 This program is brought to you by Cable Franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you Based on Governor Baker's executive order suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law GL chapter 30a Section 20 and signed Thursday March 12th, 2020 this planning board meeting is being held virtually using the zoom platform My name is Christine Grammullen and as chair of the Amherst planning board. I am calling this meeting to order at 6 31 p.m. This meeting is being recorded and is available live stream via Amherst media Minutes are being taken as normal. I will now take a roll call board members as you hear your name called Unmute yourself answer affirmatively and then please place yourself back on hold Michael Burt whistle. We're here Maria. Ciao here Jack gem sick here David Levenstein here Doug Marshall present Janet McGowan here Board members of technical difficulties arise We may need to pause temporarily to rectify the problem and then continue the meeting if you do have technical issues Please let it or Pam know Discussion may be suspended while the technical issues are addressed and the minutes will note if a disconnection has occurred Please use the raised hand function to ask a question or make a comment You I will see the raised hand and call upon you to speak after speaking. Please remember to Remute yourself Opportunity for public comment will be provided during the general public comment period and at other appropriate times throughout the meeting Please be aware the board will not respond to comments during the general public comment period If you wish to make a comment during the one of the public comment periods You must join the meeting via the zoom teleconferencing link This link is shown on the slide. It will be on the agenda and can be entered into the search engine by typing HTTPS colon backslash backslash Amherst mass dot zoom dot us backslash j backslash nine five one six two one seven three three two nine The link can also be found On two different places on the town one website One way is through the calendar listing for this meeting from the home page and then find the link with the event details a second way is to go to the planning board web page and click on the most recent agenda link on The agenda there is a link towards the top of the page where it states virtual meeting Please indicate you wish to make a comment by clicking the raise hand button when public comment is solicited If you have joined the zoom meeting using a telephone Please indicate you wish to make a comment by pressing star nine on your telephone When called upon please identify yourself by stating your full name and address and put yourself back into mute when finished speaking Residents are welcome to express their views for up to three minutes and at the discretion of the planning board chair If these guidelines are not complied with or the speaker exceeds there a lot of time their participation will be disconnected from the meeting Included on tonight's agenda item three is the joint public hearing with the community resources committee of the town council or known as CRC The board and the CRC will discuss and hear public comment regarding the proposed zoning bylaw article 14 Temporary zoning regarding permitting for certain uses during the COVID-19 emergency in its aftermath This item is expected to begin at approximately 645 Moving onward the slide will now show the meeting agenda again note the virtual meeting zoom link at the top So item one minutes we I believe we have no minutes virtually and so we're going to skip over that item two is the public comment period And this is a time the public can comment on something that is not on our agenda and that we'll be talking about tonight where they'll have a chance to speak later So Pam do you see any clicking away here is there any attendees that would like to speak at this time I see no I see no I don't see any raised hands and no telephone and no telephone numbers No So tonight is planning board chair I am taking the liberty to move to item six form a and our subdivision applications attorney Tom Reedy is here tonight to answer questions regarding and our 2020-18 For prop for a property on the east side of Sunderland road Welcome Mr. Reedy Can we have and Miss best trip is there any Would you I know this is a carryover from our last meeting I think it would be a good idea if Mr. Reedy presented this and are it's a little bit Complicated slightly complicated so he would be best to present it We have some stuff was in our packet And there's some additional slides maps that will be shown welcome Mr. Reedy are you there I'm here And there you are Thank you for joining us Hey everybody Good to see everyone for the record Tom Reedy attorney with Bacon Wilson here in Amherst here on behalf of Sunderland road north And so what we're dealing with Pam if you want to maybe skip down to the next once you go to the next slide before the aerial This one sure that's fine Maybe actually that's good so just to orient everyone the yellow highlighted piece of land is the subject parcel that we've got a smaller parcel coming out of It's about a 40 acre piece altogether and it abuts the podic substation and so if you want to go to the next aerial Pam there you go So that's the substation western mass electric ever source owns it they own that one in the one immediately to the north of it their substation Exists on that land that's entirely fenced in you'll see that there's a some green lines towards the upper right corner of that Aerial that's a those are the that's a transmission easement they have transmission wires that go from that substation Out and they want to be they want to do some work on those transmission wires However their only access right now is through the substation the substation is fenced under I believe it's federal law Everybody that enters into that fenced in area needs to go through security protocols because it is a substation for electricity generation which I think after 2001 had a little bit more scrutiny associated with it So in order to avoid that they approached the landowners of that southerly parcel and said essentially hey can we have that small piece and if Pam you want to go back to the ANR maybe one more above that Right there so they asked for the piece that is outlined it's a point six two zero acre portion of that larger 40 acre parcel And the request is really just to endorse this plan to allow this conveyance to happen so that ever source can actually do their transmission work and if you go back to the aerial Pam You'll see that those swamp mats are about where that in that that neck of the ANR plan is is going to be and then it just goes back into that open area so You know there's no new curb cuts on 116 they're going to be accessing off of 116 through their existing roadway but just before they get to that fenced in substation They'll head down onto their property where those swamp mats are to actually perform the transmission upgrades so that's that's it in a nutshell I'm obviously happy to answer any questions that that you have Thank you. Are there any questions from the board and I see I see I'm going to call on Miss Bester first and then I see Doug Marshall I just wanted to translate on what Mr. Reedy said he was talking about swamp mats and those are the grayish things that are lined up there when I first heard him say that I thought He was saying something different so I just thought I'd share that with you those are mats that are laid down so people can drive heavy equipment over wetland areas I removed my hand because she answered my question Perfect. Great job Chris Thanks Doug Are there any other board questions to this I am not seeing any hands so at this time I'll ask the board raise your hand if any of you have an issue with the chair signing this ANR And Chris I'm seeing no hands so I believe this is good to go and you and I can later set up a time for me to come in and sign them Good. Thank you Mr. Reedy thank you short but sweet Have a great night everybody Stay well Best, Chris and Christine Can you see me Yes You can Because I I'm having some difficulty here I think I'm going to leave the meeting for a moment and I'm going to come back in if I can Are you the only host? Can you make me a co-host? I was trying to make you the co-host She's listed as a co-host right now Christina's Okay, then good. Thanks for noticing that maybe I don't know what has happened Do what you need to do reflect it in the minutes and we'll keep going I have some reading to do so Okay, so at this time we're going to move on to item three The joint public hearing with community resources committee. I'm going to open the meeting and then I'll turn it briefly over to Yeah No, oh is it too early? Did we go? No, I need to call my meeting to order before we open the hearing Before oh, I don't open mine and then you open yours No, you open yours, but I have to call my my actual meeting to order before the full hearing So do you have your people? I do see them So I'm gonna seeing that there is a quorum of the community resources committee of the town council present I am going to call the community resources committee meeting special meeting joint with the planning board to order at 642 p.m. On June 10th At this time I will you know the the whole virtual meeting thing has been done by Christine So I'm not going to You know repeat that save some time But I will call on all of our members to ensure that they can hear us and we can hear them So when I say your name, please unmute yourself and say present and we will then after that On to the actual agenda. So Sarah Swartz present Shalini Balmain Shalini We're gonna come back Shalini Where did she go there she is there, but we're not hearing her So we're gonna come back to Shalini Evan Ross I'm here Steve Schreiber I'm here and Mandy Jo Hanneke is here. Let's try Shalini again Shalini so mute she she is throwing her She put her thumb up as if she can hear but we cannot we cannot hear you when you speak Shalini I can't read her lips very well either She might want to bounce out and come back in again Because it may not be reading her mic Yes, so it might she can hear us, but we can't hear her so Shalini maybe you can Maybe there's something an issue with your mic that it's not reading what you're saying and putting that through Okay, so do you want to try re-logging on I think she's called in her IT help I think she has to Now I can see Shalini Yeah, yeah, and she can hear us. We just can't hear her Don Hanneke is here. Would he be helpful? Sean is here I just asked him to come on board to try to fix my problem. So I'm in the middle of trying to text him Speaking of which Pam how are you doing? I'm fine. I actually never left I don't know if it's the energy outside everything was like flashing here on my end I could hear but I wasn't able to see anything This is this Sean. Are you able to hear me now? Yeah, we do. Okay. So Shalini there should be control Where where you control where you mute and unmute To the upper right of that there's a little Up arrow and that allows you to select your