Planning Board
Town of Princeton, MA Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2024
Town Hall Annex and GoToMeeting
Board Members present in-person: John Mirick, Ian Catlow and Alternate Member Corey Burnham-Howard
Board Members participating remotely: Ann Neuburg and Alternate Member Larry DeBlois
Board Members absent: Tom Sullivan (Rud Mason resigned in November)
Other Participation, in person: Roger Brooks, Richard Chase, Sue Connell, Sean McKeon, Ty Monroe, Jen Shenk, Lilian Regia, Ademilson Pedro da Cruz, and Geoff Yaglou
Other Participation, remote: additional people listened but did not participate in discussions
Call to order: 7:30 PM
There were no ANR Applications
Informal Discussion of Site Plan for PMLD battery storage at 168 Worcester Road
Sean McKeon described PMLD’s proposal to locate a battery storage system towards the back of the PMLD site at 168 Worcester Road. The system will allow storage of electricity during off peak hours and reduce the costs of PMLD. The system will be owned and installed by an outside company at no initial cost to PMLD. Compensation to the outside company will be a portion of PMLD’s savings. Regular payments will be made into a decommissioning fund. The installation and operation of the system will use the existing access. The system will be fenced and screened. During construction, some trees will probably need to be removed. Cooling fans will make some noise, but probably not to the level of creating problems for neighbors. Sean answered questions from the Board. A formal application will be filed and scheduled for a site plan review at a public meeting.
Informal Discussion of Possible Subdivision on Old Mill Road
Roger Brooks presented a tentative conceptual plan for the subdivision of a 44 acre lot at the corner of Ball Hill Road and Old Mill Road. With three lots on a cul-de-sac, the project would have a total of 11 lots. The backland is primarily wetlands on the Quinapoxet Reservoir watershed. Roger proposes gifting the backland to the Town, which could then swap the gifted land to the DCR in exchange for the old gravel pit adjacent to the old Town landfill on
Hubbardston Road. The Hubbardston Road land would then be used for a solar farm. Richard Chase, chair of the Solar Farm Working Group, indicted that DCR appeared to be interested in such a swap, which ultimately would require action by the Legislature.
Roger has had some discussions with the City of Worcester about the possible sale of a portion of the 44 acres for watershed protection. The City apparently requires approved plans as a condition of valuation, and otherwise apparently values parcels as raw land.
Roger answered questions from the Board about the tentative conceptual plan. Section XIV – Open Space Residential Design – applies to any subdivision resulting in five or more residential lots. While an OSRD plan has advantages such as the use of common driveways, it seems likely that an OSRD plan would allow only 10 lots, rather than 11. Roger will discuss the OSRD provisions with his team and will probably be back to the Board for a further informal discussion.
Informal Discussion of Accessory Apartment at 216 Worcester Road
Lilian Regia (realtor) and Ademilson Pedro da Cruz (owner) presented a conceptual plan for an accessory apartment in the basement of 216 Worcester Road. This is a two story house with a walk-out basement. The applicants responded to questions from the Board. The basement will probably have two bedrooms. The Board pointed out that the applicants will need to work with the Board of Health on any septic issues as well as applying for a special permit for an accessory apartment. The Board also reminded the applicants that they need to submit a plan showing location of the building on the parcel and the location of the driveway and parking areas. A formal application will be filed and scheduled for a public hearing.
Multi-family Provisions
The Board reviewed revised rough drafts of possible amendments that had been prepared to help focus discussion. Two members of the Housing Implementation Committee participated in the discussion. There was consensus that any expansion of multi-family provisions in Section III.1(B), limited at present to buildings that pre-dated the adoption of zoning in 1957, should require a special permit and site plan approval. There was concern that extending the provisions to existing buildings constructed after 1957, or to new construction, could have an adverse impact on schools and public safety, and the character of the Town. Overlay districts could limit the potential impact.
The revised rough draft for a possible amendment to the Village Overlay District (Section XIX) suggested a limit of 3 residential units per building and flagged for discussion a possible limit on the size of buildings, but those issues need further discussion.
The revised rough draft for a possible amendment to the Open Space Residential Design (Section XIV) suggested multi-unit dwellings could be constructed with up to three units. There was a general sense that those units could be separately owned as condominiums, rather than the model in Section III.1(B) with the single owner of the building occupying one of the units.
The Housing Implementation Committee is presently investigating parcels in Town that might be sites for Open Space Rural Development projects under the existing Zoning By-Law provisions. An OSRD project could be more financially feasible with multi-family units.
An accessory apartment, limited to two bedrooms, is allowed in separate building, provided that the separate building is clearly subordinate to the single family dwelling. If Section III.1(B) is amended, the Board expressed concern that separate buildings constructed to add the additional unit(s), would destroy the single family appearance.
The Board did not reach any firm conclusions other than requiring a special permit and site plan review for any multi-family projects. These topics will be revisited at future meetings.
Short Term Rentals
The Board reviewed revised rough drafts of possible amendments to the home occupation sections that had been prepared to help focus discussion. The revisions included a statement of purpose, and definitions. Section III.1. (G)(b) and Section XVIII.1. (B) currently allow by special permit the operation of a bed and breakfast of up to three units. This could be expanded to allow by special permit short term rentals such as Airbnb, and boarders.
The Board discussed briefly whether any such amendments should include reference to various state law and regulatory provisions. There was consensus that these issues could be handled by language in special permits stating that the special permit allows the use, and the applicant has the responsibility for compliance with all applicable laws, codes, and regulations. It might be useful to prepare an information sheet, such as the information sheet on bed and breakfasts.
The Board did not reach any firm conclusions. These topics will be revisited at future meetings.
Informal Discussion of Cornerstone Ranch B&B – 29 Dowds Lane
Susan Connell described her concept for offering bed and breakfast accommodations as part of the operation of Cornerstone Ranch. She expects that riders would stay one or two nights. There is already ample access and parking. She needs to have a plot plan with the application showing access and parking, which could just be sketched on a copy of the ANR plan approved in May 2023. She already offers some food and refreshments. The Board suggested that she review building plans with the building inspector and check with the Board of Health to see if she needs any additional licenses to serve breakfast. A formal application will be filed and scheduled for a public hearing.
Informal Discussion of Accessory Apartment at 112 Brooks Station Road
Ty Monroe described his concept for an accessory apartment at 112 Brooks Station Road. He is planning to build a garage, with the accessory apartment on the second floor, over the parking bays. There will be an interior staircase and an exterior staircase. The Board asked whether the exterior staircase could be located at the rear of the garage so that it would not be visible from the street. The Board also suggested that he check with the building inspector because in the proposed plan both the interior and exterior staircases accessed the proposed apartment at the same location. He is planning a parking area off of the driveway. He will need a plot plan or sketch showing location of the proposed garage, the property lines, the driveway, and the parking area. He expects that the existing well will supply water for the apartment, and that it will have independent heating. A formal application will be filed and scheduled for a public hearing.
Other Agenda Items
Because of the hour, the Board did not get to the remaining items on the agenda.
Review and Approve meeting minutes of April 3, 2024
MOTION to approve minutes.
Motion: Corey Burnham-Howard; second: Larry DeBlois
Vote: unanimous
Meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
John Mirick
Documents reviewed: Rough draft conceptual amendments for multi-family housing.
Rough draft conceptual amendments for short term rentals
Draft minutes for 4/3/24