Town of Aquinnah

Aquinnah Planning Board Plan Review Committee Meeting February 19th, 2019
Members Present: Peter Temple, Chairman, Sarah Thulin, Berta Welch, Jim Mahoney, Jo Ann Eccher, Isaac Taylor
Not Present: Jim Wallen, Jim Newman
Also Present: Tom Murphy, Allen Rugg
Meeting opened at 6:40pm
The Committee reviewed the 12/11/18 minutes. Sarah motioned to approve the 12/11 minutes as presented and amended. Motion was seconded by Berta. The PBPRC voted 4-0, the motion passed. Jim M arrived.
The Committee discussed the ethics commission test and Committee member recusal. The Com-mittee requested that Sophia read the guidelines of the Ethics Commission and, if needed, con-tact the Ethics Commission to get information on the following: proper procedure for a Commit-tee member recusal and circumstances for leaving the room, participation of a Committee member in a meeting where they are recused as an abutter with no financial interest, and if there is in fact a financial interest as an abutter. The Committee requested that Sophia send the ethics test link again.
Peter informed the Committee that he had spoken with Sibel, Town Treasurer and HR Adminis-trator, regarding the shifting of the assistant position to an administrator position. The PB still has money available. The only question is how many hours the job shift will require. Peter will be meeting with the Finance Committee to discuss the PBPRC budget. Jo Ann arrived. Peter will continue talking with Sibel and Sophia about the shifting of the position. There was brief discus-sion on the changes that the PBPRC will be making: Peter is stepping down from the Committee, creation of a Zoning Administrator, and changing the assistant to administrator to take on more responsibilities.
Isaac briefly discussed town planning and future energy goals. He noted that the Acadia Center is a great resource for the town. The Center has broken down the priorities for town planning in energy use, energy storage, carbon emissions, transportation. Isaac felt that as the Planning Board, this is a great resource to use to get a hold on what changes the town needs to make for the future. Peter noted that this also brings up the need for a town planner. Jim M noted that building code has been changing drastically due to energy efficiency regulations.
The Committee reviewed the proposed bylaw changes. They made the following comments and changes:
- Roof mounted solar panels as of right and changing ground mounted solar panels and generators from special permits to zoning determinations but still requiring notice to abutters. This will allow for a quicker process but still covers concerns of abutters.
- Zoning Determinations and Zoning Administrator:
• Amending section 13.14-1A by changing the regulation for approving zoning determina-tions “unanimously” to “super majority” (5 out of 7 members).
• Increasing the permissible zoning determination footprint in section 13.14-1B from 150sf to 170sf.
• There was brief discussion concerning definition of a “qualified archeological observer”. With no definition in the bylaw, the Committee agreed to add this to the list of future bylaw amendments and additions.
• Amending section 13.14-2A to read “… may appoint a zoning administrator to serve at its pleasure, subject to confirmation by the Board of Selectmen”. Delete the word “to” in “… and delegate powers and duties in the above manner, to an Alternate Zoning Administrator”. Deleting the last three lines of the section for the last sentence to end after the language “practices and previous decisions”.
• Delete section 13.14-2B-2.
• Change “150 square feet” to “170 square feet” in section 13.14-2C-2-D.
• In section 13.14-2C-3 add “to be” in “Zoning Determinations to be made by the …”.
• In section 13.14-2C-7 amend language to read “they should not act on any project they are not extremely sure they know how the bylaws would be applied by the PBPRC”.
• Appeal period to be reviewed by Town Counsel. The Committee was unsure if appeal peri-ods are required for zoning determinations (section 13.14-2D).
• The Committee discussed adding a fee for zoning determinations given that the scope of zoning determinations and what is permitted will increase. The Committee decided to amend section 13.14-1A by removing the language “there shall be no fee” and will create a fee schedule in the future.
• Sophia requested that the requirement of website positing for zoning determinations meet-ings be removed because the Town has not voted to use the website as an official posting place. The Committee requested she remove the requirement of posting meetings on the website from the bylaw.
- Definition of Highly Visible Area in section 7.1: Change the language to read “… the beauty of the natural landscape … or otherwise eliminate or minimize its visual prominence in the natural view”. There was discussion concerning public views from the waters within the definition. The Committee noted that this was a key factor in the development of the DCPC and agreed that they are trying to preserve natural beauty/landscapes from the ponds and water, but it does not restrict buildings, rather it allows the PBPRC to minimize building visual impact.
- The Committee added green living roofs to allowable roofing materials in the Moshup Trail DCPC (section 11.3-1).
- The Committee requested that a map be made for the Marine Commercial District showing the defined area. Peter will confirm that excluding this area from the Coastal District will allow buildings in this area to not have to be built on pillars.
- Green Community Bylaws: Peter noted there are still issues to research on this bylaw such as the addition of site plan review where currently, the PBPRC does not do site plan review.

The Committee discussed the upcoming MVC and MV Joint Transportation Committee Bicy-cling and Pedestrian Planning meeting. The Committee requested that Sophia send the notice to Tom Murphy to see if he is interested in serving on the Committee.
With no other business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Sophia Welch
Board Administrative Assistant