microphone. You may want to just try If it lets you choose your basic built-in Mac microphone as opposed to your headset So you're definitely unmuted and your audio is connected It looks like it's using your built-in microphone on your Mac Sean what else do you know about our our computer use and home setups? I have a little dashboard. I can see what Zoom gives us a little dashboard basically which device is connected and it gives us some some quality information So when there are questions about Basically it shows kind of a bit rate and everything so if people if people are experiencing trouble Connecting or poor audio or video quality we can go back and look and see if it was a connection or something like that We don't get any more information beyond that Is there a way you could take the chart down so we could see it? I can't see anything I can see six people, but I can't see Others and that's that you can maneuver who you see and where it is on your screen Do you see how are the where the videos right now? I? See six people including myself in the right hand corner Just so there's if you go up to the top of it It'll give you a little thumbnail things that you can play with to have different Yeah, usually I can get nine, but it's okay. Yeah, well, that's one of the buttons you can push different buttons But also remember I keep mine only for about six because I'm trying to look I'm also looking at the panelist screen But I'm looking at the document and you there's an arrow so you can move back and forth if you want to see different people Yes, thank you. I'm good All right, so Should we move forward I could open Mandy so Shalini is is giving us the okay to move forward we will so I Shalini if you cannot get your audio working Text me any questions you have until we can and we will help when Sean will continue to help you maybe But you can hear us and we will figure out a way to get you on Through a phone call with me or something for audio when that becomes necessary Yeah, Shalini you can also dial into the meeting if if that doesn't work Can she can she raise her hand? Can we just test that? That's another way You know if she's gonna text or if we're voting or up now. She's there twice. She's logging in somewhere else Now we just heard Welcome Thank you, so I think we're ready Christine to move on so you can And then I will follow you okay Great just check in the screen. Oh, it's good. All right it is now 649 in accordance with the provisions of MGL chapter 40 a this public hearing of the Amherst Planning Board and the Community Resource Committee of the Amherst Town Council has been duly advertised and notice thereof has been posted and Is being held for the purpose of providing the opportunity for interested citizens to be heard regarding proposed zoning by-law Article 14 temporary zoning regarding permitting for certain uses during the COVID-19 emergency and its aftermath To see if the town will vote to amend the zoning by-law by adding article 14 temporary zoning Regarding permitting for certain uses during the COVID-19 emergency and its aftermath for the purpose of expediting the reopening and opening of retail establishments personal care establishments and food and drink establishments and Associated accessory uses in the BG BLBVC BN and calm zoning districts and for pre-existing Non-conforming uses in any district to help businesses to more quickly emerge from the economic disaster Created by the COVID-19 pandemic Okay, so Mandy do you want to open the hearing or is it open for you all or I Will declare that you're calling opening the joint public hearing Joint with the community resources committee council's opening the community resources portion of that hearing okay, so both are now open And I'll say this to both CRC and planning board. Please raise your hand if there are any member disclosures. I See one hand, but it's Chris Bestrup. Do you have a comment Chris? I Wanted to say that I believe that Dave Zomek is going to have an introductory statement and then Rob more will present the Great So that will be under applicants presentation Okay Melanie I caught she her hand is up Yeah, I just wanted to disclose that I have And but I will not be applying for these temporary Changes, but just so you all know that I do have a downtown business Did she freeze up for you man, I didn't hear part of what she said it did freeze up Felony Can you repeat that? Yes, so I have a business downtown that I want to just put disclose But I will not be planning. I'm not planning to apply for these Temporary changes for my business Okay. Thank you. I See no other hands at this time. So I will Is our assistant man, yeah, he is unmuted David are you there or am can everybody hear me from I Can see you Welcome Good is this would this be a good time? Yes, this is a great time and then we'll call on mr. Mora to speak Sure. Well, thank you very much for having me and again. I will leave Obviously the details to mr. Mora and his breast drop So I think we're all aware of the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on the embers business community Not only our downtown, but our village centers and I just wanted to make a few comments Really about how Article 14 evolved and and how we got here So staff and I have worked very closely with the town manager to navigate the situation And we've gotten tremendous impact Input and feedback and support from the business community to bid the chamber and the individual business owners And I guess our fundamental question was how can we help? We've seen the statistics on unemployment We've seen and heard from the bid and chamber the council heard various boards and committees have heard about The devastating effects of the pandemic and out of a series of ongoing conversations We identified critical ways that we could all work together to help our downtown and village center businesses in the recovery process And I think I just wanted to read from Paul Bachmann's memo of the 15th of May You know the purpose of the zoning article is to expedite the reopening of retail businesses Including restaurants to more quickly emerge from the economic disaster created by the pandemic and and that's simply what we wanted to try to do and Again, I kudos to Chris Brestrup and and Rob Mora and their staffs and and the collaborative way that this all came about with the business community In those conversations during those conversations We identified three key areas that we thought the community needed to come together to assist in this process One of them was and I'll get back to the zoning piece but one of them was we needed flexibility in how the public ways were used and we're very grateful that the council took action on that recently and Authorized the town manager to work creatively to Make sidewalks and other parts of the public way available for outdoor dining, etc the other piece was in licensing and We knew with the alcohol component We were hopeful and and luckily the ABCC took action recently to allow local approval of alcohol service and again Our board of licensed commissioners is ready to begin reviewing Applications already and I believe those are going to start happening tomorrow Mr. Mora could speak more to that in a minute Then finally was a zoning piece As we talked with the bid in the chamber We really felt as though there were things that we could do to temporarily suspend some of the complex zoning Pieces of our complex zoning that will allow businesses to be up and running more quickly particularly during the Summer months we need to they need a shot in the arm and and our hope was if we could get them Outdoor dining outdoor seating etc that that would be a way to keep some in business to Allow for new businesses that might take hold this summer to get established before the fall So that's really what brought us here We believe that article 14 is a step forward a tool that we need that the community needs in our tool belt To really expedite permitting and be responsive to the needs of the business community I think what the words that came to mind when when I've been part of this process is it's creative It's collaborative. It's responsive and we think it's responsible. So again, we're thankful to the to the Partnership we have with the business community with the bid the chamber And we hope that the CRC and the planning board We'll have you know a thorough discussion of article 14 tonight so thank you and thank you for everybody for coming together and Putting this really the suite of actions that our community is going to take to try to help in the rebuilding. So thank you Thank you. I Now recognize mr. Mora See as Mike is up there he is welcome Thank you. Good evening Rob. Mora building commissioner So just to give a little update of what's been happening since the governor's recent order things are moving pretty quickly and As early as later on this week or maybe already you'll probably start to notice around how things happening hence going up tables and chairs going out and We've been working with a number of establishments now We have 10 applications for outdoor dining temporary outdoor dining following the governor's order and Seven of those are scheduled to be heard tomorrow at a board of licensed commissioners hearing to extend the outdoor The sales of service of alcohol to the outdoor dining Extending the premises. So there's a potential that some are possibly all of those applicants Those establishments could be operating this weekend if they were ready to do so I know that some of them will be if they are successful tomorrow with the board of licensed commissioners a Little bit about the governor's order. It is really very specific to outdoor dining temporary outdoor dining table service with or without alcohol service connected to that and is Is permitted at this point based on that order permitted to occur between now and November 1st when when that would expire and The condition that previously existed would go back into place. So that expansion would be would be terminated at that point based on that order We are looking to do a number of additional things by Proposing article for our team. It's not only food and drink establishments Restaurants outdoor dining as an accessory use, but it's also retail Personal care establishments and other types of accessory uses that could go along with any of those principal uses Now it doesn't extend any further than those three principal uses listed there on the screen the retail Establishments personal care and food and drink establishments. No other principal uses are subject to this This bylaw amendment and and really as mr. Zomek mentioned, this is this is an effort to Be able to react to Whatever might be happening out there. We are still not I'm still not entirely sure of what to expect We are trying to gather information about the various establishments That we haven't heard from for a couple of months now whether or not they're going to reopen will be there or there'll be Will there be vacant storefronts? Where retail spaces or restaurants or personal care establish establishments may have been so we want to be prepared