 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you So this is a call to order. Welcome to the Amherst planning board meeting of August. Oh, excuse me, September 2nd 2020 based on Governor Baker's executive order suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law of master in the laws 30a Section 20 and signed Thursday, March 12th 2020 this planning board meeting is being held virtually using the zoom platform My name is Jack Jemsak, and I will be the acting chair for this planning board meeting and call this meeting to order at 6 30 p.m This meeting is being recorded and is available via Amherst media Livestream minutes are being taken as normal. I will take a roll call Board members when you hear your name Called unmute yourself answer firmly and then please place yourselves back on mute Maria chow president And Doug Marshall President jenna McGowan Andrew mcdougall President Did I pronounce that correct Andrew? You got it perfectly. Nice job. All right. Good. Good. And tom long President and And then Johanna Newman is not Not president correct I think she's not here. Okay. All right, that's fine. Um Board members of technical difficulties arise we may need to pause temporarily temporarily To rectify the problem and then continue the meeting If you do have technical issues let Sean or Pam know Discussion may be suspended while the technical issues are addressed in the minutes Uh, we'll note if a disconnection has occurred. Please use a raise hand function to ask a question or make a comment I will see your raised hand and call upon you to speak after speaking remember to remute yourself Opportunity for public comment will be provided during the general public comment period And at other appropriate times during the meeting Please be aware the board will not respond to comments during the general public comment period And then we have the information shown on this slide. I'm not going to read it, but there's a link Uh provided to the zoom Site and we'll just leave that on for You know a few seconds And uh, that's for people to shift over if you're on the tv you can Uh, you can either call in or use that link And you're able to uh comment As as as part of the public So just leaving that up there Um, and then I'm just going to leave that up there for a little bit longer Make sure everybody sees it. Okay now I'm gonna I gotta find the agenda here So at this point we'd like to open, uh with the minutes, uh, we do have some minutes that they're in draft form and we need to review them they were for august August 5th, was it? Okay, so, um, let's let's take it. We just got those today. We just They're lengthy and we want to Look at that. Now we okay, uh, but you're also looking to get a decision written up Press based on those minutes I am and um, I also have to finish the minutes for july 1st. So I will send you the um The minutes as soon as they're done if you have big problems with the minutes you can write back to me And if it looks like there are big problems, we'll just hold off on um reviewing them and We'll review them on the 16th of september in any event. We'll review them on the 16th of september But I may go ahead and start to put together the decision for amorce media because they're very eager to get that decision So, um, that's what I was thinking. So but we need the minutes finalized before you can do the decision Yeah, and you also need july 1st minutes. So you can Take these august 5th minutes and look at them at your leisure And then if you have any significant problems with them, uh, write to me via email Don't write to the rest of the planning board, but just write to me And i'll try to incorporate whatever, um difficulties you have into the Or correct the difficulties and incorporate that into the decision You may get it all at the same time around the 16th of september Okay And uh, now we're going to open up this Uh to the public for comments Uh general comments, uh, not comments on anything that is within the agenda And ham Wondering what uh, I'm seeing no raised hands jack from the public at this time Okay, so we could move in. So we have uh our first public hearing Uh on amherst survival center And give me one minute. Okay all all right, so i'm gonna This starts at 6 35 and 6 37. We're good In accordance with the provisions of mgl chapter 40 a this public hearing has been duly advertised and noticed thereof has been posted And is being held for the purpose of providing the opportunity for interested citizens to be heard regarding SPR 2021 dash o one amherst survival center 138 sunderlin road Request site plan review to erect a temporary shelter shed quote unquote in the parking lot of amherst survival center to replace the tent that is there um to provide a more weather resistant shelter And to allow for continued emergency food provision through covet 19 crisis the covet 19 crisis and uh This is in a commercial zoning district. Uh, it's matt 5a parcel 26 So are there any board member disclosures? Okay, so we can ask the applicant to Present the the project chris Can you remind me who is coming to Represent this application? Is it jan idelson jan idelson caro schnell and carlene basler Are okay. They are all here. I'm going to move them all over So they are all promoted to panelists So whenever jack is ready, he can invite them to give their presentation Yeah, so, uh, we met with was it was a caro? Okay. Hi car. How are you? So, uh, Yeah, maria, uh, chris presto and myself met with you When it was it yesterday yesterday, which I got a speeding ticket. No, I didn't get a speeding ticket, but um, uh Would you like to present the project please Thank you. Good evening My name is caro schnell. I'm the finance and human resources manager at the amherst survival center As you've already mentioned, I'm joined on this call by my colleague carlene basler and a board member jan idelson Thank you chris maria and jack for visiting the center yesterday I trust that you had an opportunity to see the center in its full current operations The amherst survival center requests your approval to install a temporary structure or shed On our parking lot to facilitate continued emergency food provisions throughout the winter months Beginning in march the center dramatically shifted operations to ensure successful and safe emergency food provision during the covet 19 health crisis Many of our community programs were suspended and we shifted our focus solely to our food and nutrition programs When the economy declines, we see a sharp increase in the need for our services Currently the inside of the center has been converted to support our increased food pantry operations The pantry has roughly doubled the amount of food that it's distributing to local residents We currently see roughly 25 to 35 households on site each day for the pantry And we have implemented a new contactless delivery service, which is now serving approximately 700 households each month Fresh food recovery and distribution as well as our lunch service are now being provided in the tent That is outside in our parking lot Our lunch service has increased by 225 to 250 percent in Prior to march we would typically see a hundred Uh participants each day in our dining hall for lunch We're now serving approximately 225 to 250 to go lunches each day Our current operational layout is working really well We've been able to accomplish a significant increased output with fewer volunteers inside Social distancing throughout all stages of our operations mass compliance physical environmental modifications as well as extensive sanitizing It's clear that the health crisis will not be resolved before winter Therefore, we seek to replace the current tent with a more Weather resistant temporary structure that will allow for continued operation in our current mode throughout the winter months You received information on the proposed 14 foot by 30 foot structure If approved the structure would be located in the rear of our parking lot Setback significantly from the road Visually the shed exterior would mimic the exterior of our existing building for a cohesive appearance The shed will be used four days a week from 8 30 a.m. To 3 30 p.m From 8 30 until noon our volunteers are sorting through and packaging recovered bread and produce From noon to three. We're open to the public for services During that time. We're distributing that recovered food as well as our lunches from the tent and then from 3 to 3 30 we clean up and we Secure the location until the next morning fish Only staff and volunteers would be entering the shed and similar to the tent participants will remain outside the tent In a socially distanced line to access food through the garage door openings of the proposed structure The size of the structure allows for social distancing during setup and distribution And the multiple garage doors will allow for maximum ventilation As noted in the plan the structure will occupy the same space in the parking lot as the current tent Our parking congestion is significantly reduced in our COVID operations Folks once folks arrive It takes about 15 to 30 minutes for them to receive Their items and then they're on their way. So there's significant turnover Similarly staff and volunteers continue to park off-site at locations that are generously being offered by our neighbors To summarize The center continues to focus on the safe continuity of our food and nutrition programs Limiting the number of people inside our building is a key component To the safety of our operations We work hard to ensure that the center will not have to close due to COVID-19 exposure We recognize if that were ever to happen The 200 participants that we see each day would have nowhere else to access the food that they need And that we are able to provide On behalf of the 7 000 people we expect to serve this year. Thank you for your consideration of this proposal Thank you Thank you Cara You're welcome um The site visit report maria. Do you did you draw this short straw on that or Yeah, I can Let's see. Thank you. Yeah after uh jack dodged his speeding ticket from a UMass police, um We saw where the current tent was located and it was very well marked and there are people using it over there and it was very well organized and um supervised and It was clear, you know, it was definitely uh being used and needed in the community and then um Cara took us inside and it was clear that in order to socially distance They had to use all of the space that they currently have for Set up and so there's just no space for um Well, there's also you don't want other people coming in to just you know for um safety But it is just clear that they're like bursting at the seams as far as trying to keep everyone, you know safe and employees and staff working there so um, so it makes total sense to have a more sturdy structure where they have the tent um and um I think we also saw Let's see We just kind of turned around and saw where they had the food storage behind us and the dining hall was converted into a Food setup area. So it was just you know, everything was repurposed because they had to have the six foot clearance um, but yeah the exterior, you know, there's plenty of parking still available and um people were pretty safely divided from um oncoming traffic and um not that there are a lot of cars going through and In fact, I think we were the only cars moving, you know, the sort of planning board Members um when we were there. So it it looks like it's um working out pretty well despite the situation we're in and um Um, yeah, we don't think if we were showing against we had to quickly rush off to our next Site visit. So um, I think that's all we saw. We just sort of stood in the entry area of the existing building Yeah, I concur with that. Um, are there any um, You know questions from the board Andrew I was looking do we have a raise hand button or we just sort of wave there? Yeah, so there's a participants Oh god at the bottom that any any you click on that then you can kind of see and then There's some dots on the right lower right and then that's where you can do a raise hand. Okay. Cool. Um, Um, uh, well Cara just thank you for the service you guys provide to the town. Uh, it's it's it's really quite spectacular I had just a couple of very easy probably questions for you. It's just the the so the storage unit It's going to be used for distribution of food. So it's just like issuing the to-go lunches Or is any any food preparation that occurs within there? No food preparation occurs with inside the tent or the proposed structure We are still utilizing our commercial kitchen for the lunch preparation And there's typically two