The public will be able to comment at the Sept. 24 Planning Board meeting on proposed changes to town ordinances that would allow food trucks, protect wetlands and change minimum parking requirements.
The public hearings, originally scheduled for Sept. 10, were delayed two weeks due to the Labor Day holiday and to allow the full 14 business days of notice.
The Planning Board on Sept. 10 discussed three ordinance changes and a proposed new ordinance. Director of Planning and Economic Development DeCarlo Brown said he hoped the public would give feedback on the four proposals at the public hearings to be held at 6 p.m.
Wetlands protection in town is now restricted to resource protection zones around some ponds, rivers and brooks identified in the Comprehensive Plan as significant by the town and state. The new ordinance would protect other wetlands such as swamps, marshes and bogs.
Two other proposed changes to the ordinance would help create a pipeline for small business expansion, according to Brown. One ordinance will allow food trucks downtown and outdoor food and merchandise sales.
Another would allow the Planning Board to waive minor site plan reviews when a non-residential change of use of a building in the downtown business areas won’t result in a more intensive use, such as a former restaurant space being turned into an office.
The town’s parking ordinance will be changed to follow a new state law that prohibits the town from requiring more than one parking space per new dwelling unit. The ordinance now requires 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit. The state law is meant to encourage housing development.
The Planning Board hopes to institute a prohibition against additional drive-thru businesses in the B1 and B2 downtown areas, with Brown and board members identifying traffic problems associated with the three drive-thrus now in town.
In response to a question from Brad Christo of Old Fields Road about why a letter he submitted to the board wasn’t included in an online packet, board Chair Hershey Hirschkop explained that letters to the Planning Board are entered into the public record on file at Town Hall, but are made public only if the sender requests it.
This is different from the practice of the Town Council, which puts letters into agenda packets that are automatically available to the public. The Planning Board agreed to make this distinction clearer on their agendas.
Hirschkop said she also wants to improve communication between the Town Council and the Planning Board so meetings and discussions about overlapping issues will be less fractured board to board. Zoning changes require approval by the Town Council and ideally, said Hirschkop, gain the support of the public.
Brown suggested the Town Council and Planning Board meet a couple of times a year and that the chairs of the two committees communicate routinely to improve efficiency and reduce work for the town staff.