for that And this is this is the way that we feel is Most suited to to be able to react to those requests and allow proposals to move forward rapidly So this this bylaw amendment would allow not only an existing use to be altered or Expanded or changed in some way, but it does also allow a new use a new for example restaurant to be located in a vacant storefront or vacant building in these zoning districts and and Allow the process to be reviewed administratively by by staff various group of staff as noted in the bylaw language Under a very short time frame To get to a decision and hopefully allow the establishment if if appropriate to move forward now It doesn't eliminate any of the bylaw requirements Specifically any standards criteria findings that have to be made The staff will be responsible for ensuring that those those are addressed The we have put in some language regarding the designer view board process and Asking through this proposal that that process be suspended for temporary type or a non-permanent type of Alterations or for signage and lighting that would be associated with some of those outdoor proposals perhaps anything that would be a permanent type of alteration say a Brand new door installed or a movement of a window or door in an establishment That would be something that before we wanted to move ahead and allow the the building owner to make those changes We would have design review board review those if it was otherwise subject to design review by the bylaw That's a process that can happen fairly quickly compared to some of these other permitting Processes that we are used to and just to talk about that for a minute I know there may have been some confusion about Some earlier discussions about the normal process What whether it's a special permit or site plan review We have been talking about a duration for permitting of about 70 days and that's the best case scenario when you take a look at the advertising requirements the noticing requirements the Transmiddle timeframe that the bylaw requires for all the town officials and other departments and boards to get a look at the proposal a Very tight hearing process and assuming just one hearing on the matter The staff has to generate the planning staff has to generate a decision Make it available for the board members to review and approve it And then it gets filed with the town clerk in an appeal period a 20-day appeal period for special permits If that were the case would be begin at that point. So Really best case 70 days Oftentimes it can go as long as 90 days under normal circumstances And that's what we are concerned about an applicant for any of these types of principal uses to help Get business operating downtown again filling vacant spots or Extending Services so that they can have the area that they need of the tables Needed to have the business operate The this proposal would allow that to occur in a much faster schedule all of the decisions That are finally made and signed off by the building commissioner Just like any other zoning decision would be subject to appeal the if there's a building permit or other permits that are Issued subsequent to this approval that would also have the normal appeal process That would be available for it as well Thank you. Thank you So unless Chris best trap I just wanted to mention that one of the reasons for doing this is because Restaurants won't be able to operate Right now they can't operate at all indoors, but when they finally open they're not going to be operating at full capacity They're going to be operating at 25 percent or maybe as much as 50 percent I don't really know exactly what the governor has in mind But they're not going to be able to open at their or operate at their normal capacity And so allowing them to operate outside is going to be really beneficial to them It may mean, you know life or death of their business. So I just wanted to add that in and that's why we're doing this Thank you At this time I will open it up to the planning board and the CRC for questions I'll be watching the queue here for raised hands So if there's any questions and then just identify if you want a specific person to answer them Right now. I only see one hand. I'll start with Doug Marshall Hi, I have a question for Rob or Chris Right now If an existing restaurant goes out of business and a new restaurant wants to occupy the same space is that subject to Either site plan review or a special permit or is that not something that requires action by either of those boards Yes, so right now in our bylaw has two classifications two categories of restaurants class one and class two Essentially comes down to how late the establishment is open the class one establishment in most cases is permitted by site plan review And a class two establishment is permitted by special permit We do not have any locations in town where a restaurant of any type is permitted without a land use permit process one of those so it's contingent on a change in ownership that prompts the new process it's not a Change of use from one type of use to another is that correct? It could be either so a change of use say of previously being a retail establishment now proposing to be a Restaurant a class two restaurant would require a special permit for that to occur If there is a existing Say existing restaurant and a new owner takes over the establishment There could very well be a condition and we do have many of these a condition on the current special permit that it the permit Expire on the change of ownership So that that new owner of that business would need to apply for that process start that process I don't see any hands right now. I'm just gonna ask so what if a restaurant wants an existing restaurant wants to relocate to a different space that may be empty Or a couple of restaurants want to unite and work together. How would that work? So same thing the process would would apply so that the land use permit is connected to the location the property Not to the business so it doesn't move along with it And that was one of the things we were hoping to be prepared for with reduced seating or reduced occupant load Expanding the space might be an option particularly for personal care establishments now that we've got Interestingly, I didn't realize this there's 21 establishments in Amherst that we learned when we were reopening and helping with the reopening of these establishments and you know when you start removing Stations for for hair services. It's certainly as possible that as things get more active downtown or throughout town that some of these vacant spaces that exist could be used for something like temporarily for Additional personal care services salon or barbershop Good to know. Thank you. I see two hands right now. First. I recognize Janet McGowan and then I will call on Michael Burr-Wesley I have two questions. One of them is um Are the permits or administrative approved permanent if if a restaurant wanted to expand Outdoor seating on privately held land And they were given approval. Does that just stay forever? or will they be asked to come back and renew or Something you know, that's my first question and the second one is have any personal care businesses Are they asking have they been talking or talking to you about working outside? You can take them in any order Thank you. So the administrative permit Could be either way. It could be temporary. It could be permanent. I think it's going to be looked at case by case Certainly a temporary situation that that includes maybe partial use of a public way or a sidewalk Would more likely be a temporary condition where we would expire that that administrative approval We're seeing parking lots in on private property be requested to be used for for Temporary dining that would be a situation that would absolutely want to expire and have that be just for this during this period of time Because we're losing parking spaces and once the establishment opens back up. We would obviously need the parking again so, you know, but there might be a patio that could be constructed or Something more permanent on a private property that I wouldn't want the business owner to be discouraged from investing in Not knowing whether or not it would be able to be used the following year So I think there could be situations with outdoor dining that are more permanent on private property There certainly could be other types of approvals like a brand new restaurant So brand new restaurant moving into a vacant storefront would need to be able to rely on this administrative approval and not not have to come back to to a board six months from now after they've, you know set up or Furnished and and maybe made made changes to a Location so it could be both and I think it's it's going to be up to the staff to View those case-by-case and which which ones are more permanent Being presented as a permanent solution And those that are more temporary in nature The personal care establishments have not asked I have not been asked To have any type of activity outdoors. I have in the past interestingly enough to use parking spaces But nothing had ever come of that So I think it's one of those things that just stuck in my mind when we were drafting this is that it could be possible Along with what we talked previously about maybe utilizing some other vacant interior space if needed Thank you. I see Michael Burt whistles hand Michael you're still muted so unmute. Yeah, okay. Sorry. Thank you. I first of all, I think this is a Excellent And I'm totally prepared to support it. I have one question about it relative to the Possibility of public input into a decision make into the administrative decision being made Particularly in light of the fact that some of these decisions may be long term as opposed to simply a six-month decision What kind of opportunity is for is there for butters and or the general public to make their positions known prior to Your administrative approval of such of such a request Yes, this proposal would not have Have a step included that would Would take into account public comment These decisions at least the ones that we've already started looking at for for outdoor dining are happening really quickly There like I said, we have about 12 application 10 applications so far just in the first couple of days And and we are not We are not slowing those down We're moving those right along as fast as we can to get these businesses Operating in the way that would bring their customers back So it's not really designed to have that type of input at that stage Now any decision that's made any permit that's granted is subject to appeal so within 30 days a Butter that wasn't happy with something that was Approved would have the right to appeal that decision to the zoning board of appeals and and potentially get the decision reversed That would be you know, that would kind of be what's available the tool that's available to them I'm gonna recognize out of our Chris best trip I just want to say I do see two other planning board members Doug and Jack And I just want to remind CRC that this is a joint hearing. So if they have a