearing because there would be sufficient time for revisions following the public hearing.
High Density Residential Zoning
The Department of Housing and Community Development has not responded to the Town’s plan for compliance. There has been some media coverage about possible litigation (not by DHCD) against several towns, including Holden, which failed to submit plans.
Implementation of Housing Production Plan
The Selectboard has not yet appointed an implementation committee,
Public Hearings on April 5
The Board’s administrative assistant, Kolette Carleton, has scheduled two special permit public hearings for April 5.
The first special permit is for a backlot development on Brooks Station Road. The Zoning By-Laws were amended in 2008 to allow backlot development (Section XV), but the current members of the Board have not reviewed any applications for a special permit under that section. The Chair will put on the agenda for the March 15 meeting a general review of Section XV so that members will be familiar with the provisions before the public hearing.
The second special permit is to relocate an existing accessory apartment from the main residential building into an accessory building. The Zoning By-Laws were amended in 2009 to allow accessory apartments (Section XVII), but the current members of the Board have not reviewed any applications to relocate an existing accessory apartment into an accessory building. The Chair will put on the agenda for the March 15 meeting a general review of Section XVII so that members will be familiar with the provisions before the public hearing.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Board will be Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 7:30 in the Town Hall Annex.
Meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
MOTION to adjourn passed unanimously
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick
Documents reviewed: Draft Minutes for February 15 meeting
Notice of Public Hearing on March 1 with proposed Articles