to three staff and volunteer members in our kitchen daily Working on that task. That's All the number of people we can in that space safely So lunches are being prepared within the commercial kitchen And then we use they are prepared and packaged in the kitchen And then we utilize various carts to wheel them from the kitchen outside to the tent where they are there Where they are then distributed and that process happens routinely over the three hour window in which we're open Got it. Okay And then another quick question as well as you know, we'll obviously be getting into colder weather What is the plan to climate control the shed? We don't anticipate that we will be Putting in any type of heating or electricity inside the shed. It is truly a temporary structure If we need anything like that we can run Extension cords from our building But we don't foresee a real need to go to that level With this proposed structure Okay And then one one last real quick one is just the position near the back of the parking lot I couldn't tell from the site plan. Is it is there like a great change there? Does that well those back doors sort of open to a slope? If if I'm if that makes any sense, yes, it does so When you reach the rear of our parking lot, it does slope down to a little bit of a wetlands kind of a Water retention berm if I'm using the appropriate terminology So it does slope off down there We don't anticipate actually bringing anything in and out of those three rear bays They would simply be used for ventilation The primary sites of access to the structure would be the two doors on either end And the three garage door bays on the front So the rear bays would really be for increased ventilation Excellent. Thank you. That's all my questions jack okay, um Car is it are the rear bays there just because that's kind of like off Like standard production of this particular shed or is it? No, I think that was our request to just ensure that we had Extensive ventilation within that space Um due to COVID-19. We just felt that it provided additional Safety measures if you will great. Okay, uh dog, please Yeah, they the rendering that you provided of the shed Uh looks like it's built on maybe a two by four floor um You know, there's sort of a brown pine colored Band around the perimeter So, um, I guess I just wanted to make sure that you'll work with rob mora the building inspector To make sure that you have met the applicable Accessibility requirements for the space if you need a little ramp to get in the the door for people Volunteers who are disabled Uh, you know, you might need that But I'm not going to tell you what you need, but you probably should talk with rob about that Thank you I see no other hands So no further questions from the board and we can accept some public comments at this time If there are any and I see none Oh Jen First of all, carline, did you want to add anything? No, I think that sounds very nicely. Thanks Well, hi there, um, I'm Jen idelson and I'm a board member of the survival center And I'm here to tell you that we need your assistance and not even financial We just need some we need a decision quickly Um, we work hard We volunteer hard And we create less hardship Y'all know our mission And we're here for everyone for your neighbors For your colleagues for you Now during coven it's clearer than ever that we're all together in this but in inequitable have inequitable resources The ASC its staff and volunteers were tirelessly in a tent in a parking lot During the unbearable heat and the violent storms this summer Clearly a more fortified structure is needed Aside from making this shed Aside from the shed making your mission more effective and on a practical level. It's also symbolic It tells our neighbors that we're here to stay It tells our volunteers that we value the time they donate in our parking lot As life gets tougher we remain a constant force during these troubling times Seven years ago our new building brought us out of a cramped basement It was intentional that our new home would have space so people could stand up straight This shed will intentionally show our community that we are here for the long run And we are here for however long it takes You can rely on us to keep food in your home Or in your tent and in your bellies We will not let anyone down I'm sure the entire community will support the addition of a shed On the ASC parking lot, so thank you Thank you for that Doug you have your hand up still is that An artifact because I had another question. Oh good. Well, absolutely Doug you the floor is your Yeah, I wanted to know if there's some How long you would have this shut up What's the what are the conditions at which point you would remove it? And should we be thinking about some sort of Formal conditions in our approval that ensure that you do remove it At a at a certain time Right now it's hard to say how long we'll need that shed Ideally we would like to use it as long as it's needed as long as we need a safe Space to continue our food and nutrition operations It's hard to know how long that will be But we'd like to be able to use that shed as long as possible Would it would it be reasonable to Say that when the pandemic is over and you're able or the governor The governor's orders allow you to operate As you did before the pandemic That it would be removed within say three months of that Those conditions being met We would certainly like to return to our previous operations We are first and foremost a community center And that is one piece that's really missing in the midst of this crisis so As soon as we are able to be a community center once again And we can invite all of those folks back into our building safely At that point we likely would no longer need the structure Well, I don't know if anybody else on the board has any thoughts about it, but I would like to At least discuss whether we're comfortable with it becoming a permanent structure or whether it's We need to have some sort of Stipulation of how and when it or you know the conditions under which it could be It should be removed So, uh chris has her hand up, but before I would have to say that that parking lot when we when maria and I were there meeting with with akara um It was it was quite full. So I imagine that you would you know, appreciate the additional parking If you didn't really need the shed. So it is an interesting uh Uh question that that dug brings up. So, uh chris Am I muted? Can't tell yes So sometimes the board has put Um a condition on that says in a certain number of months or a certain number of years The applicant will return to the board and explain what is going on with the situation So you might consider saying here it is september 2020 maybe The applicant returns in september of 2021 to tell you What is going on with the shed and whether they will be removing it soon or Whether they need it for a longer amount of time and i'm just Throwing a year out for your consideration could be not nine months or six months or just some period of time that they come back and Explain to you what their situation is and whether they continue to need the shed or not Um, and then I would say like with that observation that maria who has her hand up It's also they seem to exceedingly Uh more busy than they would normally because of the pandemic. Maybe that's why the parking lot maybe is you know You know under you know higher demand that it would normally but uh maria Um, I Think that yeah, what you just said jack makes sense like right now. They're pretty busy But I think a lot people take public transportation But I remember reading in the application or somewhere that there was some overflow parking Um, but I'm not as concerned with this visually It's not something like that's Similar to other projects that we were told that were um temporary and they've been there for years. Um, so, you know, if it were to stay i'm not It doesn't seem to impose on like the streetscape or anything but as far as parking. Um, yeah, I think it's more of a functional question for for um The survival center staff, um, I'm not sure if they're big events where suddenly that the parking is um not quite adequate but But yeah, as far as the way it looks and the way it blends in with the building And it's not, you know against the street It's not too much of an eyesore compared to some other projects that we've had to You know, let's kind of continue because they need the temporary structure. So, um, I'm comfortable With what chris suggested actually if you wanted to set a date, but um, and then have them come back to us, but um, it's not problematic in my mind Thank you, Murray. Um, Andrew Yeah, I I think I think it's a good suggestion dug and I agree with chris's recommendation to to have um To have the survival center come back and kind of brief us on how things went I think it would also be just very useful as a as a board for us to understand Sort of this the status Of your services. Um, so I think that's I think that's a really good suggestion I I did though Have one other question which I forgot about earlier. I'd mentioned about if this is something that's going to be Carried throughout the winter and we talked about sort of how it's heated. Will it be electrified? I knew you'd mentioned kind of bringing Um, potentially extension cords over but I guess is that is that something that we should consider in terms of More of a longer term viability through winter months. I imagine you're gonna want to have some sort of Electricity in there for heating or lighting That would be my only additional comment May I reply? Yes all right At this time we don't see the need for um Making the structure feel more permanent in the sense of having heat having electricity The hours in which it's being used are daylight hours even in the winter That we don't foresee the need for lighting specifically And the windows in which volunteers are working in that space are usually a couple of hours So certainly the volunteers that we recruit for those outside positions Obviously, they'll need to dress warmly But the window in which people are out there is relatively short and those volunteer shifts are short So we're not anticipating the need for heat either We do really see this as a as a temporary structure To help us get through the pandemic Thank you in um car you're operating hours are Are currently noon to three monday tuesday thursday and friday and we've just initiated Our saturday hours the third saturday of the month were open solely for the pantry Okay, so those will be daylight hours even during the winter even in winter. Yes um janet has her hand up janet when Doug was talking about the um whether we should put a condition in Um, you know to have it removed. I did draft some language for that. Um And so we could put that in as a condition I was kind of I mean I do I have been to the survival center during their normal operations And they do have a need for parking because people come by cars and stay longer because they're eating or using their services So I could see how the survival center would like to remove the structure As soon as the pandemic is over They may want to move it to a different spot on the site, you know having The bay doors opening in the back to a slope doesn't seem like fantastic to me But I think in terms of ventilation it makes a lot of sense because It's not just droplets. We're worrying about we're worrying about aerosols and you know people in close proximity We need to protect the staff and so I would I I feel like it's a good idea there as temporary structure We could say come back in a year, you know, or hopefully three months So, you know, hopefully, you know, whatever and we'll talk about it again Or we can just say you have to remove it when you resume your normal operations, you know inside services food services food distribution and community operations and so I feel like, you know And the question I had in thinking this through for chris was You know if if we had a condition saying you have to remove it and then they wanted to keep it Or move it somewhere else. Could they still do it within this application? But they make a separate one or if we just granted You know the approval and said come back and talk to us in a year Could a modification also be made like what's the easiest way to kind of switch things around if things change Um before calling chris, I'm not sure. I mean, I'm looking I don't I don't think there's any alternatives To moving it on the site because it is pretty small and it's it's got the slopes off the parking lot and things like that, but um chris would you comment please? Um, I would just like to say that