question to please raise their hand And they'll be in the queue Chris No, I just wanted to mention the fact that we have a lot of experience with Permitting of these types of facilities downtown and elsewhere in town all of these permits come with conditions and we can look back at conditions that were imposed on similar activities or similar types of restaurants and And glean You know suggestions about what kinds of conditions might make a certain type of restaurant Acceptable to a butters and some of the things might be you know If they have live in entertainment that the level of noise that emanates from the property at the property line No is below a certain decibel level Anything having to do with queuing or waiting or anything like that those are the usually the things that people are most worried about that there's going to be a Line of people outside making noise late at night And you know we can we can control that having people wait in their cars having people not come until their reservation is ready So we're we're aware of the kinds of things that a butters Would be concerned about and I think that we would incorporate those into decisions about these facilities Thank you Chris Okay, I call on Doug Marshall and Jack gem sick is next Yeah, I had I guess two questions One is since the planning board and other town bodies will continue to meet Through this period on a fairly regular basis What is the plan of staff to inform the planning board in particular about decisions that you have made So that we can see how things are running That's the first question and the second question is if For some reason we objected to a decision that had been made Would we have standing to appeal that decision? Or what would be our avenue to reverse it? Thank you Chris I saw your hand or rom So the the planning board could be made aware of by report at each of their meetings I also Had thought that maybe We could possibly Present or display all of the approvals that are made under article 14 on our website to make them publicly available and Those would know that those occurred and the dates that are associated with it I think I don't see any reason why we couldn't do that If the planning board objects to a decision that is made they certainly can appeal that decision And I would expect that if there was something not working properly with this a recommendation to the council to either Suspend it or amend it again or do something would be appropriate Thank you. Um, I'll call on jack jumpsick Hello, um, I just want to say this is this seems to be very important By-law being proposed and you know, I would love to have seen this Presented to the board You know a couple weeks ago even you know, but uh I think we have, you know One of the better planning departments and I appreciate what, you know, rob davin chris have done to push this through And I also I think in terms of awareness I would encourage the town to um You know publish You know a very clear, you know article You know within the gazette or other publication Certainly on the website Regarding the notice of Of what's going on with this, you know dumb it down, you know simplify it that, you know There are so many businesses that may Enter in this And just let them know that this is a possibility for so many, you know restaurants in town that That are hanging on So that's that's my only suggestion is You know notifying the town in a way that You know everybody's aware that You know these things need to happen they could happen And again in a very simplified manner That's it. Thanks I'm gonna open it up to Public comment. I'm not seeing other hands up. I just wanted to say one thing today. I read in the paper Um boston, I mean all towns are dealing with this rapid fire But mayor walsh from boston He had a quote today that said In concerning, you know letting the public know and keeping, you know, this rolling forward He said this is not a typical community process But conversations are going to continue and I think what he's saying is, you know They're going to keep listening and talking and I assume our town will be doing the same thing collecting data From, you know, everything from noise complaints to Keeping their eyes open and just seeing when things aren't working He also mentioned that they will be posting a list online Listing all restaurants that had got approval as of now. They already have over 500 Applications and they've approved 200 just to put me but um I liked when mr. Moore when you said putting something online I think that's really important so that people know there's one place that they can watch it But it also is I opened a public comment part of this is the public needs to know That this is happening and they're open. You don't want to build it and then not have them come So as I open it, I know the bid in the chamber. I can see representatives there You know, I assume this list will be replicated in different ways on their websites and that it will be advertised Where the public can find out where you can go and what is offered so Um, thank you for that. So I'm going to switch over to the public. I'm looking at the attendees list. Um, I see One hand up right now, but if there's any other Comments that want to be made. I see okay. I see a couple Now would be the time and also Pam. Let me know if there's any phone Collins I don't see any phone at this point. Okay. Thank you. I recognize Dorothy Pam Okay And then I see Claudia and Gabrielle. So we'll go in that order at this point. Hello Hi, I have a couple questions and a comment um If you're a business owner who's closed and can't Open can't afford to open right now You could they could lose their space or is there any way that an existing owner that would like to open but is having difficulties could Hold on to their space in some way that's number one And uh, the other one is uh, why not consult the there's a section where you consult with Solicit comments from other applicable public officials and staff And I'm just thinking why not include the head of the design review board at that time because Aesthetics do matter and how things look does matter in terms of whether the public wants to come and to do business with them So I am worried about the new business thing. I understand the difficulties But I still think allowing new businesses to put up permanent structures with absolutely none of the regular review Is not a good idea and being told you can appeal means that somebody's going to have to pay for a lawyer So I do have some worries about that particularly Depending upon what kind of a business it is I mean, I'm worried about a new new business person that has not done business in downtown That you and aren't familiar with so you're not sure how they're going to behave and then they permanently get in there Build something and it's really hard to get them out That's it. Thank you. I see uh chris bestrup with her hand up So I assume she might have a answer back for this Well, um, we do know that the design review board would still be involved in reviewing any permanent structures So if someone were building a deck or a shed or anything that is a permanent structure To allow this kind of business to go on that would still be approval by the design review board It's just the temporary things like signs and lights and That type of thing that wouldn't be approved by the that wouldn't be reviewed by the drp. Okay Thank you Um, I'll call on claudia if you want to introduce yourself Hi there. Can you hear me? Yes, great. Hi claudia posmani executive director of the amherst area chamber You are in receipt of a letter that we see also submitted earlier Today, I know it was a little late, but we are grateful to submit the letter as well Personally, I want to thank the team the rob and paul christine and dav The bit as part of the chamber and also with the bid we've been meeting with engaging with the town for several months So I wanted to say to jack's point We absolutely would have loved to have made this happen sooner But you know, this has been such an ever-evolving situation And I believe and meeting with the town trying to Keep up with the phases when we're reopening this going to happen And responding while trying to engage in a new process You know, it just took time and so here we are So I'm just so appreciative that the town really listened and And like any other town in the u.s. Certainly not across Massachusetts, we need to provide this life preserver This is really one of the last lifelines for a lot of our businesses We have seen through some of our micro grant funding The extreme amount of pressure that they are on they are literally hanging on A thousand dollars is helping them right now So imagine they're just going to maybe be a third of what they were When they open on the street some of them may only have several tables You know, whatever service we're talking about But and at the chamber we've been kind of operating on this response reopening recovery trifecta and And in our all our collaborations with both the town and the bid partners and this is part of that reopening And we can't get to recovery if we can't give our businesses every opportunity So we've been responding and now we have an opportunity to reopen and give them every possibility for success Um, and again, you've talked about this We have to get creative and I so appreciate rob and dave's team working with our restaurants and businesses It's been mostly restaurants 10 so far That I understand 10 tables chairs sidewalks closed streets parking Um, but I have seen the extreme care and caution our businesses have taken to this point They are taking this very seriously. Some have chosen to not even reopen right away Um, they are being as cautious as possible And they want to take and they are taking advantage of every opportunity We are offering and the bid is offering So they are ready to be and to work together with you and I also I do adore at these point But in a different way, I would also suggest that Keeping in mind, they're going to be spending an out They're going to be outlaying even more money to make an outdoor seating area possible Some of them won't have tables that can move outside They won't have umbrellas barriers all the things that it might take to set up outside. So here They're willing to go through and you know an additional cost to make ends meet and to make it work Um, so I believe they will have the very best intentions. I think they're going to do it under Under the code that we set. I'm really proud of what I have seen and I know that we will happily share that list I do believe a list a public list is important as well And I know the chamber would be very happy to publicize that list So thank you for your time. Thank you for the committees for joining tonight Thank you Um, I see chris bestrop. Do you have a comment chris? I do my muted. No, I'm not muted here So I want to mention a few things in response to um, darthys comment about whether businesses might lose their spaces So there are a couple of things about that one is that um, I understand that some of the landlords are working with restaurants