Planning Board Meeting Minutes 3/25/21
DRAFT MINUTES
PUBLIC MEETING
Meeting Date: March 25, 2021
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm
Meeting Place: Monterey Town Office (Planning Board Members Only)
Members Remote: Roger Tryon (RT), Laura Mensi (LM), Chip Allen (CA), BJ Johnson (BJ), Tom Sawyer (TS), Nancy Richards Marcus
Attendance Remote: Cate Tower, Rod Stanbrook, David Berto, Uli Nagel, Barney Stein, Caller 02.
Meeting Opened at 7:05
Request to meet with Planning Board:
Berkshire Cohousing LLC, Informational Presentation
Using power point, Sped Director Catherine Tower introduced the founding board members of the Berkshire Cohousing LLC and briefed the Planning Board on their mission. The group has a current purchase and sale agreement for property on Brett Rd. Discussion ensued regarding current bylaws Monterey has for clustered homes, anticipated size of the community, potential vehicle traffic, and ownership. The group was briefed on Monterey’s procedures for applying for a variance for non-conforming use. TS advised the group to look into retaining a land planner. RT commented that the Planning Board’s responsibility to follow the rules of the bylaws. No further discussion.
Monterey Town Bylaws Review Section 5:
Section 5
TS reviewed 5.1.1 and 5.1.2
Non-conforming bylaws. TS to look into the date the section was drafted.
LM reviewed 5.1.3 and 5.1.4
Clarity on two family dwellings.
CA reviewed 5.1.5 and 5.1.6
NM reviewed 5.1.7, 5.1.8, and 5.1.9
Misc.:
Reports from Board Members:
BJ questioned the Status of Hume. TS replied that there is a trial scheduled for the 2nd week of April.- BJ is interested in attending the trial. TS will contact Town Counsel on the requirements for attending.
Laura Mensi to provide comments on Master Plan
LM stated that in 2003 there were 954 residents. In 2018 there were 929 residents. There were common threads of the Plan including low-income housing, economics, preserving agriculture, supporting local businesses were supported, preserving dirt roads, improving emergency services, infrastructure, and concerns about bike trails. LM commented that short of housing, Monterey has been conforming with the vision of the master plan. BJ commented there is currently pressure to pave dirt roads and would like to keep the dirt roads but possibly use better quality of gravel for maintenance.
Review Misc. Correspondence:
TS reviewed a notice from Great Barrington regarding a determination of a variance
TS reviewed a notice from Sandisfield regarding a public hearing for special permit.
TS informed the members of a dock application for review for the next meeting.
TS asked about the outcome of the ZBA review for Fiber Connect. It was unknown.
Approve prior minutes
1.28 approved TS/LM MSV
2.25 approved TS/LM MSV
3.11 approved TS/LM MSV
Date and Time of Next Meeting
April 8, 2021@ 7 PM
Adjournment
8:45 pm TS/BJ MSV