you can't change or add conditions after the fact so Whatever conditions you put on tonight are the conditions and unless the applicant comes back with a new application For you to change one of the conditions. So Having a condition that is kind of flexible May be the best way to deal with this Such as you know come back in a year and tell us what you're going to do or Adding the language that you just suggested that the shed goes away when the survival center renews its um normal operations or some combination of those two things Um, okay Doug please Uh, well two things one is um I work at an institution where we have temporary buildings that have been there for 30 years. Yes, so so i'm uh sensitive to that that kind of situation So my second item was jack, would it make sense to make a motion or should we close You know close the discussion I'd be happy to make a motion that we approve the application with the conditions that the applicant return within a year and tell us What what's going on? and whether they still need the the building and that You know that we require it to be removed within 18 months unless They demonstrate that they still need the the the building Yeah, I was thinking the same. Um, I'm wondering if you know, maybe bumping that out a little bit A little bit longer. I'm sure they're making it an investment Just to get the shut up there. You know number one, but uh um That's you know open for discussion. Uh Any other board members have any comments on that or want to second Doug's motion Andrew Yeah, I would second that I think the 18 month Timing gets us through like two winter seasons. So that seems pretty reasonable So I I would second the the motion as Doug's articulated it good, um Chris can you help me out here? Uh, do we need more public comment or? Go to vote or You can go to a vote. It doesn't look like there's any uh anyone who's wanting to make public comment All right, so we'll do a roll call Are you closing the public hearing? Did the motion include closing the public hearing and That this and making the finding that this application meets the relevant criteria of section 11.24 of the zoning by-law and That you're willing to grant the waivers that were requested And with the conditions drafted Uh, I did not state any of that But I'm happy to have that included in the motion Thank you, Chris So what quit no, so we're we're looking to vote To approve what has been proposed And the items that chris spoke of and close the hearing Or sbr 20 21 dash 01 Correct Okay, so roll call um janet approve And andrew prove And dug approve maria approve um approve And myself approve That's six zero And I have to admit that, you know, I'm so happy I made the site visit because what you guys do is under the radar Especially for the people that live in south amherst like myself And thank you for everything that you guys do it's it's a huge contribution to the community Thank you, we really appreciate your support And uh, we're happy to meet the criteria that you've proposed and we'll look forward to giving you an update on how well it's working Thank you so much Thank you Thanks And We have another Public hearing and on the amherst column regional school district 21 mattoon street And i'm just wondering about the participants are we are uh, are they queued up ham Ben herrington is representing the school system And the others there as well. I'm not sure Molly ryan stray horn. I don't really know if she's representing the school system too She is here. We I I just um asked Ben herrington to become a panelist. Maybe he can answer that question I'm sorry, I was like in the process of Coming in I heard part of that. What was the rest of it? Is molly ryan stray horn part of your um presentation Representing the school. No, okay okay, so Let me go through the introduction here And okay, so it's like I have 712 Who's to begin at 645 so we're good there in accordance with the provisions of mgl chapter 40a This public hearing 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 spr 2021 dash o2 amherst pellum regional school district at 21 mattoon street They request a site plan review approval to erect three temporary accessory tent structures for breakout and expanded instructional space and associated site improvements under section 330.0 non-profit educational institution of the zoning bylaw at the amherst regional Amherst pellum regional high school Which is in the rg zoning district. It's map 11d parcel 215. Are there any board member disclosures? as seen on and ben Welcome and would you like to provide a presentation? Yeah, a very very brief one is uh, so What we're proposing Based on our uh, our new educational needs in terms of facilities What we're offering Or proposing is the is to erect three 30 by 30 Tents with canopy no side walls whatsoever. No power will be necessary and we're actually even Not even allowing furniture necessarily so that there'll be spaces where where the students will go out They'll have some sort of instruction in there perhaps But the main purpose will be for mass breaks and then one-on-one attention for our special needs students in the PIP program Summit academy and then the aims program that'll be at the high school the The only real modifications will will need to make is in terms of accessibility building in a small temporary walkways in the in the the intent is to keep them up until weather prevents us from Continuing to have them up so so we don't anticipate them going Staying up very far into the winter if at all So is are the walkways, you know have like an a da compliance aspect to them or um because Yeah, we we we had this I visit and Marie and I can talk about that but um What's your understanding of of the access to these areas? So yes, especially based on the the population that we're we're intending to serve here A number of folks will need uh Wheelchair access and these sorts of things so we're trying to accommodate that as best we can Okay, within with an ADA guidelines all right and um Let me see in our packet Switch over here. Um Yeah, so um maria do you want to discuss this or Jack chris also has her hand raised chris breasted up. Oh, I'm sorry Chris please I just wondered um, I think only one of these tents um Is going to have a path to it The others are all adjacent to an existing path. You might want to ask mr. Harrington to clarify that Yes Yeah, I can so they they're actually all adjacent to pathways one of them has uh We're in the process of kind of recovering from the demolition from the modulars that we had there And we're we're going to continue that pathway in a bit more, but but our goal is to actually have Access off of the path and since since we can't actually Because of the guide ropes We won't be able to kind of you know But it directly so we're going to have a little bit of a gap and we'd like to cover that with an accessible walk or not walk way but path Okay Is that are you good chris? Thank you. Okay um And jenna, do you I wonder if we should do the the site visit report? Yeah, unless you okay. All right Um, maria. Do you you want to roll with this or yeah? Yeah, so real briefly um, we walked there and um As ben said there were some crew or they were from Berkshire gas Maybe but there it was clear that they removed if you have that a map that says site three site two site one The two big white rectangles are already gone And it looked like um, there was a lot of sort of soil that's been upturned there and um The pathways the existing walkways are currently asphalt. I believe um, I think and uh, we kind of walked Where site three and site two are and um, it's pretty clear back there like it shows on the aerial There are no trees and It looks like it's going to be pretty close to the building and that only site three No site one has a proposed gravel walkway. I think the others Don't say proposed walkways, but um, it all looks pretty clear and um That uh Yeah, it was it was a little confusing because there are two modular buildings close to site three. I think matter Um, I think they're in the photo. They're just hard to see they're under the letter s maybe But um, it looked like there was already some prep work going on to um get ready for the tents That's it. Thank you, Marie. Um So we can open up uh questions from the board and we have janet, please So I have a question Ben whether you might need these again in the spring um And so, you know the kind of the question that Doug brought up in the last presentation of how long do you think You might need the tents. It sounds like you're not planning to um run them through the winter months But do you think you might need to put them up again in this thing? And so I'm wondering if we want to Add that as a condition saying, you know about the length of time, you know, kind of on your need basis Right out. It seems kind of weird to have you come back again You know in february saying, okay, we need them for april and stuff. So Yeah, so interestingly enough, that's kind of a a topic of debate for us, you know with all the uncertainty we're we're kind of Moving forward with the assumption that that the pandemic won't be over and that the the need for these uh outdoor spaces will Continue to be there Through the spring. So yeah if it were possible to Allow us to do that through the spring and I'm Not a hundred percent certain, but I'm kind of thinking we would want those to be taken down, you know after school is out of session Since I mean they wouldn't necessarily serve a purpose for us through the summer months Okay Doug please Yeah, I was wondering whether we should just impose the same 18 months and just that would get you through three semesters And just say, you know, we'd approve you're using this for update 18 months or you know having these tents In that location for 18 months and then if you need to extend it beyond that that you come back and You know, we'll have another conversation, but that might just save us having a hearing next spring or next summer You know and we can talk about other things in our meetings That that definitely sounds fair So I guess in terms of the the the tents surviving the winter are their concerns in terms of Them, you know being able to hold up to snow loads and and wind Factors and things like that is is that the right structure that you're looking for It's a So based on what what we've learned from the manufacturer What they they initially tested one of these for I think it was like a 24-month period they left it Standing in Kansas City But our actual concern about them during the winter would be in terms of things like snow removal in in these sorts of things In the fact that we would be Required to actually clear those areas and the tents wouldn't be used So it's more of a I don't want to say it's a matter of convenience for us, but Kind of sort of is But the the structures can can withhold winter conditions as you're understanding Correct, if it may be they could great Tom Yes, I had a similar question jack just in terms of You know how these are rated for safety and Who's installing them and how we can guarantee safety with those installs with what kinds of winds and what are the stipulations that they're taken down In case they become dangerous. So I'm just curious, you know, because it's essentially a sale And that there's children out there What what a what is the process for or what has been Are there any limitations that you guys are setting on terms of when these would come down if Whether we're coming and things like that and just a little bit curious about How we're thinking about these over the course of the spring From a safety perspective Yeah, so so in terms of Actually mounting them now they they are these are significantly weighted frame tents So I don't have the exact specs for you In terms of like how much of a wind gust that they they would stay Rooted in but we plan on staking and waiting them For that for those purposes and in terms of installation, it would be our maintenance department. They've kind of been doing a lot of More research I imagine and they would want to but yeah, so It would definitely be in-house and Yeah, I don't have an actual wind Like a mile per hour rating Tom, do you have any? Okay, um andrew Yeah, hi ben. I was just wondering um Can this can these tent models support this like side panels and and if so like wouldn't that be something You would be interested in doing to to try to lengthen the the use period of this into colder weather Or inclement weather Yes, so so they're they're absolutely designed for sidewalls and there's a variety of uh different types, but Our our kind of concern Is the idea of having an open space like