that might uh, otherwise not be able to pay their rent and um, you know, trying to make arrangements with them With regard to rent another thing is that we are Hoping to get some money from community development block grant It's additional to the normal amount of money that we get and we're hoping to be able to use that for micro grants for really small businesses that have five or fewer employees and who's Income is of a certain level. So um, so that's another thing then the bid has a foundation And they raised a few hundred thousand dollars and they they have also been giving grants to some of these businesses to help them with Expenses to help them get over the hump And in addition to that, um, the Solomon foundation, which we recently found out about um, is possibly able to help us with some of the, um, Infrastructure that we're going to need to make our downtown more beautiful and more Appealing for outdoor dining and we're going to be applying for that grant and we're going to be working with the With the bid on that so so all of those things we hope will help and perhaps the Solomon foundation will be able to Help us with purchase of umbrellas and planters and things like that. So, um, you know, we're really we're very excited about this We're hoping that it, um, you know, really works out and that Amherst becomes the very vital exciting place this summer Just wanted to let you know about those efforts. Thank you. Chris. Very good to know. I'm going, um Down the line. Okay, I uh Gabrielle Gould I call on you Welcome If you want to introduce yourself You're still on mute Hi, Gabrielle Gould from the Amherst business improvement district. Thank you all for this Meeting tonight. I do want to stress that Amherst This conversation is about Amherst wide not just downtown. I think that's very important We have other town centers with wonderful businesses that we need to support I also want to stress the fact that Amherst was hit three weeks before any other place in massachusetts With the closing of our university and the colleges. We lost we had the rug pulled out from us So we are three weeks behind and I stress this with every time I am on the phone with secretary camille The time that I have had in front of governor baker We lost our july and august so while the rest of the world is trying to get their summer back We lost ours when we lost april and may so our businesses have been hit a lot harder than many many other municipalities throughout massachusetts, um I think I I am I am speaking Confidently that all communities are looking at zoning temporary zoning Amendments like this. I am on the phone constantly with communities across massachusetts hearing what they are doing And I'm more than happy to answer questions about that Every day for our businesses is a make it or break it We have given them Some time and some hope through the downtown amherst foundation Which the chamber of commerce and the bid have created together. We have raised almost 300 000 dollars We have given 150 000 of that in round one to small businesses And we are planning on doing the same thing again in about a week's time. The application process is open right now Again, that is that is hope and that is some time and what they need now is action from the town to support them And I have to say the town has been remarkable in the action and the work that they have done to date and to this meeting And I really think that we need to support chris rob and their team. They know what they're doing They know their their business and they know this community and they have experience and uh, it is time to let them do this This is An economy and a pandemic that is unprecedented And if a new business is willing to come in and take a space that is empty I think we should be unbended me and that we should be really excited to have them come in I don't think that there's a landlord in the entire town of amherst the entire state of massachusetts Who believes that there are people knocking and banging at the door for empty spaces? so if these spaces do become empty and Look the james bierd foundation did a study and they said that 80 percent Of independently owned restaurants are on the verge of collapse due to this We are going to see nutrition no matter how hard we work and no matter how much we do But if there is some entrepreneur if there is someone who has what it takes to come into this town And wants to open a business in a space that we have empty I really do hope that we have our arms open to them Um, and I just want to address the public comment and the abutters I I love this as a community member when I get an abutters notice and I get to have a say in what goes on next door to me I think it's very very important, but I cannot Uh stress the expedience Of this and what our businesses need? Every day is a day that they are making zero dollars We have grant applications coming in right now and one of the questions we ask them is their net and their gross for may It is zero And no matter how benevolent your landlord is your landlord still have Mortgages of their own to pay and bills of their own to pay We need to get behind these businesses and we need to show them support And beauty is absolutely something that we need. We all want it The bid just spent a lot of money getting all the flowers put in a town. We're cleaning the streets We're here for that But today is a time to make a decision to support our businesses and they need our support more than they have ever had before Thank you Thank you So in uh the public I see no more pam just double checking no phone calls I've seen none Okay, so back to the two boards or the committee and the board. Um At this time, are there um any final questions? Uh that need to be asked Mandy I I um Call on mandy Thanks No, I I just wanted to hear from from rob or chris. Um, you know, we've heard a lot about a butters notices are noticed to you know Close by businesses or landlords or owners of of properties that are near An applicants property And I I am curious if to hear what notice Would take, you know, what your thoughts are on that notice and whether it would add more time to being able to grant the um The Administrative approvals and the requests and how much time that might add and and not just time but maybe cost to either the applicant or the town to do that in In a manner that that might normally be done or even in a modified manner Um, given what the purpose of this bylaw is Um, I see chris's hand up and robbs. Um I saw chris's first but either of you can answer Well, I was just going to say that the normal course of events is that we get in a butters list Um of property owners within 300 feet of a property on which something is proposed So that means property owners are the owner of the property in the building not the tenants We only get um, we only require tenant notifications if something's going to happen in the particular building So for instance an whale in apartments if something's going to happen in an whale in apartments We require the owner of the building to notify all the tenants But if something's going to happen at the bank's center or pan to east We notify the amherst housing authority and they may choose to Notify their tenants. So um, so the normal course of events is we get a list of Butters property owners from the assessor's office and we send out the same notice that we put in the paper We send to the property owners and they may choose to notify their tenants or not Um in this case it would take Extra time it would take Money it would take staff time to put a butters notices together. We would have to Draft the butters notice. We would have to Get the butters list. We'd have to Print all the notices stuff them in the envelopes and mail them and by the time Someone received the mail as we all know mail is it's kind of slow these days. I'm not sure why but in any event By then it's quite possible that rob would have already granted the approval I feel like it's really not Given the time frame that we're dealing with we're trying to do these things Quickly because the businesses are going under quickly And so spending time on a butters notices is probably not Where we want to spend our time And yeah, so that's all I'll say right now. Thank you chris. I do see rob's hand up. Do you have anything to add? No, I chris covered it. Thank you. Okay. Thanks. Um, shallony I see her hand up Yeah, I just wanted to emphasize that for the morale of the businesses and Just the fact that we have So much. I mean, I think amorce is the highest unemployment because we rely on the restaurant business and For those reasons the morale I just learned the fact that it's the chains restaurants are not being affected It's our local businesses that are getting affected by this And so if we want our downtown to survive whatever is left I think we really do need to send out that message to the businesses that we have your back We're there for you And and and as chris said earlier, they have the experience our staff has the experience to look at each issue Come up with solutions that based on past experiences that they have to Make sure that everything is done in a way that's respectful To the people involved and the last thing I want to say is I just want to appreciate you know I don't know if you take enough time to appreciate the people Our staff and Dave and chris and rob and everyone working behind the scenes. Yeah Thank you And I really wonder I mean how lucky are we to have the kind of people at bed and the chamber who Done so much. I mean the three hundred thousand dollars. They've raised with the businesses And and I also want to appreciate us. We made it work, you know, the planning board in this year is the end You know, we've we're moving things along. So as jack said, let's Find ways to let the businesses know this is happening and let the public know that these are the safety measures and this is how it's safe for you to To come out and support our businesses. We have to all work together Thank you Thank you Rob, your hand is up. Do you have an additional or no, it's kind of clicked down So i'm not seeing any additional Hands. Oh, I see one. Um, janet Sorry, it starts clicking around here. Uh, janet mcgowan Thank you. Um I do I want to say how much I appreciate everyone's efforts and the urgency of the situation It's it's obvious going around town. Um, I've been excited to see machine cantina putting their tents up and johnny's I think My my question i was thinking about how to frame this is How could the question for me is how do we how do we achieve several goals? How can we get help to businesses as quickly as possible? And also make sure that neighboring businesses and residents have a say Of some kind at some point and how can we fix problems that come up? Later that you know, aren't anticipated. Um, you know problems can emerge with noise lab music parking issues You know getting from one business to the other Um nearby businesses may be affected by some, you know quick permits Um lighting might affect people Um, you know, there might be problems with new businesses. I hate to mention the word