The Marion Planning Board was finally able to put a bonnet on the lengthy list of changes in town bylaws that will be brought before voters at the May 8 Annual Town Meeting.
The board, made up of Chairman Norm Hills, Eileen Marum, Andrew Daniel, Jon Henry, Alanna Nelson, Chris Collings and Tucker Burr, was present for Monday night’s public meeting, except for Daniel, who would later rush into the Police Station only to learn that adjournment had just taken place.
Daniel had just come from an emergency situation in his job as facilities manager for the Town of Rochester, where the police station was dealing with a sewage breach in the basement of its Dexter Lane headquarters.
The uncharacteristically brief meeting and early adjournment was clearly frustrating for Daniel, who wanted to be present to help bring to conclusion an arduous, two-year process that Hills had engaged with the Bylaw Codification (sub)Committee.
Daniel, whose concerns with details, in particular bylaws, played a role in extending the Planning Board’s discussion this far into the calendar year, were last focused on narrowing down the authority by which a town representative would be authorized to pull private or commercial signage off of public property, including the 10-foot setback from any public road onto residential property where construction companies typically place signs advertising their businesses.
After a compromise achieved by the board during its February 21 meeting, it was agreed that Bylaw 230-6.2A(4) would finally read: “No private/commercial signs are allowed on public property, with the single exception of polling locations (with 150-foot setback) on election days. Any private/commercial sign placed on public property may be removed by Town DPW employees without further notice.”
Two other sign-related bylaws follow: 230-6.2B addressing various types of signs in residential districts not exceeding 3 square feet, not to be attached to utility poles of vegetation, nor attached to a vehicle primarily used as a sign, and 230-6.2D(4) addressing temporary banners or signs (15-day maximum requiring approval of the Town Administrator.)
The three sign-related bylaw changes were only the finishing touch to many that Hills, in concert with the Codification Committee, had erased, rewritten, tweaked or otherwise updated before bringing to the Planning Board for recommendation to town voters.
Other bylaw changes in Monday night’s packet were given a final look by the board.
The unusually brief agenda also addressed Marion’s Open Space Recreational Plan (MOSRP), and Marion residents Deborah Houck and Kitty DeGroot attended the meeting to air concerns with regard to how the plan will affect Converse Road.
“You’ve brought up a good consideration and we’ll fix it. There are 16 other things I’ve got to deal with,” said Hills, noting 18 written comments he will need to address. “They will be adjudicated with reasons provided. … We’re at the very end of the process, we’ve been working on this for two years.”
Board member Chris Collings asked if public comments made in response to the MOSRP can be published on the town’s website. Hills said they can but noted that the last open-space plan was enacted in 2005. “That’s a long time ago. That’s why we’re trying to get this done,” he said, reminding the members and attendees that all of the meetings it took to form the plan have been open to the public and advertised. Board member Alanna Nelson was pleased to note that there have been 230 responses to the survey conducted on the MOSRP.
Under Old Business, Hills told the members that he is still waiting for written comments from some on the Village Style Smart Growth District (VSSGD) proposal.
Citing impending residential developments at the Wareham end of Route 6 in Marion, Collings said, “When we think about master planning and town planning, we should be on that and make sure everything (including Route 6 utility poles) gets moved back and their expense.”
Based on a related discussion, Hills believes that the renovation of the bridge over the Weweantic River, originally planned for 2023, is now two years away and at the present time without a sewer-line connection. (The cost of regionalizing town sewer by connecting into Wareham’s system has been recently examined as part of ongoing consultation with Kent Nichols Jr. of Weston & Sampson, Inc., as Marion looks to achieve a 20-year, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan.)
Nelson reminded the members that a dozen projects will be finally vetted on Friday, March 10, at the Community Preservation Committee’s 5:00 pm public Zoom meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, March 20, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station and live via Zoom.
Marion Planning Board
By Mick Colageo