with the aerosol considerations, right? Right? We really want constant flow so We discussed it and and our nurse manager kind of came to the conclusion that The safest alternative would be to have them wide open And and also there are issues of like egress that would arise with that that we would have to plan for as well Makes sense. Okay, so you wouldn't anticipate coming back In november or december and saying we really would like to put those panels up I don't but um The predictability of our school community and the requests Isn't something I would necessarily edge my bet on but The plan that we we've given back to the District is that they would be only used up until november and that no sidewalls would be involved Okay, and then and then one other quick one is just and you touched on it a little bit actually is um Is this is this a recommendation that's entirely Developed by the school or did you solicit feedback from parents or teachers? For how we how you might want to manage this? right, we got a copious input from administrators teachers In some families that that were once they heard about the plan to do it were kind of in support of it, but the A lot of district discussion kind of went into the request Prime would you say it's going to be primarily for student use or administrative use or It's a free for all Well, hopefully not a free for all Right, right. We're we're intending it for for predominantly student use and uh, at least two of the populations that would be using that would have, you know Staff monitoring while they're there perfect Thanks, ben But you know, it is interesting that we just had the one hearing with someone converting a tent to a shed And here you have tents And I I guess there's a little bit of concern about the survivability of this through a winter season, but uh, Doug Marshall yeah kind of a couple of comments about some of the Discussion so far. I assume first of all that if You know high winds or a hurricane or a tornado was predicted You would simply not allow people to be out In that tent because if it Failed in some way. You don't want to have anybody under it Oh Is that is that a reasonable assumption that you would You know restrict access in the event of high winds Very much so and if it was and if we anticipated You know extreme high winds we would even probably try to take the canopies themselves off leaving the frame so that you know Eric could pass through without Lifting and sending it off Okay, great. And then the second question. I I guess from the original Discussion, I thought that these tents would probably be taken down in November And if they were needed in the spring, they might be put back up in april Uh, but that the structure and the fabrics would not be left out in the weather all Through the winter. Is that true or do you plan to leave it up all the way through the winter? No, we plan on taking them down. We've even kind of worked on storage provisions throughout the summer keeping some space open for them Okay, great. That's that's what I thought that's all I had Thank you, Doug Chris Do you have an in oh, I just wanted to say that the um the tents will require a permit from inspection services So I think some of the concerns that people are Raising about, you know, the sturdiness of the tents and you know other things like fire retardancy and things like that will be looked at When the building inspectors look at the permit or Directing the tent Very good. Thank you Maria um See I'm sorry ben but I cannot find my email that said this um Is it true that the middle school and high school kids don't start till november as far as in-person teaching but it's all online until november So the bulk of them. Yes, but via our our special needs ELL And uh program students they'll be coming back physically on october 1st Got it. Okay. So it's really only like a month window that you're going to be Having students and staff use the tents All right. Yeah, I just I for a second. I thought do I have this wrong? Are they starting earlier than I think? But um, yeah, I can't find the email So by the time The high schoolers come back for november classes It may be too cold or too late to be using them for that purpose But you have other staff and students should be using before then That's great. Okay good, um I see no other hands raised From the board We can open this up to public comment Hey, am I seeing none is that I'm not seeing any either no all righty well Any final comments amongst the board anyone want to make a motion? with conditions perhaps Doug marshall has his hand raised jack Doug please Okay, I was gonna This will probably be a half a motion just like before because chris knows all the technical terms um I move that we approve the application from the public schools For the for the tent that we require that it be Removed and not re-erected within 18 months of our approval Unless they return and request an extension I guess I I do remember i'm supposed to also move that we close the public hearing Yes, and that leaves only a couple of things for chris to say yeah and to find that the um proposal meets the relevant criteria of 11.24 section 11.24 of the zoning bylaw Don't move very good Anyone want a second second Maria Who was that? All right, uh any other further comment from the board? If not, we will do a roll call um So andrew prove and maria approve tom approve and janet prove Doug Hi And myself approve And that's uh unanimous six zero Thank you very much ben Thank you You're on the school committee, right? Yep. I'm actually heading from here to the school Okay. All right. Well pleased to meet you. So thank you. You too. Thank you for all your your efforts on that end too Thank you And that concludes that Um And the agenda, uh, what do we got next here? Mr. Reedy Okay, apple brook cluster subdivision And i'm going to ask him to come on over There he is and the panelists Hello, mr. Reedy Hello everybody good to see you Hi tom Hey jack. How are you? Very good. Thank you. How you doing? I'm doing pretty well Uh So chris Um Can you help me out what we How will you proceed here? Well, originally mr. Reedy came to you in the beginning of the summer to ask for An exchange of lots. He wanted to have one lot released and have the other lot put under covenant And um after discussion and after a suggestion by janet mcgowan You decided to put lot seven under covenant. So that's the only lot that is currently being held by the covenant And mr. Reedy said that he would come back in august late august to tell us whether he Wanted to um provide a bond To the town to complete the subdivision road or whether he Wanted to keep lot seven under the covenant or Alternatively, whether he wanted to complete the road. So he's here to um talk about that and to update you all on his on the plans for that roadway Okay I guess I don't know if there's any board member disclosures. I in a general sense, I have you know worked with tom on on other projects that that Have not come in front of the board But that doesn't compromise my My You know decision-making on this particular project. So And he's done a wonderful job too. You did I have no financial interest. All right That filed a declaration of that with his appointing authority Yeah, and that's on file So uh, so tom with that would you Like to make a presentation, please. Yeah, uh, sure. So it'll probably be short. Hopefully sweet Um, chris gave great background and the board frankly helped us out We were up against a closing deadline had requested the release of one lot um And transferring that covenant to another lot through discussion It was transferred to a lot that we had not suggested but we were okay with that was lot seven Um So that allowed the closing to go through. So thank you for that And then as chris noted, I was going to come back and make one of a couple of requests and so Since then a couple of things one we've got the Number from jason skeels of what he thinks it would cost to to finish everything and I think it's around $50,000 something like that But We're happy to keep the covenant on lot seven for the time being and the time being should be no more than this fall. So The applicant paul cole Is looking to do or have the work done in the fall to finish And everything that he has to finish And so then hopefully i'm coming to you Either this winter or in a worst-case scenario next spring at some point Asking for release of that lot seven with sign off from jason skeels that everything has been done Um, according to the plan. So so really it's just a status quo at this point keep lot seven and We should be done, you know before the snow flies assuming it doesn't fly till december And do we have any any, uh Public comment. No. No, do we have any uh visuals slides? Yes. Yes I'm well I think you have a map of the subdivision I'm not sure that I did that press. Let's see. It's in the packet There it is number 19 Number 19 and number seven is the one that's shaped like a a pork chop or a flag lot Whoops Sorry, something happened. Hold on bear with me Every time I try to make it bigger Just advance the page If you're going to slide show you can just advance the page Okay Share I think people can see it. I don't think you need to make it bigger You're almost there Here it is here we go Okay Great. So just hot seven. Yeah, that's it for context. That's the one that is under covenant right now I mean when you when you look at the entire subdivision that there are there's $50,000 of work remaining And there's still you know other lots to be sold but particularly lots seven which I would suggest has the value of at least $50,000 So, you know, I we believe that the town is has been is and will remain to be secured and then Additionally, we expect to have reworked on this fall. So That that should take care of it and I think like we noted last time there was some discussion It's it's this is a private way So the town is never going to be asked to take this road As a public way and be responsible for its maintenance. It's the responsibility of the homeowners association And I think that was pretty explicit in the approval that the the board gave Thank you Chris, do you have anything More to add before we open this up to the board? No, I don't Okay Board members Janet Janet you're muted I said I was saying thank you for the presentation And I'm happy to hear that the work is probably going to be done this fall or you know by the end of the spring I wonder um, so this sounds great to me and it sounds like this is a short Part of our agenda. I wonder we might um Just talking more to the board and to jack and christine if we can get an update on amherst hills maybe at the next meeting In terms of because this part of what you went through on this project is because of what's been happening on amherst hills So just it just sparks me and reminds me that we need to check in on that. That's all Um, I any other board members chris You're not a board member, but I'll call on you Clarify what uh janet asked for are you asking mr Ready to come back and give an update on um amherst hills Or are you asking me to give an update on amherst hills? I guess mr Really isn't really in a position to do that because he represents the homeowners and he doesn't represent the um Yeah In this case it was it was for you chris. It wasn't it just it all Reminded me that we haven't talked about that so Okay, I'll try I'll see what kind of information I can get Thank you Yeah, that's a good point. Um Janet unrelated to this project, but uh And Okay, so uh public comment Do you see anything pam? I am checking I don't either okay So, um, this seems pretty solid in terms of what's being proposed Uh jason skills Is on board with this correct chris I haven't had a conversation with jason. He provided the um cost estimate Which is I think 53,000 to finish the road, but he hasn't really offered any comments Other oh, no, it's 58,000. Sorry um And we asked him to do that in case the applicant the developer chose to submit a bond instead of In lieu of having the lot be Kept as part of the covenant um But I haven't heard anything from jason. Would you like me to speak with them about the status of the road? uh I'm gonna call a dog Yeah, I guess I'm I'm thinking that We were fine with holding The original lot And that had been held for some number of months or years without any Monitoring on our part We've now switched to another lot that's probably equal if not greater value So I think we should leave tom and the developer alone And let them You know finish selling the rest of the lots and finish the road And You know let let things work their way through without asking anybody to come