portable I don't think anyone expected that and so, um And you know, I actually have lived near a restaurant that had outdoor seating and it's very loud and so you know My question is how do we achieve those three goals getting businesses started up and running Making sure that the businesses nearby and residents have a say in the process and how do you fix problems that come up And so the amendments I suggested were not to have the town give notice To the butters and not just the property owners because that person could be in a different state But to have the people applying give notice to the butters. So that was one way of sort of, you know And it could just be a notice on the door. And so that was one idea Um, another idea that I had was just to make the permit temporary a six month permit So at some point when things are slower and you know, the winter has come and I think the crisis is still going to be going on in the winter But there's time to kind of revisit the permits see if there's conditions that need to be changed Or maybe one or two might just have just not worked out at all And so that was my second suggestion for amendment It's not to make them permanent permits but temporary and I can see the point About a restaurant opening not wanting to go under a temporary permit permit I'm sure I mean I would assure everybody I think the planning board the zba the building commissioner all want that to work in six months I'm not going to pull a permit for no reason As we've been talking I was thinking about You know, how do we achieve these three goals and we want to get people going You know, I'm actually, you know, I'd love to have a talk of a mission cantina on saturday Um, and I'm beginning to wonder if a way to achieve that would be to have permit conditions That there is going to be a six month review review of the permit or the administrative action that people To before that review are notified people within 300 feet and they would have an opportunity how they can have some permit And that the permit may be altered with new conditions And so That would take care of all my concerns and try to like make sure That people have a say if problems are coming up They have a chance to talk about it and then we have a chance to fix it So I just wonder I want to offer that to the group and to the town staff as a suggestion about making it a permit condition That in six months will be a review of the permit That people within 300 feet anybody not just property owners are notified about the review And that the permit may be altered to fix problems. This that's just an idea I've had as we've been talking. I um I'm not seeing any more hands Uh So at this point I could close the uh, we could close the public hearing part Shalene just raised her hand. Oh, is she um, thank you. Shalene Yeah, I I just wanted to offer the suggestion, you know that To this to the suggestions that jan it made especially the one about getting Notifying the neighboring businesses and residents or residents I think that the staff could maybe just offer that as a recommendation to the applying businesses. Hey, it'll be a good Protocol for you or being a good Uh neighbor to let people know and if anything they might get ideas from the neighbors How to make it work? So but I don't think we should make that necessary a compulsory thing but I think just having a list of of a protocol that might help the businesses Kind of work with with each other with that idea of Working together Could be something we can add Or staff can add sorry Thank you um So at this time, I'm not seeing any hands Uh, we could make a move to close the public hearing Um, and then we could have any other last Final comments or a motion Um, I see jack Uh, I would move that we close this public hearing Um, I'm not sure what other jargon is necessary to move it through but It want to are you making a motion? I am I am Approved to Recommend I think that's what we're doing. We're recommending I I think we're closing the hearing first before we do the motions for recommendations and all We can do it that so at this point. We'll just close the public hearing um We usually do it the same time so CRC wise do we second that and Just so I I think we need We might need two motions one from each board to close the public hearing And then we could if we get them both simultaneously, we could then just vote all at once through one roll call So I'll look for a second hand from a CRC if one of them would like to close the also close the public hearing CRC Yeah, Evan Make the motion for CRC And jack made it for planning board and I see dug marshal. I'll call and dug marshal. Is that a second dug for planning board? I will second it Great, and do I have a second for CRC? I I will second it. Okay, great. I'll make that easy And then do you actually do a vote on that or we do roll call votes virtually? Yeah, we usually do it together. So I'll do planning board first. This is just to close the public hearing Michael Burt whistle Yes Maria chow Jack gem sick Yes, David Levenstein. Yes, Doug marshal affirmative Janet McGowan. Yes And myself. Yes. So that's seven Mandy and Evan Ross Yes, sorry Yes team schreiber Yes Shalini Balmille. Yes And Mandy Joe hannity as a yes. So that's unanimous for CRC. So I believe Christine that the joint public hearing is fully closed Okay, so that's closed. So at this point, uh Planning board if they want to make a motion of some type I'll watch for a hand Michael art whistle Uh, yes, thank you. Um, I I'm interested in the Janet's notion of a kind of review of the administrative Administrative approval of of permits at some point I I also do not want to put anything in the way of reopening businesses as soon as possible And as liberally as possible I am concerned a little bit That uh, the rush to get things going Might end up with some kind of negative consequences And I don't know what they would be and I don't think they would be but I would I'm hesitant to subject neighbors, whether they're residents or whether they're landowners of property owners of the impact of An unwanted outdoor Dining area Without any recourse and I think there I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for some kind of review after the outdoor dining season is over. Let's say November 1st or December 30th or whatever date you want to have that some at some point when we're no longer having any outdoor dining To assess how it's been Uh, and looking at the the way in which the university is now Tentatively planning to sort of reopen in the fall Even the fall will not be a full Season of activity in downtown Amherst. I apparently it's hard to tell for sure But that seems to be the way it's moving. So I think it would be perfectly reasonable to put a Section into this into article 14 That it calls for a review At at some point and I think I'd defer to Janet to suggest what that how that ought to be worded and and where that will go in Uh, again, I'm in totally in favor of this of this bylaw But I would like to have that that provision As a as a failsafe I'll call on Shalini she's the only hand I see up Yeah, I also want us to consider the consequences of Not taking timely action We heard from chris that in order to Make this process move in 10 days. It is not going to be possible to Notify the people and if you do want to go through that process of notifying people and And not giving people the care guarantee the kind of guarantee they need To make the investments to that this was not going to be just short lived as rob explained I just want us to consider the consequences of not doing what all the other communities around us are doing and if the businesses Who might be considering opening in our locations in the empty places would not want to go to the other places Where the communities are making it easier and what our downtown is going to look like Once the existing businesses close Because we we were hesitant. We were afraid that something might go You know crazy with with this I call on evan ross Thank you So, you know, I think one thing we have to bear in mind throughout all of this is what we know and what we heard tonight from Claudia of the amherst chamber and from Gabrielle of the amherst improvement district about The ways in which our local business community and especially the restaurant industry is struggling and the design of this And the intent of this is to help them reopen help them recover and help our local economy recover And so I am Very wary of any amendment that could place additional burdens or additional Uncertainties on to our local business communities And that's where while I understand the intent of some of the suggestions and changes that have been made What I see in them are additional burdens and hurdles and uncertainty for our local business community I i'm really uncomfortable with any suggestion that it should be incumbent on the business owner to notify all of butters I think especially if you look at our restaurant community A number of which are non-english speaking a number of which already struggle to understand our complex regulatory and permitting framework To ask them to be responsible for Notifying the butters. I think is an unreasonable burden to place on top of people who are already struggling and any type of six month review any type of situation in which permits could change down the road that only adds uncertainty and anyone who Uh runs a small business will tell you the biggest challenge to any business is uncertainty And so I think given the upfront investment that it takes to open a restaurant given the investment to do any of this I mean claudia was talking about or maybe it was Gabrielle was talking about Having to buy tables and umbrellas. There's investment. There's financial investment that goes into all of this And so what we need to make sure we're providing not only is expediency The certainty I think the certainty is almost as important as the expediency And some of the amendments that have been proposed I think will undermine that certainty and create a much more difficult situation in what is already a really difficult situation for business owners who are just scraping by and so I would outright oppose Any of those changes because I think that we need to make sure that this can actually live up to its intent of making it easier for businesses to open and recover during Following this epidemic Thank you Mandy Yeah, um, I I also want to point out and and I would ask Christine or Dave or rob to correct me if I'm wrong But you know, this bylaw applies to three types of establishments retail personal care food and drink But we already have as as the members have seen Governor Baker's emergency order That applies to food and drink establishments and that order would trump whatever my understanding is that order would trump whatever we put In this bylaw regarding food and drink establishments And I think we need to keep that in mind Because as long as that order is in place even if We and I'm not saying I agree with putting these in because I actually Support much of what Evan said about certainty and expediency and costs and all that