Planning Board
Town of Princeton, MA Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
March 20, 2024
Town Hall Annex and GoToMeeting
Board Members present in-person: John Mirick, Ian Catlow, Ann Neuburg and Tom Sullivan, and Alternate Member Corey Burnham-Howard
Board Members absent: (Rud Mason resigned in November) and Alternate Member Larry DeBlois
Other Participation, in person: John Flick, Jean Green, and Phil Gott
Other Participation, remote: Deb Cary and Brian Keevan
Call to order: 7:30 PM
Special Permit for Accessory Apartment and Site Plan Review 52 Calamint Hill Road North
The Board reviewed and approved the draft decision.
MOTION to approve the special permit and site plan review decision.
Motion: Tom Sullivan; second: Corey Burnham-Howard
Vote: unanimous
ANR Application for 175 Brooks Station Road
John Flick presented an ANR plan for the Backlot Development at 175 Brooks Station Road. The plan was consistent with the special permit dated July 20, 2023 and recorded in Book 69658 page 288. The Chair observed that there were requirements in the Special Permit that had to be satisfied before any construction could begin. Attorney Flick agreed with that observation.
MOTION to give ANR endorsement to the plan.
Motion: Ann Neuburg; second: Ian Catlow
Vote: unanimous (Tom Sullivan abstained)
The plan did not have a signature block. The $400 fee had not been paid. Attorney Flick will arrange for payment and for production of a plan with a signature block at the April 3 meeting of the Board. His actual presence on April 3 will not be necessary.
Request to Amend Special Permit for Backlot Development at 175 Brooks Station Road
Attorney Flick requested an amendment to the Special Permit. The Applicant was unable to find a third-party land trust to hold the Conservation Restriction on the front land and requested that the Board amend the Special Permit to provide that the front land would be deeded to the Town of Princeton acting by and through its Conservation Commission. The Special Permit provided that the Applicant could return to the Board for such an amendment. Town Counsel has listed conditions in connection with such an amendment that the Applicant has agreed to satisfy. At the request of its lender, the Applicant also requested that the Special Permit be amended to recite that the frontage requirements have been satisfied to remove any doubts in subsequent conveyances of the two houses. The Board discussed the requests and agreed that these were administrative amendments that did not require a new public hearing. As with the ANR plan, the Chair observed that there were requirements in the Special Permit that had to be satisfied before any construction could begin. Attorney Flick agreed with that observation.
MOTION to approve amendment to Special Permit
Motion: Ian Catlow; second: Ann Neuburg
Vote: unanimous (Tom Sullivan abstained)
The Chair will draft findings and a decision for review at the next meeting.
Multi-family Provisions in Residential-Agricultural Districts
Deb Cary and Ann Neuburg, representatives of the Housing Implementation Committee, discussed with the Board existing provisions in the Zoning By-Laws for multi-family housing in Residential-Agricultural districts. These include converting houses constructed before the adoption of zoning into residences for 2 families (on 3 acres) or 3 families (on 5 acres), and accessory apartments with one bedroom, either in an existing residence or in new construction. Both approaches require a special permit and site plan review.
An amendment to allow new construction of two or three family houses on 3 acre and 5 acre lots was discussed, possibly in limited areas in Town rather than generally. The Board had discussed such an approach several years ago at the request of the Housing Production Committee but took no action at that time. John will locate and update those materials and circulate them for the next meeting.
The Housing Implementation Committee has also been talking to developers to see if there is interest in a friendly 40B development.
The Board did not reach any conclusions. This topic will be revisited at future meetings.
Short Term Rentals
John provided some materials on short term rentals, including the possibility of amending “home occupations” (1) to specifically include AirBnB and similar rentals in the definition of “Bed and Breakfast,” (2) to include short term rentals (31 days or less), and (3) to include renting a room to a long term border. These would all require a special permit and site plan review.
It was the sense of the Board that any short term rental provision should be limited, perhaps to no more than 60 days a year. Currently, any special permit for a bed and breakfast home occupation is personal to the current owner which means that such use of the property will be revisited if a new owner wants to continue that use. The usual site plan review contains conditions and provides that the conditions can be revised.
The request to consider short term rentals came from the Ecotourism Committee as a possible source of revenue for the Town through a hotel tax. It was the sense of the Board that the amount of revenue would be modest at best.
The Board did not reach any conclusions. This topic will be revisited at future meetings.
High Density Zoning
John has not heard anything further from CMRPC on a meeting with DHCD on the proposed by-law that we submitted a year ago. He circulated an email exchange with the Mass Housing Partnership. Deb Cary volunteered to communicate with Secretary Ed Augustus.
Discussion of Provisions for Unregistered and Junk Vehicles
The Selectboard asked the Planning Board to review the provisions in the Zoning By-Laws for unregistered and junk vehicles. Currently, a resident may park or store outside an unregistered vehicle for not more than 6 consecutive months, and a junk vehicle for not more than 30 consecutive days. There are practical challenges to enforcement.
The Board, with participation from Phil Gott, discussed (1) allowing unlimited outdoor storage or parking if vehicles were not visible from the street or neighboring properties, (2) limiting outdoor storage/parking to a single vehicle, or possibly more with a permit for good cause and for a specific duration, and (3) approaches to documenting the presence of stored or parked vehicles over time, such as dated cellphone pictures by neighbors or patrolling policemen. It was the sense of the Board that there could be good reasons for a resident to store or park an unregistered vehicle, and that any revision needed careful consideration. To help focus the discussion, John will draft some language for consideration at the next meeting.
The Board did not reach any conclusions. This topic will be revisited at future meetings.
Discussion of Standards for Common Driveways
Ian provided some edits and comments to the materials that Corey had developed earlier in the year. Some of the materials go more towards what information should be included in an application than design standards. To help focus discussion, John will draft some language for consideration at the next meeting.
The Board did not reach any conclusions. This topic will be revisited at future meetings.
Possible Flood Plain By-Law
John reported that he had not heard anything further from FEMA or the DCR.
Discussion of New Alternate Members
Both Corey and Larry are running for election as Members. They are unopposed. John urged Board members to think about possible new alternate members. Appointment is by the Selectboard, on the recommendation of the Planning Board.
Review and Approve meeting minutes of March 7, 2024
MOTION to approve minutes.
Motion: Ann Neuburg; second: Corey Burnham-Howard
Vote: unanimous
Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick
Documents reviewed: Draft Special Permit and Site Plan Review Decision for Accessory Apartment at 52 Calamint Hill North
Materials on unregistered and junk vehicles
Materials on 2 and 3 family houses on large lots
Materials on Common Driveways
Materials on High Density Zoning
Materials on short term rentals
Draft minutes for 3/7/24