back um That you know, I I if I if this were a kind of thing we'd make a motion for I'd move that we Close the hearing and move on to the next thing on the agenda, but since I A motion is not needed. I'll just say I think we should close this and let Tom go back to whatever he wanted to do this evening And uh move on to the next thing I'll second that So so chris, what what are we uh, what's the end game here from the planning board's perspective for this particular Uh item It's really just to keep um Getting updates I guess from mr. Reedy periodically um Since the town doesn't have a A role in taking the road You know, you hope that at some point that it does get finished And you don't want it to start to deteriorate like the roads in emmerced hills Um, but it seems like the lots are selling quickly and the houses are being built quickly. We've heard from Mr. Reedy that the developer intends to sell two lots every year with houses on them So I don't know if if you need to feel, you know, terribly Pressured to do anything at this point Okay, is it requiring a vote? No Okay require a vote. No, this is just an update An update. Okay I see no other hands so, uh, are we recommending That he proceed, uh as proposed Is that require a vote or Um Look for guidance Okay, so mr. I think mr. Marshall is correct you you you had lot four um under covenant for while I think since 2017 or 18 And then you switched to lot seven and you weren't really concerned about this subdivision During that time period of those few years Um, so, you know when mr. Reedy wants something from you when he wants to be able to sell lot seven He's going to come back to you with a proposal and the proposal will be either The roadway is done And Jason skills thinks it's in good condition or he'll say We're willing to give you a bond for whatever it's going to cost someone to finish the road Mm-hmm So it's really you know you have you kind of have the cards because you have lots seven And eventually they're going to want to develop lots seven Or are you concerned that? We're going to run into the same situation that we did with amherst hills No, no, I'm just trying to uh the the I'm trying to get clear of my mind the the uh relationship The We have lot seven but then there's a mention of the bond And I'm like I'm just a little confused about Well, it's up to the developer to determine what form of surety he wants to offer to the town Okay, he offered a covenant initially And then he asked for a release of lots which you granted and you kept The covenant on one of those lots as surety and the lots are probably worth something between 100 and 150 thousand dollars Which more than covers the 50,000 that we're talking about for the road 50,000 the incentive is you know the the developer has the incentive to sell that lot and probably to You know potentially to make money building a house on that lot And it seems like it's you know, they're they're going Relatively quickly going more quickly than perhaps lots and amherst hills are going So I don't have concerns about this particular subdivision at this time Okay, so it's kind of a no-brainer anyway for us to Move on do we need to approve anything or recommend or Mr. McDougal has his hand up I Um, yes, Andrew. Yeah. Yeah. No, I actually had a real simple question I'm not I'm not trying to delay this at all But just when what when is the road finish like would it be finished after completion of The house on lot seven or prior to that because I I believe I'd read and I noticed the You know concerns around moving heavy equipment on that finished road. So when would it actually be completed So we anticipate Hi, Andrew. Nice to meet you. I like my stuff So we anticipate completing it before lot seven. I mean I think this this year is when we look to complete it. I don't know that that includes topcoat it may I've got to talk to my client about just the logistics and the sequencing of it Um I don't know that I mean lot seven is towards the beginning and so the the any heavy vehicles Probably would be You know, it's not like you would have an excavator using those tines on the pavement They would probably go back into the lot anyways. So I don't see it as being a big issue And that's why I think the idea is just get it all done finish it this fall Um, and then, you know at some point probably in the spring to get lot seven released Great. All right. No, thanks tom. Thanks jack. Thank you, Andrew Uh, chris. Do you have another comment? I'm sorry. No, I don't okay. All right. So I I guess uh We we we can move on from this without a vote and kind of a tacit approval of What's going on And I'll say thank you. Good It's good. Good to see everybody and all right you well and hopefully we see you soon Thank you So, um, I'm looking at the agenda here. Give me a moment. It looks like we're um Taking this next item on the old business is a status of zoning subcommittee so, um It is 750 now I think we're doing pretty good on time. So we definitely can you know contribute a half hour or more to this Because there isn't really Uh much more I uh to that I see coming up within my meeting so um Chris are we having any visitors with regard to like Mandy or or Dave Zomac? It doesn't look like it. Okay. All right. So Uh, we we did have uh a briefing at least I had a briefing with with Mandy joe yesterday to understand and then uh janet had emailed the the flow chart for the zoning subcommittee and uh I guess if anything that would be a nice thing to throw up Pam that that flow chart but so For andrew and tom the zoning subcommittee um has been operating for Who knows how many years and it was geared You know as you know within a function of serving up Zoning amendments to town meeting and when we had Um, it was staff normally by two or three people. Um, I think people Rob crowner was one of them uh greg studsman They were they were good the amendments the amendments were quite small and You know and you know in general, but they were they were very good at what they were doing um And chris drestrup was always a part of the zoning subcommittee and and that required um You know they required her time and so the whole proposal now um Of whether zoning subcommittee which really hasn't met officially for for a period of time now six months or so because We have the crc which is the community resources chris help me what's the full Oh, the crc is the community resources committee of the town council. Yeah community resources community. Okay, so Anyway, they they also they're the the legislative body now, you know within amherst um, and they in that particular committee their charge is to overshoot oversee uh planning issues including the zoning bylaw and the master plan um and There's been Discussion of whether you know what we do do with the zoning subcommittee because The the items that the zoning subcommittee previously took on are It's no longer again delivering a product to town meeting which again was was its focus Before now we have the zoning bylaws being worked on primarily by rob mora Who is the building commissioner? and Uh chris breastwhip staff and and so now it's it's just And chris has also been assigned now to attend to the crc as a liaison um And so she's got only so many hats that she can wear at one time the zoning subcommittee really is something that is It doesn't seem to be in the flow of the process With regard to how our zoning bylaws are going to be Uh change, but that does not say that The our planning board doesn't have you know, isn't heavily invested in terms of The the zoning zoning bylaw changes itself. So so it's just it seems like the zoning subcommittee has uh Has devolved to less of a working committee um And I think at this time I know andrew has his hand up but i'm wondering if because I'm not a part of the zoning subcommittee if I could have maria Speak a little bit uh to this and And actually even instead of the the flowchart maybe put up maria's uh memo and then we can have janet speak Uh andrew if that's okay with you Okay, all right Yeah, jack you touched on all the points that I want to make which is um, you know, since we changed our government from town meeting to town council They're trying to get their feet under them. And so while they were doing that the previous zoning subcommittee greg setsman rob counter and I Made this big priorities chart And we had three zoning amendment articles sort of ready to like get town council their first taste of what it might be to do a zoning revision and after a lot of um I think a lot of discussions among them and crc if they finally settled on Don't give us any zoning amendment articles right now. We've got too much and then some time pass and then um a lot of uh members changed and we I as a zoning subcommittee chair decided well, let's just work on things. We're passionate about that We could also propose as zoning amendments. Um, we tried that and again they I think that's previous flowchart um showed there's a lot of steps in that process and we actually got sort of eliminated And um and that and that's fine because honestly feel like there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen right now my memo basically spells that out where Number one town council are their elected officials. They're really interested in proposing zoning amendments ideas and priorities They're the ones tasked with this. Um, we're volunteers. We're in fact, you know volunteers on the planning board where we are then Yeah, referred zoning amendments, but um some other sort of higher up group is going to be setting the priorities for us. So I think it'd be great if we had the planning board Discuss zoning issues as a group and I think now especially we have new members It'd be great to get a lot more perspectives and new ideas and new eyes on what we've been going through Sorry, I just inhaled the burger I feel really sick. Um, the second point rob more. I like you said jack. He is um Doing a lot of really fine find, you know, he and chris and the staff um Know the zoning bylaw inside and out they deal with it day by day and they know where the flaws are they know where the inconsistencies are total sense for them to take the lead on Those kinds of things when it becomes media issues like, you know, they're controversial or any Consultants or needs town council or CRC is input. Of course, they're not gonna, you know For they're gonna seek guidance. And so again, there was a, you know, rob came to the zsc and Said, you know, how about we work this way and I said great I'm happy to help We went to the planning board some planning board members said why are we adding all these extra steps in this process? Let's make it simpler. And so again, the zsc was sort of like, well, let's just Bypass that extra stuff. Let's just do planning board rob more And let it go there and then now it's even involved even further to now it's a rob more and I think CRC so I'm gonna stay on that process. But basically what I'm saying is, you know, every time the zsc tries to, you know Say we're gonna be, you know proactive and do some work The higher ups sort of the find the process and that's totally fine. That's their their That's their, you know, reason why they're there. They're sort of setting priorities and process. So Again, that was just another reason why the zsc was sort of Uh, I think falling by the wayside the third point which um, Sadly, Mr. Burt whistle was not brought back But he actually was one of the people who said he'd really love to have more discussions With the planning board on zoning article Issues and so I thought why have a small discussion when we could have a bigger discussion? Especially if our agendas get lighter and load like they were tonight Set aside half hour 45 minutes and discuss things that were, you know, interested in changing and Thinking about discussing and possibly, you know, if town council CRC comes to us with, you know We've just given them like our top three lists if they come to us again and say, what have you guys been discussing or interested in, you know Who knows so I'd love to have more people sort of In a discussion in that way and then the fourth point which I feel like actually should be number one Which is the planning department staff are so overloaded. We're planning board Is only one of their many things they have to deal with and then zoning subcommittee is another it would be another sort of drain on their time and um And for not a very effective sort of outcome And the fifth one jack you touched on which is rob and reg And I think steve schreiber were the zoning subcommittee for almost a decade and they um Rob actually wrote zoning bylaw Articles and zoning