shallony and Evan we're saying but most of the concerns I've heard about the the need for coming back for notice and giving a butters the the the ability to um Respond or comment on a proposed application Relate to concerns regarding food and drink establishments and dining outside Not necessarily having a sidewalk sale from a retail establishment or A personal care establishment cutting hair outside or doing nails outside And so If we put that in which I don't agree with doing But if we did it wouldn't actually affect the permits that are being granted right now for food and dining because governor Baker's emergency order. I believe trump's that If i'm wrong, I would ask that chris or rob correct me, but This bylaw is in addition to that but cannot um Cannot impose things Extra beyond what governor Baker's order has done. So I don't even think Beyond the fact that I don't want them in there because I think I agree with everything Evan and charlony said if we did put it in there It wouldn't actually have the effect people are looking for Um, so I'm gonna chris bestra and rob mora both have their hands up chris came up first, but either of you So I just wanted to say that um according to our attorney Joel bard He felt that this Zoning bylaw had more Strength than the governor's order because the governor can rescind his order anytime that you know, it just goes away um It is I believe not the case that the governor's Order trump's our local zoning bylaw If we vote this in this will be the law of amherst. Of course, we have to comply with The features that the governor has put in place or the requirements, but um, I think that our Zoning bylaw would would actually be the stronger of the two Regulations so rob may have something to add to that That's demora I just wanted to add that the the governor's order allows the Outdoor dining to occur until november 1st So everything that we're issuing reviewing now and we've what we've done is we've created a bunch of draft permits Ready to go as soon as the board of licensed commissioners review and makes their decision And those permits are coming with a long list of conditions And one of those is that it will expire november 1st now november 1st There might be an option to extend it under article 14 or sometime between now and then If if the establishment wants to look at that longer term or even going past that day Or if the governor rescinds it at your hand But I also want to mention that with all of these establishments that the the practice particularly with the zoning board of appeals is to Create a management plan And condition the permit on the management plan the management plan is designed to Respond to all of the findings that are on our bylaws. So everything that everyone's talking about here light noise Or other things like trash and recycling all those things are handled through the zoning board process I sit with the zoning board and we draft these conditions for all of these establishments and the permits are designed to operate so that the operation complies with Then meets the satisfies the findings and the criterion standards that are in our bylaw And if it's not happening for whatever reason that's where we get involved and we do this every day We we called out for a A situation and look at it to see what's not working and I can tell you just I mean I've been talking personally with these these restaurants over the past several days They are all interested in doing the doing this right And they they are looking at their management plans. They are updating them revising them to to address the outdoor dining They're ensuring that staff are tip certified for servers and crowd control managers in place in case lines start to form So they're taking this very seriously and that's that's the The process we've established here for many years and and has has proven to work. Well Porta was mentioned. There are exceptions to that But we have the ability to To work with the the business owner to Adjust and make approved improvements as needed to make sure that they're in compliance with their permit I don't see this being any different than the conditions that would be associated with a Zoning board special permit for this type of establishment Mr. Moore just to sort of play it out just so people will hear from you So let's just say there is a parking lot that now has a restaurant And there are some complaints happening over a weekend that the noise is too loud or There's too many cars going the wrong way or whatever the complaint is Um, I assume police might be you know might be get the complaints or town hall Is there a system being evolved to collect these complaints? And then who would be tasked to sort of investigate it and where would it fall in priorities? We already have that system in place. So we are designed to be a complaint response department We are not proactively enforcing any of our bylaws any of our regulations. We are there to respond to complaints And so that can be done a number of different ways, whether it's uh, you know previously in person or a phone call We have an online Location where a complaint can be filed those complaints are immediately responded to no matter what they are Even if they're found to be you know, something that we're not addressing Or to call them say no, we don't regulate that they are immediately responded to by a code enforcement officer I'm noticed on those the lead code enforcement officer john thompson is Noticed on those and then they're divided up depending on what their subject is sometimes They are directed to dpw for uh, you know a sidewalk that has brush overgrown Sometimes it's a more of a housing matter Or a health matter where we need a health inspector to get involved in if there's a restaurant related issue I completely expect that there will be issues. There will be complaints. There will be questions There'll be adjustments that need to be made. We're designing these these You know some of these in parking lots where we're trying to look at traffic flow and access and waiting And signage and I think you know in the discussions that i'm having I think it's pretty well known that This is our best effort to get this uh, this operating, but we're putting in a lot of conditions to ensure that If something needs to be done, we'll you know, we'll be there to help the establishment figure out how to do that Thank you. Um, I recognize one hand. I see janet bagowan Thank you. Um, I My concern is I mean My concern is that there's really no public participation in this process and so, um You know, even today we actually had of the members of the public were Dorothy Pam our town counselor The bid who's you know, holy back in this and and the chamber and I and I recognize how hard everybody's working so it's very conceivable that this Very few people had notice of this hearing. Um so And I actually think amending the by-law Um and adding some extra language may just delay a pool And so I I did draft some language that um, I'm not completely wedded to but I was I'm wondering if um The planning board would recommend or christine breastrub or The building at rob mora would be agreed to add this language as a permit condition For the review and so if you want me to I could read it Hopefully very slowly and see what people think about that and And so the language I was thinking about maybe putting it to each permit You know, here it is. Um after six months each 180 days, sorry After 180 days each administrative approval and permit will be reviewed with notice to all the butters within 300 feet Um and the conditions may be adjusted after review Should I read that again or is that? No, I'm just looking for any hands for support or comments. I'm seeing no hands at this time So I'm suggesting this as a permit condition It will give you the chance um to go back and say, oh, we missed something or someone, you know, doesn't like the lights They'd like them off at 9 p.m. Not 10 p.m. Or whatever And so the people who you know, like I drove around to around south amherst today Most of and I think we're not just talking about restaurants, but mostly talking about restaurants um almost all the restaurants in south amherst are near like apartment buildings or people's home and so I'm just very uneasy and about having a process in place for six months and no possibility of review or their participation Even after six months and I don't want to slow the process down I also think I don't want to get into a long thing about the language But I think that giving members of the public An opportunity to participate and say hey, these things are bothering me Can we change the condition and add that would give the you know the public the input that we always give them You know, we want to we want our communities to have so that's that's my comment. Thanks Um, I'm going to call on rob more. I see his hand up Um, I just want a couple suggestions. I'm concerned about the amount of staff time that would be involved later down the road for potentially a number of these These types of permits to be reviewed and and just coordinating Creating the the decisions or records of those discussions But I also think it it's not really necessary We have our by-law has all the findings really detailed this 10.38 findings get into a lot of areas Which are gone through when we're reviewing these permits and those are not just a one shot You know, it's the the operation needs to comply with our by-law Going forward So if I'm responding to a complaint about lighting that maybe we thought or understood from the proposal Met the intent of the by-law, but turns out it doesn't I have an obligation to ensure that that business owner reacts to that and makes the adjustment that's needed And that you know, we would cite the provisions of our by-law which would be fully in effect all through this and afterwards So I think those safeguards they're there and I think you you can be confident that the staff is this is what the staff does This is not new to us Even with restaurants downtown Waiting lines and noise To the red, you know heard from the residential developments nearby is not something that That would be that uncommon it's happened over the years And we've talked at the establishments on how to manage that better And and we have that ability and we don't need a permit to expire or review for that to occur Which is why in recent years The the zoning board of appeals has stopped expiring permits So if you look back in the 90s early 2000s the permits expire when the ownership changes Some of them expired after a period of time and required renewal The zoning board in recent years has found that an effective management plan and connection to our findings in our by-law Work well with good good enforcement and and complaint response And and that's what we've been trying to build is that Responsiveness of the business owner and and I think that's there's it's proven to work when needed Thank you, I'll call on michael burr-wissel and then I see jack gemstick yeah, um like janet I am A strong proponent of as much Community and over participation is possible things like this However, I'm