Planning Board - Regular Meeting

uh please note that this meeting is being recorded may be broadcast or rebroadcast on Westford cat we have everybody here but we have one uh remote so uh Joanie will be uh here by phone and we will take roll call votes anything for open Forum Mr jitz uh just a couple of quick things uh a couple other public meetings this week uh one is on February 5th from 6:00 to 8 at the Millennium it's a hybrid format as if anybody wants to participate in the facilities assessment uh the town is looking at the next 10 years what are different needs of the different town departments and do our current facilities meet that or we have to look to make some changes uh so again 6 to8 at the Millennium or you're able to participate remotely uh the other one is for the specialized energy code that'll be on Thursday evening at 700 p.m. again at the Millennium or um you can participate remotely let's get more information on the specialized energy code that's likely to be an article on anual town meeting um so here all about it ask questions uh 7 pm on Thursday February 6th thank you yes Mr of course Dave got 377 that specialized energy code when you say Tom this one you will Tomy yeah on March 22nd and they're proposing to incorporate that energy code the specialized energy code again and where would we get more detail on that is that is that zero fossil fuel um so generally speaking it's to impact new construction um so it would be all electric so off the fossil off the Thursday and listen in THS you can register to participate virtually uh so you can just listen in where's the copy of that proposed code going to be is it online yeah right

right on here right on the town website and the previous meeting is is where uh also at the Millennium so they're both at the Millennium just at different dates and times and different address uh well they should both be at the Millennium um for the inperson portion and can I add something to if anyone is interested and cannot make those meetings um the C C is actually briefing this the specialized energy code to the affordable housing trust this Wednesday um at 7 pm is our meeting they're the first on the agenda uh so if you know anyone cannot make those other meetings feel free to to just jump on um the affordable housing trust meeting as a you know Observer and you can just listen in and ask questions if you like Minor Detail both are at 23 Depot J you have anything for open for I no I don't thank you any else question yeah please has this board weigh in on this not yet is it something you openly talk about of the board yet no thank all right uh seeing nothing else for open Forum uh we have a public hearing item a new one PB 2501 Z G amended Zing bylaw section 8.2 uh flood plane overl District uh bylaw can I get a motion to wave the reading so moved second all those in favor Joanie I Bob I Dylan I Darren I I say I uh is there a motion to open the public hearing so moved second all in favor Joanie I Bob I Dylan I Darren I I

that um Joe you want to give us an overview sure um so about every decade or so um FEMA goes and they update their uh firm Maps um and in this case it's the marac Watershed map that's getting updated which includes the town of Westford as well as a number of various towns um it's part of the flood insurance study um that's in your packet that's all the different towns listed here uh we had a preliminary review by Nadia Madden who's the uh let me get her title right flp plane management specialist um through DCR um so she had some relatively minor comments overall um some sections that you know can actually get taken out uh of our most recent update just last year at 2024 annual town meeting to update to the model bylaw language um so starting on page 20 in your packet we uh took her comments and and went through looking to address them um we also Just for information purposes included just the glossery of terms from FEMA to understand what these different zones are um the ones in yellow were highlighted as ones that are in Westford uh the ones in Gray are ones that uh they were suggesting could be removed from our bylaw because they are not applicable uh to to Western now um so that's what those are there um so the biggest change is just getting that uh effective date of when the maps will go live on July 8th 2025 um and then otherwise just kind of going through and doing some cleanup if you will of the different zones um we highlighted one section just as a followup under 8.2.5 um she didn't mentioned Zone a being included here but it was in the preceding paragraph So it seems like it should be there but we just wanted to follow up with her and just based on know this initial opening of the hearing getting questions from the board if you had any as well as the public um just

bringing that to her for final review by DCR prior to closing the hearing um so that's about it we're happy to again take any questions and bring it to them uh to answer before we try to wrap up this public hearing seem straight forward to me Jonie any questions I no questions thank you B uh yes um noticing from the state um information we had three flood zones a AE and x and yet I never saw any mention of X but I saw ah AO and A99 in our district boundaries M so that's my question is is why and what is X yeah yeah it's a it's a fair question we don't have it acknowledged really in anywhere in here not even defined so be a fair question to ask should we include it wasn't in a own but maybe I'm wrong yeah or maybe at least a definition or something just so people are aware the state says our flood zones were a AE and x and I don't know what x is yeah if you look at every town has X yeah yeah at the defition below it's either shaded or unshaded so I still also want to know why we have a seems like it's between 100 and 500 so which would be captured neither one of those um S I would if it's if we're if we're spilling out the zones in our town and we don't have X maybe we just include it and a just yeah it's a fair question and it's a pretty small all change all things considered so we can ask that flood zone X has a moderate flood zone is not flood insurance is not required an X and I should mention this is all to remain as a national flood insurance program Community by having the most recent uh FEMA map reference we get to keep that