bylaw text, which I think is unusual. I'm not Standard practice, but he just was really good at it and he enjoyed it and I think chris and really appreciated it because He's just you know that kind of mind. And so I am speaking for myself. I'm not speaking for Janet McGowan, but I am not at that level and So I am afraid if we did Do things like that that it would all be planning department It would be on their shoulders. And then if we said we need consultants and of course planning department again has a deal with consultants So it's just there's so many things that we're saying We're an extra step that's not really needed right now. Um In the future, maybe when we are given a sort of definitive direction or priority It'd be great to have the zoning subcommittee reform and then have new members and Have more discussions, you know, really technical discussions, but right now because we aren't really given a A direction yet and um, we're not I don't think we're the one sort of setting that direction It just didn't make sense to have yet another subcommittee that was going to um Meet at this time. So I would say let's You know, not dissolve it because there were some emails from the public saying what a shame, you know, it's it's a great thing um But I think they're a little mislead in that it's not the same zsc. It has been in the past and um, I would like to see maybe in the spring or summer When priorities get set that maybe we do consider again Who wants to be on that committee and who wants to take on Whatever priorities crc gives us. Um, but for now it just doesn't make sense for us to Move that forward. Um, hope I didn't talk too long But that's the gist of where I'm coming from and what I've been through for the last Five years maybe on the zsc It was very helpful maria. Thank you summarize that nice and uh, chris did you you have a point of clarification or I got andrew which is that um In the past the zoning subcommittee and the planning board worked very hard on zoning amendments and Didn't really have any indication from town meeting whether town meeting thought That these things were priorities or not So they would work hard on something and bring it to town meeting and then town meeting would vote against it In in some cases not not in all cases Um, now we have a chance to work with a group that is really part of town council The crc is made up of five members of town council who will be Communicating with town council about what town council's priorities are so we'll have a greater sense of What town council is likely to vote for? um, so it's not really worth Our time to work on things Unless we have some sense that these things are priorities of town council or that they could be made priorities of town council So having that communication of town council. I think is going to be very helpful And having the zoning subcommittee, you know, kind of working On a parallel track Right now I think is not Going to be that helpful. I think it would be better to give give a chance to staff working with crc and the planning board to develop Zoning amendments and then You know, you decide if the planning board decides that my goodness, it really would be best To have a zoning subcommittee at some point in the future You can go back to that. So as maria suggested Not dissolve it but just put it To the side for a while put it in a hiatus if you will And decide later on if it would be worthwhile and I think that now that we have, you know, three new new planning board members they're going to get Potentially get excited about zoning amendments. I never thought I would be but I am So, you know that that might give us a chance to have more conversations and more interest in zoning on the part of the planning board so so I'm I'm recommending to move in the direction that maria is suggesting So andrew and janet have both have her hands up. I think janet needs because she's been a strong proponent of of Kind of the I'm a lot of loss of words, but janet would like to keep the zoning subcommittee going. So I'm going to call on janet thank you um So I am the vice chair of the zoning subcommittee and marias the chair and then christine gray mullins with our third and michael burt whistle was coming to a lot of meetings and so I have gone to zoning subcommittee meetings for years as just a resident and it was a really um interesting dynamic of The zoning subcommittee would have everybody sitting around the table You know people from the bid would come people from the community or neighborhoods would come and they would do a lot of very technical writing and working on um Zoning by-laws or just you know start formulating ideas And you know and then you know, I I personally think the more eyes on something because people always see something and so I found it very useful and I As a resident I found it very useful sometimes residents would come to the zoning subcommittee like jerry weiss who wanted to make an adjustment for Inclusionary zoning and that would be kind of workshop there It's a place where like kind of the nitty gritty language of our very complicated by-law is worked on And the zoning subcommittee was working with the planning board obviously going back and forth and also the planning department would also You know, I mean it's it's like a it was sort of a nice place to percolate I know our government has changed and I think nothing else has changed is that the planning board under state law has a role We can bring um zoning by-law changes directly to the town council or town meeting We actually that's what the planning board usually does in amers. That's the tradition The crc can bring You know under our new government it can bring zoning by-law changes To the town council 10 registry voters can I think there's probably some other group i'm forgetting and so I think the the planning board, you know, we work closely with the planning department We will work closely with the crc I mean I go to a lot of their meetings or review them and I've been asking Sort of the planning board to do a liaison to the crc because they need direction And then they have direction and you know things to work on so You know the zoning subcommittee doesn't didn't wither on the line We had covet and we just stopped meeting and I know that since we've had a new government It's been super frustrating. I've only been on the zoning subcommittee For a year and half of that has been covet But you know for six months We were just trying to figure out how to work with town council And I've also was attending the crc meetings for over a year and they were trying to figure out how to work and what they were doing and so A lot of our zoning subcommittee meetings We'd be talking about very specific zoning changes But a lot of it was what maria was saying is like how do we approach the town council? we were told by sort of the high command of town hall and Town council the town council can't handle it And so we were holding back and then there was debates about whether we should just send The zoning changes on the multi-use buildings. And so a lot of our time was just kind of not figuring out how to glue in um, so then the covet comes or right before the covet came um Rob more the building inspector commissioner came to us and talked about um The idea of rewriting the zoning bylaw at different levels and during his presentation Which I think is in the march fourth minutes He talked about working closely with the zoning subcommittee and the planning board for direction hiring consultants and you know You know, basically the tradition has been the planning board and the planning department work very closely together um The zoning subcommittee isn't kind of floating out there on their own projects. We're all kind of working in and so That was the presentation of rob mora I'm not sure if that has changed and he's planning on working directly with the crc But literally on the crc. There's only one person who's been on the planning board in that group and so The planning board has a lot of expertise in this area. And so I just I'm a little lost about process and I often talk about process In planning board meetings. It seems like we we it's how we struggle to stick with one I still think the crc is in transition and not really sure of their game And I could see how the planning board and the zoning subcommittee at the crc is working on a zoning bylaw You know the planning board would know about that and maybe the zoning subcommittee could sort of look at alternatives or things like that Or help work on that. I I don't um It's been a really useful committee in the past It's really hard for seven people as a planning board to work on like subsection a1 The language and you know, where does the comma go and that kind of stuff? I'm very comfortable with because I'm an attorney and that's all it is it seems um Anyway, so I I think you know, I could see about going on hiatus probably because we can't even meet as far as I can tell Unless we have a zoom setup I'd hate to lose christine breast rep But I think we can either meet ourselves and maybe or maybe get ben breger who's the new member um, so and then also I just think I was looking at um All our committees right now have empty empty, you know spots and openings and we have all these new members and so I think maybe If you're bound this committee for three years with New government trying to figure out how things are how to work with them and it's I could see that burnout I I felt that same frustration just in my six months and so I don't know. I just I just think that You know, I would hate to lose this committee. That's like a really like a workhorse for the planning board on detail work And I don't think that detracts from the crc working on their things and I don't think it detracts from the planning board talking about things um But I do wonder about is there a new plan for the zoning bylaw overhaul is rob mora Change the direction, you know, I listened to the crc meeting from a few weeks ago And it sounded like the planning department was continue planning to continue to work with the planning board I don't know if I missed a meeting. I don't know for missing some communication. So I I would say let's just put this all on hold till we figure out What's going on and I and I just think it's a very useful committee And I also don't want to lose the planning board's role as sort of an independent advisor and You know, we might have some zoning bylaws We'd like to initiate and I but I do respect what people are saying about you Don't want to just keep on working on something and have it go nowhere Um, I would like it to go somewhere And I'd like to I'd like the planning board and the zoning subcommittee to work closely with crc um on things so That's a big Bunch of things to say, but I don't I don't think we withered away I think we were just stopped but I think that the zoning subcommittee has been frustrated and I'm I'm still mentally with the plan that Rob more presented last March, so That's it Thank you Uh, oh, Andrew finally you I don't have much to add, um I I this has actually been really helpful because I was having a hard time sort of following the bouncing ball um I guess so I've I've like some comments and questions So maybe you guys can just help fill me in and you know again new to the board here So there's lots for me to figure out But is there like a is what's like the sense of urgent? Is there a sense of urgency to do something on this now? or not like Just not Yeah, I mean I I believe it's it's you know, crc is you know, maybe In the order of months in terms of its conception Uh, they're figuring things out. We're figuring things out. You know, it's certainly the new town government puts us all in a square, but I I do uh Uh, know that the town council is very motivated To make, you know, get some changes in the bylaw Uh, because uh, their their terms are coming up um Not sure when but uh Chris you can definitely fill in so many gaps here Would you care to speak? All right, so I don't think there's a sense of urgency I think that the crc is going to start working on zoning I spoke with rob mora the other day and he's perfectly willing to work with zoning subcommittee whoever Um, you know steps forward and says that they want to work on zoning He is working on a rewrite of the whole zoning bylaw including Re-formatting it and our new staff member ben brigger has recently Done a whole new numbering system for the zoning bylaw and we're going to start to go through it chapter by chapter and figure out, you know, what what is Difficult to understand what our conflicts What are things that we bump our heads against when