really convinced by mr. Morris constant reference to the zoning by-law as his Template for making these decisions and as far as I'm concerned, that's convincing to me as long as we are Abiding by the by-law I see no real problem with Providing that providing our town officials with the authority and responsibility to comply with the existing by-laws So while I would like to have more public participation. I understand that in these conditions that is Difficult at best if not impossible. So I certainly Will support the by-law as it's been proposed and trust mr. Moran and his breast strip to Enforce it appropriately Thank you. I call on jack gemstick Yes I would like, you know, should we close the public hearing? We already know We're waiting for a motion from a planning board member Uh, I move that we approve Uh, the zoning by-law Do I have a second I see maria your hand went up very quickly and So, okay So as drafted, I understand as drafted correct um so We uh, we can have further discussion. I did not know Mandy. Do you want to take is your board ready for any kind of motion? Because we would normally wait until we hear a recommendation from the planning board I would recommend that our members not make a motion until after the planning board has dealt with their motion Okay So just asking planning board members. Are there is there any more discussion or comment before we take a vote? I'm seeing no hands So at this time we could do a roll call vote on this Um Christine. Yes. I'm sorry. This is Kim. Yeah, are we approving the by-law? Are we making a recommendation? We're making We're taking a vote to approve our recommendation for by-law article 14 is written How's that? And uh, I'll call michael burt whistle Uh, approve maria chow prove jack gempsick prove david levinstein prove Doug marshall approve janet mcgowan And christine graham mullen approved unanimous seven It's all yours mandy. Thank you. Um at this time, uh, is there any further discussion from the community resources committee? I am not seeing hands. So I believe I will be looking for a motion to recommend the town council enact zoning bylaw article 14 temporary zoning as revised by attorney bard Both as an emergency measure under charter section 210 b and a regular measure under charter section 210 a I see a hand sarah swartz I so moved Sarah moves. Is there a second second? Evan seconds Pam, do you need me to send that language to you or read it? I would love for if you could send it to me. That would be wonderful. Thank you. I will email you that language so that you can get it exactly Thank you Because I know I read it pretty quickly We'll do a roll call vote. Um, we are going to start with evan ross this time Yes, uh, steve schreiber Yes, mandy joe hannacky is a yes. Um Shalini ball melm. Yes And sarah swartz. Yes, that is unanimous So can I ask, uh, mr. Mora or christine bestra Where does it go from here? How does the public follow this over the next week? This goes to the town council and I believe the town council is going to be reviewing this on june 15th. Is that Is that correct? so yeah, the the plan is for the council to Have it on their agenda for the upcoming meeting on june 15th for a couple of actions under charter section 210 a it will be considered a first reading Under charter section 210 Charter section 210 a is regular measures and that section requires bylaws to be read it two separate meetings before a vote With the vote being able to occur at the second reading of the measure So it will consider be considered the first reading at that Meeting, but it will also be considered under section 210 b which is emergency measures Where which the charter allows an emergency measure if the council adopts a preamble That declares it an emergency measure with reasons for declaring it an emergency measure to be able to Read it and adopt it in one meeting with or without amendments and to have it Apply and be Effective immediately instead of 14 days after the vote, which is what charter section 210 a says So what is the plan is to have it be sort of a dual reading in that sense this coming monday in a meeting That was um very good mandy that was a lot but okay um So that's where it will move and so what date could it be um Voted on and then how soon does it take effect? So if the council adopts the preamble for an emergency measure and then adopts the bylaw and votes to adopt the bylaw I believe the language for that motion would have it effective on tuesday june 16th under the emergency measure The plan would be to bring back a second reading on june 29th if the Uh council adopts it under section 210 a on june 29th. It would become effective July 13th, whatever 14 days after that date is Which is in this within the 60 days that an emergency measure can only be effective before it stands repealed um one other thing just for the chair of the planning board Because this is a formal hearing on bylaws. I believe we will need a written report And I apologize for the quick turnaround that will be required um For the council meeting on monday So chris will make sure that happens Oh no Apologize we're trying all that chris. Can you say it again mandy? Uh the planning board normally issues written reports on its recommendations on bylaw changes The council would love to have that and and should have that by its meeting on monday the 15th I apologize for the quick turnaround required I have a question. May I ask a question? Yes, and then after you i'll recognize david. I see your hand hanging out there Yes chris. So um, normally there's a 14 day Lag between the council voting for a zoning amendment and the zoning amendment becoming effective So what I understand man. He said was that um, because this is an emergency measure Well, if the town council agrees that it is an emergency measure and votes to adopt it as such That there would be no 14 day waiting period. Is that My is my understanding correct? That is correct under the charter. Yes Thank you Great, uh, david this may excuse me this may be uh Overly nerdy and so it can be disregarded but mandy My question to you is that as the crc is a subcommittee of the town council Wouldn't this meeting as a meeting of the crc constitute the first a first reading of the proposed bylaw Not the way the council generally regards first readings the charter is written that the council must read it Is the first one so while we are a subcommittee it has not been a called as a meeting of the full council And the way the council has been reading the charter is that it requires a first reading at a council meeting Not at a subcommittee meeting Huh, okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, I see no other hands at this time. I'll just um Confirm with mandy joe that we are going to do this again next week on the 17th. We have yet another um joint public hearing between the planning board and the crc for yet another proposed zoning bylaw amendment Correct, and we might be a little smoother next week after we've gone through Better better at this um But thank you for coming. Um, I believe you have no other further business We do not have any items not anticipated by myself in advance. Um, so I am I For before I declare the meeting of the community resources committee adjourned I want to thank the planning board for hosting us tonight. I want to thank Rob Mora, Christine Brestra up Dave Zomek and everyone for working on this bylaw Pam for taking notes and minutes. Uh, we appreciate that and um What what else do I want to say? Um, I also wanted to thank my own committee members This is their third meeting out of five in three weeks We have two more next week and I really appreciate them taking the time to come to three wednesday meetings in a row outside of the normal meeting schedule To to make some of these happen quicker than they normally would so I want to thank that and unless since I don't see any hands From my committee indicating that there is anything that I didn't anticipate that they want to talk about I'm going to declare the community resources committee meeting adjourned at 8 19 p.m Great. Thank you and thank you crc. We appreciate it. Um, it's great. We're sort of making history here in amherst We're finally living out the charter and getting some things moving. So thank you Thank you Jack I see your hand I just want to say that Mandy's background is like I was thinking I'm in the basement I'm like, is this still light out and I realized Her background is like No, it's like see, you know CGI quality there. I'm impressed I'm glad you're impressed jack You know Mandy if you can send that background to jack I think you might appreciate it Okay, it's a picture that town staff took of the town room Great All right, so I'm going to move ahead To item five old business and item I'm sorry. Item four old business and item five new business both. Chris. Do we have anything on either of those? No, and we'll be back again next week together so we can consider anything then Okay, great. So can I also then consider nothing under um item seven and eight That's zba applications and the sppspr sub applications. Okay, we'll go So then I'm just going to go to item nine, which is planning board committee and liaison reports I'll just call it out there. Does anyone um have any report just raise your hand And I'll call on you any of the five or like priss said we're meeting next week if it can wait a week I see jack's hand Uh, there might be a meeting tomorrow. Um, I'm not sure It's a zoom meeting. I haven't got an announcement, but um, I we may have a meeting tomorrow is all this one to say that Did you did you see that as well? Christine I saw that there was one but they were having a problem getting it's not a quorum But they have some minimum they have to meet maybe 11 towns or something like that and they hadn't got it So she had sent out a shout out yesterday And I'm boring everyone, but I did forward that to you and yeah, we I can follow up after with you Okay Thank you um, and I don't see any other hands for that So um report of chair. I have nothing just thank you. This was also an extra meeting for the planning board tonight So um, thank you all for your dedication and the hard work and I just a shout out to staff I know how hard and how crazy life is for you all right now And thank you for giving your extra time because I know you're doing way over your normal hours But um, I hope the business has realized that there are a lot of people who are really putting a lot of brain power and effort To try to help you all out there. So um, thank you all Uh, report of staff I want to thank you all too for paying attention to this and looking at it in such great detail and Having a really good discussion and I appreciate the fact that you have approved it So we're going to move ahead with this. Thank you very much. We'll move ahead with bringing it to town council And then then we'll move ahead And then you'll have lots more work chris. So Thank you. Um, so at this point we'll adjourn Do I hear a motion to end second anyone shout out and thank you amherst media as always You know, I see yep Adjourn at 8 22 That's good