Fees For Legal Ads May Increase For Planning Board Hearings

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Planning Board, April 6, 2022

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. The packet can be viewed here. 

Present:
Doug Marshall (Chair), Maria Chao, Jack Jemsek, Thom Long, Janet McGowan, and Johanna Neumann. Andrew MacDougall arrived at 9 p.m.

Staff: Chris Brestrup (Planning Director), Nate Malloy (Senior Planner), and Pam Field Sadler (Assistant)

12 members of the public were in attendance.

Fees For Legal Ads May Increase
The Planning Department is required to put notification of all public hearings in the Daily Hampshire Gazette two weeks prior to the hearing. The ads must run twice. The department charges the applicant $75 per ad, but they cost considerably more than that, often up to $1,000. Planning Director Chris Brestrup said the average cost is about $400 to $500. Over the past year, the department has exceeded its budget for ads, although this might be partly due to the large number of proposed zoning amendments, which also require public hearings.

Brestrup said that the Conservation Commission gets an estimate of the cost of ads for its public hearings and then bills the applicant. She suggested that the Planning Department raise its fee to $200 or even require the applicant to cover the entire fee.

Thom Long worried about overburdening small companies with too steep a fee. Maria Chao thought developing a sliding scale based on the square footage of the project would be more apt, and Doug Marshall suggested a fee based on the cost of the project. Marshall also wondered if advertising in the Republican would be less expensive than the Gazette, but Senior Planner Nate Malloy said that the Gazette is more appropriate because it is more widely read in Amherst. He also said that because much of each ad  is legal boilerplate, it is not usually possible to shorten them.. He did say that other towns are talking about eliminating the requirement for print notification of hearings. 

Brestrup said she would continue to gather more information about the costs of the ads and the possibility of decreasing the need for print ads for hearings.

Hearing On Definitive Subdivision Plan for 446-462 Main Street
On January 5, 2022, developer John Wrobeleski filed a preliminary subdivision plan for his property on 446 to 462 Main Street in order to freeze the zoning so he would not have to meet the requirement for a minimum of 30% nonresidential space on the ground floor stipulated in the new mixed-use building bylaw. The property contains a fully occupied 24-unit mixed-use building constructed in 2020 and a house that was built in 1860 and has several offices and one apartment. A third structure was deemed too damaged to repair and has been demolished. Wrobeleski is now filing a definitive subdivision plan.

The subdivision plan, which attorney Tom Reidy of Bacon, Wilson law firm, says Wrobeleski has no intention of actually developing, contains a circular road and three building lots. To create the subdivision, the 2020 building would need to be demolished. State law requires Wrobeleski to present the plans to the Board of Health, which he is scheduled to do on April 21. The Planning Board has 90 days to approve the plan but, after approval, endorsement by the board is necessary to complete the process. If the plan is endorsed, Wrobeleski will not need to conform to the new mixed-use bylaw for any project constructed at the site in the next eight years. He does intend to comply with the inclusionary zoning bylaw that requires 12% of any new units to be affordable.

Reidy requested a waiver from having to obtain a performance guarantee or surety bond until a building permit is requested, since the plan is not to create the subdivision but rather only to freeze the zoning for any project Wrobeleski proposes for the site. Any new plans for the site would need to go through the usual Site Plan Review by the Planning Board. Reidy felt the surety bond is not necessary at this time and that a covenant (lien) attached to the property could negatively impact Wrobeleski’s ability to borrow for further development of the site. He also wanted to defer the inspection fee until actual plans for construction are developed. Reidy will confer with the town attorney who had recommended the performance bond.

The Planning Board will discuss the plan again on May 4. It was recommended that all conditions necessary for endorsement of the plan be satisfied over the next 6 to 12 months.

Redesign Of Entrance To 19 Research Drive Approved
Developer Ron LaVerdiere, owner of the Hart & Patterson building at 19 Research Drive, presented plans to divide the building into six office suites and add a second entrance with a walkway and covered portico. The insurance company has occupied 90% of the building, but no longer needs so much space. Aside from needing to move one shrub, no other external changes are planned.

Also, because the zoning for the professional research park has changed since the building was permitted in 2002, LaVerdiere asked that one of the conditions, that there be only one client visit per day [SPR 2002-00001: The project shall be limited to the tenant generating no more than one visitor trip per day per 2,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area. Visitor trip being defined as providing services to the public in person on the premises] be replaced with the wording in the current zoning bylaw, allowing “a reasonable number of visits by appointment.”

Neighbors George and Gigi Barnhill were worried that the trees between the research park and their home would be trimmed, reducing the buffering effect. They were informed that no trees were to be trimmed in this plan.

Because of the minimal change, the board did not require a landscape plan, a lighting plan, an erosion plan, or a traffic impact statement. However, a survey of the site was done. The Planning Board approved the project by a 6-0 vote with the condition that the new entrance be handicapped accessible and that the new sign on the property not be lighted.

Changes To Wagner Farm Store Plan Approved
Wagner Farm on North East Street received approval to remodel the front part of a barn into a farm store at the January 19, 2022 Planning Board meeting. At the time, board members voiced concerns about the location of  the handicapped parking spaces that were across the driveway from the entrance. In response, the owners added a third handicapped parking space near the front door. They also requested a change in the management plan to allow them to stay open until 8 p.m. seven days a week. These changes were approved by a 6-0 vote.

Amherst College Plans Accessible Ramp To Service Building
Seth Wilschutz of Amherst College presented a plan to add an accessible ramp to the building at 6 East Drive that serves as the campus police station. The building is in the Educational District, so is not subject to Planning Board approval, but the zoning bylaw requires that the college present its plans to the board before construction.

The plan involves removing the staircase inside the entrance and raising the door. There will be stairs and a sloped ramp outside to the entrance. The slope on the lower part of the ramp is less than five percent, so a handrail is not required for that section. Board member Janet McGowan wondered about the safety of not having a handrail, but Wilschutz said that the ramp would be less sloped than many of the sidewalks on campus, and the college wished to maintain the exterior appearance of the building as much as possible. 

Need For Planning Board Member For The Solar Bylaw Working Group 
The seven-member Solar Bylaw Working Group needs a member from the Planning Board to serve on the committee. The working group will be chosen by the Town Manager and approved by the Town Council. In addition to the Planning Board member, it will consist of representatives from the Energy and Climate Action Committee, Conservation Committee, Water Resources Protection Committee, and Board of Health, along with two members of the public. Sustainability Coordinator Stephanie Ciccarello and Brestrup will be the staff liaisons. Brestrup suggested that those board members interested should email her, and the board will discuss the topic at its next meeting.

Board members Jack Jemsek and Maria Chao have served on the Planning Board for six years. Chao has expressed that she does not want to continue on the board after her term ends on June 30, but has encouraged an architect she knows to apply. Jemsek was unsure if he wants to remain on the board but said he has not ruled  out the possibility that he will apply again. 

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. The board will meet again on April 20.