No public hearings took place at the Mattapoisett Planning Board’s meeting on Monday, March 19 – however the board did entertain some informal discussions with members of the community.
The Planning Board’s SRPEDD commissioner, Robert Rogers and Randall Kunz –chairman of the regional planners survey – presented Southeastern Regional Planning and Development District maps outlining potential development sites should a commuter rail system service the New Bedford area.
If there was train service from the southeastern coast to Boston, Mattapoisett could potentially see considerable development in business and real estate. They discussed the plans for the Board’s consideration, but due to considerable budget constraints, it is unlikely that Mattapoisett would see this development in the future.
The Board then spoke with town assessor Don Fleming, who raised the concern over the current system for updating assessors’ maps. According to Fleming, the situation often arises where building plans are submitted to the town, but the assessors aren’t able to update their maps in an adequate timeframe in order to reassess the given properties.
“It just puts us in a bind,” he said. He would like to see a provision written in building regulations that would require applicants to provide a disk with the CAD plans to the assessors so they may quickly and easily update their resources.
Last, the Planning Board heard from several residents of Brandt Island Road, who are being affected by the construction of new dwellings by Brandt Island Homes.
There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding the entire project, according to Mike Bouvier, who acted as the group’s spokesperson. They have spoken with a variety of people involved with the construction and fear they are getting mixed messages, and their specific concerns are varied.
Mark and Angela Guttenberger are worried about encroachment of their property lines. Doreen and Todd Philie have concerns regarding the flooding of their property due to the high grade of the new home being built abutting their home.
“We’re all starting to get conflicting statements regarding what was approved. We’re not getting a good sense of what’s going on,” Bouvier said.
“We just wanted to come here tonight to get a better understanding of the process and what we can do to make sure it’s right,” he said. The Planning Board advised the group of residents to speak with the Mattapoisett Building Department and to read over all of the approved plans for the project, and in the meantime, member Ronald Merlo said he would visit the project area to get a better idea of the concerns of the residents.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board will be on Monday, April 2 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.
By Eric Tripoli