we're trying to interpret the bylaw for applicants And work through some of the technical aspects of it and at the same time we know that there are Larger issues that people want to get a handle on like what is a mixed-use building how You know, what happens to the bl zoning district? Should it be the same as it is now or should it be modified somehow to allow residential? Used to be developed there You know parking we have a lot of questions about parking should parking be required How much of it should be required just on and on and on so as my vision of this is that rob and i will work on The reformatting and the technical aspects of it and then as things are developed by And I think it should be this crc and planning staff But as things are developed by crc and planning staff that they are brought into this new Formatted zoning bylaw and if there are things that people think really need attention Right away and really need to be voted on right away then Maybe those things go to a Go to the town council go right to the town council and then come back to the planning board and the crc For a public hearing for a recommendation and then they're adopted So i'm sure that there are things like that one thing I can think about right now two things actually are demolition delay bylaw is being rewritten by the historical commission and that is likely to be ready to be Shown at least to town council within the next few months. We also have Flood maps that we're working on and we're we have to rewrite a text for our flood maps And that has a time frame associated with it So there are these substantive things that either could be plugged into the big rewrite or could be dealt with on their own but I I think it's It's more straightforward to deal with these things with the crc rather than having the zoning subcommittee, but i'm willing to Say let's put the zoning subcommittee in hiatus for a while until We get the ball rolling with crc and try to figure things out So the that was a long answer to the question of is there some urgency, but I also wanted to emphasize that Residents and planning board members can work with the crc There they hold public meetings just like the zoning subcommittee does So if there are members of the planning board who are very interested in working on A particular thing that the crc is working on they're welcome to come to those meetings And they and I I spoke with the crc chair the other day and she said that she would certainly be willing to Work with you know residents and members of the planning board who came to those meetings So I guess that's all I have to say at the moment, but um Thank you, um, so you mentioned that it was easier to work with the crc Why is it easier again? Pardon my ignorance, but why would it be easier to work with the crc than versus the zoning subcommittee? Um, I think the crc is you know, they're five members. I think they have um, you know a wide array of Interests and knowledge and are more, you know, potentially more representative of the town And more representative of town council thoughts and feelings about zoning um, and they have a direct Line to town council about what town council cares about and the zoning subcommittee attracts You know certain individuals who are particularly interested in certain topics, but they don't really have that wide a range of Input or interests as the crc does so I think it's just it's just going to be easier to work with the crc in that regard So But your workload is sort of the same in either scenario. Is that is that right? My workload would be doubled if I worked with both the crc and the zoning subcommittee on Zoning issues. Yeah, if you worked with both, but if you worked on one or the other right So the thought is that I would work with crc And um try to get the ball rolling as far as zoning amendments go Yeah, I believe what uh day Zomac within the the Town uh Administration there Has requested that as well Um That you attend to crc. So that's already like a new Role on your plate that you didn't did not have previously And then we have these considerations of Of how zoning subcommittee, you know, its role before was with no town meeting And then we had, you know, maria speak at length about Um, you know, what's that mean when All these different entities are working on the same product Stepping on each other's feet. It just doesn't seem efficient But I do, you know, certainly the planning board Should be involved We're we're we're going to always have a voice and recommend and and and i'm wondering If if chris wouldn't mind being a liaison between the planning board and the crc within a a lot of, you know, hardwired Period of time within our regular planning board meetings where we specifically talk about These zoning issues and so that we will have Complete communication between crc and the planning board Uh via chris and then we're always welcome to attend the crc meetings But then we can have a you know, we can have discussion She can bring our discussion to them To the crc and and chris can bring the crc Discussions back to the planning board and then we can have some joint meetings As well during this hiatus period is My thought anyway um Again, this is, you know, new town government. This is all kind of Figuring this out as we go Um Tom Yeah, sure. I think jack I was Saying something similar to what you were saying and and you know as an outsider So again, I'm coming in just looking at this for the first time and hearing people speak about it um I can't say they have an opinion about whether the the subcommittee needs to exist or not But it definitely seems like the process by which things are Brought to the table reviewed approved Discussed and rewritten Has changed and that that change has left the zoning board or the um the subcommittee as um, almost like a moot point and is um You know Maria was saying being proactive and bringing things up that chain Hasn't produced any results and then waiting for those things to trickle down hasn't produced any results and I think it's just a matter of if the uh The zoning subcommittee is a thing It should have a really specific task And and that task should come um, you know, whatever they're working on Um should be coming from either the planning board or from the planning department or from the crc or from wherever But it should be really specific in terms of what the expectations are for that group and what their objectives are And that goes to what janin was saying in terms of process, right? We're missing What the clarity of that process is so again, I'm not for or against it I think there are ways that we could do it as a planning board I think there are ways that it can exist as a subcommittee But I think it needs a very specific set of tasks and deliverables in order for it to function So yeah on that note process is something that I think We need to figure out because I don't know if Pam can put the The flow chart back up there Yes, um, but I think what we're talking about is Uh on the top margin Top margin of this of this chart. It's not We're like above we're off this page. And I think we need to figure out that process that That is not um Here we go. Um But anyway, this is you know town council has has deadlines with regard to formal proposals That before them and timelines and things like that, but Prior to all this, I think we need a process to get figured out in terms of how we communicate with CRC And again, I I propose, you know, Chris Brest would kind of be in a liaison Uh We we can have you know, we can have people attend the CRC meetings bring their ideas But bring all the ideas to the planning board as a whole versus a subcommittee because there's just there's just Planning department has a charge who produce a revised or amended zoning bylaw By the ask from from town council and CRC and and so I would again, I I would recommend that We we set aside time each and every planning board meeting is so we don't you know aren't going into the the the wee hours of the evening but that we can discuss and and craft and work You know how we want to work with the CRC Uh in terms of exchange of ideas and we will always be Uh be able to cast, you know form opinion and recommendations On things, but we won't be the main architects for the little fine tuning things that were done before You know by the zoning subcommittee this these are these are bigger things bigger heavier lifts than we are accustomed to and that's why the planning department Professionals are taking this on and have been asked by the town council to do so um and janet please so When rob war came, you know, this actually it might be helpful for people to listen to the march forth meeting where more made a presentation He was talking about hiring consultants about downtown heights setbacks The bl what they call transition zones between um the general business area, which has five story heights um, and then the neighborhoods because the bl serves as a combination of You know developing housing businesses, but also buffering the neighborhoods from um the intensity and the heights of the The um bg he also wanted consultants on the signs and then um, we talked about inclusionary zoning which um he's been a hot topic and Amongst the planning board back in march We were talking so he was saying he was be we'd work with the planning board on sort of having the planning board set priorities on the issues In the zoning by-law rewrite like working closely with them Um, so there's I'm wondering if that idea of hiring consultants has disappeared or has it changed And the other thing we were talking as a board which got um a lot of us really excited Was a lot of the problems with the process of going to town meeting is that town meeting Heard about the the by-law changes mean 70 percent of by-law changes went in Through but only heard about like our the public process was like the warrant review So they hadn't heard what was going on and so we were talking about um with rob mora about having Kind of on the planning board website You know kind of these are the by-laws we're working on This is what we're doing Look at a place for people to give input and also to have public meetings like and rob mora was saying We're gonna have lots of public meetings on big issues. And so that's something that the planning board could facilitate um You know to get people on board to get the town understanding what the changes could be and soliciting their ideas and so I'm hoping we don't lose that larger vision. Um The CRC I've gone to their meetings for over a year I'm often the only person there and so and often it meets during the day and they're They're not doing that kind of outreach function and things like that So I think this is a really good discussion because I feel like we're gonna like flesh out What the next steps could be but I just I hope that That march forth meeting and the ideas of that and hiring consultants and engaging the town and and kind of larger planning Isn't lost by just saying the CRC wants to take this over right now. So I'm a little confused about You know what what I what I've heard at CRC meetings and what I'm hearing here But christine are they gonna still is rob? Are you guys still have money for consultants? And we're still talking about the website or some way for the public to get access to what's going on in zoning changes in their town is there um Before chris speaks I I'm I'm wondering like CRC is not A long has not been a long-term committee. I'm wondering if they were even existence in march When rob more if they were they they hadn't really I don't think Consolidated their mission But I'll let i'll let chris speak. They're like a year and a half old PRC has changed dramatically in the last Six months. Um, it had a huge mission previously and it was split up um town TSO is that it TSO took half of CRC's responsibilities and CRC is focusing on land use issues and Things that are related to zoning master planning and roadway use and town That type of thing so their mission has narrowed it's not It doesn't have the great scope that it had before And one of the reasons why is because they want to focus on zoning In terms of hiring consultants, I have 40 000 dollars from Several years ago for downtown rezoning. I have asked for another 60 000 dollars for FY 21 To bolster that to 100 000 to use for downtown and gateway And transitional area rezoning to hire a consultant, but I'm not sure that that's going to survive. We've gone through a terrific economic sort of a convulsion in the last four months where Everything having to do with the economic status of the town has been sort of shaken and We don't know if we're