status D you have any questions uh no questions no Daren anything else no um I'm assuming those our standard practices will leave this well I'll ask the audience first but leave this open for a second public hearing if anyone has anything anybody for the audience have anything about this all right seeing none I guess we'll continue this to the next hearing if we can answer Bob's question sure make sense probably March 3rd that way we can also draft the report recommendation if you'd like okay that' be great great so motion to continue to March 3rd so moved NOP you got it second second all right uh all those in favor Joie I say I I hi Bob hi Darren hi hi I say hi all right uh moving along first general business item PB 2504 2834 BR Road this is an anr for a lot line adjustment no determination on zoning y so pretty small one 44 square ft um really to go over a a driveway encroachment right here along bom Road between 28 and 34 uh Granton Road that's really the Crux of it there's no additional Lots being created or anything of the sort um it's just to address that item there okay anybody have any questions no no no no all right so can I get a motion to approve the endorse the anr plan for Pb 2504 2834 g Road with no opinion on zoning no move second all in favor Joanie I Bob I Dylan I Darren I and I say I thank you guys okay PB 1617 Defender subdivision 64 Main Street kinlock estate just uh

execution of the form e and endorsement of subdivision plans that's it nsh this was approved uh Years Ago by this board not necessarily all these members we were appealed by a neighbor um defended that successfully that decision was appealed defended that successfully and now it comes time to get this U document signed and moved forward so that's why we're here makees sense I'll go to the board with the questions J you have any questions on this um I just have one question or two questions that kind of related um the the D the the plans sheet three shows the driveway let me just get actually my note up hold on um there's just a disconnect on different um different sheets and I'm just trying to understand uh what's really going on so sheet three um is accessed by a 30 foot right of way and it's 50 foot wide and so is that thir the 30 foot axis I assume is going to be expanded to a 50ft right of way is that correct I can answer that no that is not correct Joanie that that was pre-existing that 30 ft um it was contested by the neighbor it was determined by your Town Council that that was a pre-existing 30 foot right of way and then it and then that uh subdivision or the land after that had a bulb included I think it was a 1968 zoning approval to create a home back there um which gave the house the 50 ft of Frontage at the time through the the paper cuer saac at the time we then expanded from there that was the point of contention with the abutter was whether or not that 30- foot RightWay was deemed uh legal or not it was deemed by your Town Council to be legal and supported by the court system okay thank you so so then it's going to be an 18 foot driveway that

widens out to 20 is that correct correct okay that's it that's my only question okay thank you thanks joonie Bob well the only question I now have is after hearing Mr Guthrie explain this and understand standing the laps in time the statement here from the town clerk Joe I'm not sure it accurately reflects what she's endorsing there was an appeal but it was successfully defended so I think that language needs to be so adjusted I'm looking at that sheet it just says I further certify that 20 days have elapsed after the decision was filed in the office of the town clerk fana Westford and that no appeal has been filed that's not accurate correct yeah so I just want to make sure we sign the right yeah I agree with you because this was reviewed by Jeff and his staff and and town councel and I think the clerk D because we did modify this a couple different times Joe if you remember yeah somehow this one didn't get yeah but you're not wrong so that's on page three just want to make it make it accurate yeah good job Bob we probably want to have something about the date when the court ended because there was that three-year period of activity so this this would indicate that yeah the data they can WR all appeals have been exhausted in as effective you when the last one yeah was decided and then that appeal period ran put we should float that by Town Cil because there might be more to it relative to the fact that this board didn't approve this thing you know it was a different board and that's why I think they wanted wanted to keep this plan as as close to original as voted on y we could always make it subject to Town Council review and approval that signature sorry no it's fine because they were I I I actually think it's there for a reason but we'll get

confirmation on that because I can't answer that I do think it's there this is the standard I know yeah yeah but it went through scrutiny even even we had it came in here for a meeting Jeff and Joe with his notes and we added a title Block in or something to that effect but is there anything the super seeds at in else on the plan up high maybe well it's worth getting a confirmation on your question because it's not it's not really time sensitive so to speak when's your next meeting what's that it's been nine years right yeah um all right what's that one say up top Joe that's all have that would be yeah yeah we'll get a confirmation on that bring it back all right you have anything no just a typo on the Covenant on uh on number number two it says that the unders sign will not sell or convey any lot in the subdivision or erect or place any permanent building on any lot until the construction of way sand installation it should I think it should say construction of ways and installation of Municipal Services yeah it's just a typo Joe y right anything else cat there nope all right well so uh you can vote to approve this subject to the language being changed on the final plan that we sign so moved second all right motion second all those in favor

joony I Rob I Dyan i d i and I say I great thanks thank you okay next we have uh review of the minutes guys thank you uh can I get a motion to approve the minutes some January 6 2025 second motion second any comment no comments no comment all right motion a second all those in favor to approve the Amendments uh Joanie I Bob I Dylan obain Daren I I say I and I don't think there was any correspondence there was not no all right unless there's anything else can uh I make a motion to adjourn second motion a second all those in favor JY hi Bob hi Dyan hi Darren hi can I say hi