going to be able to get Capital funds that's the kind of money that I ask for when I need a consultant I ask JCPC and town council for capital funds and they're struggling now with operational funds They think they have enough operational funds to get us through FY 20, but they're facing some very difficult decisions to make in FY 21 and they have decided to Only put half as much money into capital So I don't know what the status of the consultants are going to be so a lot of it might rest on Town staff to do the writing that we had hoped to hire consultants to do That is an unknown right now. I don't think we can count on having The money that we had hoped to Have and I think that the planning board having not having the zoning subcommittee as part of The zoning amendment process doesn't diminish the role of the planning board. I think the planning board is still very important in the role of Doing zoning amendments because the planning board is one of the groups that works with zoning amendments on a weekly or if not Almost daily basis. So I don't feel like the role of the planning board is going to be diminished. I feel like They're going to have plenty of time to talk about anything that's coming before CRC, but CRC is really wanting to be the primary role for Working on zoning amendments and having a conduit between town council and the planning board and the residents so That's that's all I have to say right now Yeah, I mean those are good uh points chris again, I feel like We can't be rewrite rewriting things that other people are rewriting. It just makes no sense whatsoever, but we are our mission is definitely to review And make comment and recommendations on the bylaws Uh, and it's great that there is that component within the planning department that is dedicated now To the rewrite at the request of the town council So But I I think each and every planning board meeting We need to discuss this and we need input from you from the CRC Uh, and what happens there? um Or otherwise and then we can bring in, you know, janet has a lot of you know, great ideas Bring that in for discussion and you provide that You know within that your your role as The lay is on between the planning department and CRC you bring that from us to them But uh, that those are my thoughts uh, andrew My mine is really super fast this flow chart. Um, I don't it wasn't in my pb packet is um Is this did I maybe miss an email or I just I'm having a hard time rating It looks like it actually would be a really useful document for me to be able to look through Yeah, pam so I would propose, you know pam send this out, but I think that we need to work on The flow chart before this And and and decide how we want to work I mean, I just threw it I've been suggesting some things but we should work on How we want to communicate with town council via the CRC And and and and figure it out we we've got work to do Just on the process Aspect of things But pam will you be able to send that out to everyone? Yes jack I can do that. All right. It was sent to us Either yesterday or today. I can't remember and so we at that time had a short list of planning board members And now we have a long list of planning board members So it didn't get to the new members and we apologize for that No problem. Thank you. And we had a we had a similar flow chart for the master plan Refresh Or update, but the master plan has officially been set aside because of bigger more important pressing things and co vid etc But the zoning bylaws are still the priority That's moving forward, but You might as well send uh, you might as well Send us all that The master plan flow chart just just so for informational purposes Pam uh dug Okay, um You know as I've been listening to this I've been tempted To suggest or ask whether we could get Rob Mora or somebody from CRC To come to to attend one of our meetings And we can actually talk to them rather than speculate about what's going on with them You know, I I'm sure they've got a lot of other things they'd like to do But we're spending a lot of time speculating about what they are about And it'd really be nice to hear from them So if it means we all need to go to the next CRC meeting and ask these questions You know chris, maybe that's what you need to tell us Um, I guess one other thing I'm thinking about with this flow chart is Toward the bottom on the left The planning board votes on the proposed amendment Well, I presume that vote actually matters And that if we oppose it We've stopped what CRC did No Planning board has a recommendation role here So that's an optional vote It's not optional recommendation law requires that the planning board hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to the legislative body So, okay, so so what happens if we recommend that it not proceed? The town council can put aside your recommendation and approve whatever it is Um But they have received your recommendation, which is what is required by state law, okay All right, well then You know, I think a couple of times north ampton has been invoked as a counter example where the planning department Works directly with the the Administration of that town and the planning board's role is predominantly just to hold the public hearing So maybe what we really need to get through our heads is that things are changing and our role is diminished Um Just a last thought. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Doug And janet So under state law The planning board can bring zoning amendments or changes to the legislative body and that could be a town council a city council or um a town meeting And then under state law, we have to hold the hearing With the public, you know, also to notice requirements and make a recommendation um I feel like So those are things those are two legal things and you know, we can't you can't diminish those or reduce those I don't know why we're talking about like the diminishing of the planning board Um and the role, you know, when when rob mora came and talked to us There was no talk of that when Mandy joe hannacky came and talked to us about this flow chart It wasn't like we're going to try to shrink the planning board's involvement She was talking about working with you know closely with the um the crc You know all the little arrows that go back and forth Because one of the problems is like what happens if they're working on a zoning bylaw amendment And we have some suggestions of changes And we think they're really important We could actually start our own amendment and you wouldn't want that to happen So the idea was to work collaboratively together to come up with some good things Collaboration to the point of holding instead of two separate public meetings having one and so I you know, we could right here right now Reduce the power and the size and the scope of the planning board and diminish I don't know why you would I mean, I don't know, you know, if if we feel really strongly That mixed use buildings need to you know have some clarification because they kind of don't make sense or apartment buildings Don't make sense because no one wants to build them because it's the mixed uses Like there's a lot of there's so much expertise in the planning board in terms of working with the bylaw If we want to as this group, you know with many new members Reduce the role of the planning board just to kind of holding hearings and saying yes or no I guess you could do that. I don't know. How did we get there because Rob, you know, no one has suggested that through the pandemic I have gone to CRC meetings and you know, a lot of these discussions that are talked about I don't see in the minutes I don't haven't seen at the meetings. I've attended or listened to so I'm kind of just wondering like where are we going and why and I think Doug's suggestion of having Rob more come and maybe Mandy Joe Hanakie and all of us sitting down And hacking through a process but You know, I've gone to these CRC meetings for a long time and they're struggling with their role and what to do It's not like they're workshopping zoning bylaw amendments right now. And so Part of me feels like, you know, when I was thinking about the zoning subcommittee I was just thinking let's just see what they come up with if they have very specific zoning amendments We'll know through Christine or I'll go. I mean, I think anybody should go Um, and we'll you know, I could we can say hey, this is what they're working on bring it to the planning board The planning board could say hey, this is super specific Maybe the zoning subcommittee can look at it and see how this Little clause affects these six other spots, you know, when you do inclusionary zoning, you're kind of all over the bylaw You know that so I don't know why we're reducing and shrinking and other than the fact that we're sort of depressed and There's covet and there's some confusion in the town council Why don't we just operate as a functioning planning board the way we have and just sort of stay the course I'm not sure And also, I don't know, you know, this this thing kind of erupted getting rid of the zoning subcommittee in the middle of August that I've never heard of before so I think this is a good discussion to have but I'm not sure why How did we got here in a funny way or why why we should be deciding today or next week or in two weeks To really kind of reduce the power and the scope for the ability of the Planning board to be involved in You know planning and zoning and amherst like we're you know, how did we get there? Hey, well, um Before I let chris speak i'm just i'm just thinking that we um we're at the directive of The the town council. I mean, we're a board supporting They they tell us Sort of their elected officials. They tell us What they want from us and I think the And they have asked chris To interface with the crc now and it just I guess that's kind of symbolic of How they want the planning board to work. I don't know that we're diminished by any means I feel like we're perhaps maybe even empowered because The whole board can get information From from chris than the crc in terms of You know, what's going on and we're and they have dedicated staff with on you know, the the the within the town Uh planning department that's going at this. So I just feel like again, I use the term stepping on each other's feet. I mean You know I I don't there's just no efficiency efficiency about it. I think maria has made that very clear In her memo, but boy You you have put a lot of work in For what because it's not even in the In in the in the pipeline of how things are working now So but yet we still are essential because our recommendations matter. I mean Uh So I don't think this is a diminishing thing. I think it's we're going to be speaking to We're certainly going to be speaking to bylaw changes And if we can take a piece We're chris Department, you know, isn't able to address and we can break down and get you know, maybe you know Have the zsc or some ad hoc committee attack it Because they they need us then that's that's that's important, but I don't um To me it's you know, it seems to work and I'm I'm sorry I But um chris I just wanted to say I don't think it's a diminishment of the planning board I think the planning board will be working side by side with the crc on um Various things and I think that's expressed in this Flow chart that we're looking at here So the planning board still has a very strong role I think the crc understands that the planning board Understand zoning really well because you work with it all the time and the planning department understands it really well and they're you know looking to us for advice and Working together so Just because the zoning subcommittee may or may not exist I don't think that diminishes the role of the planning board And may I just say one more thing? Yes, I think that things that are important To individuals on the planning board Many of them are important to The town council and the crc and such things as Inclusionary zoning. I think that we all recognize that the inclusionary zoning bylaw doesn't work It works in some cases, but it doesn't work in other cases and it needs more It needs attention and so Those kinds of things are not going to get lost during this process Those are some of the most important things that we're going to be dealing with and we're in a different Economic situation from the situation that we were in when we first started talking about inclusionary zoning, you know 10 years ago And Now we're in a different situation I mean, there's so much development that was happening in amherst and will continue to happen that I don't think we're afraid of Dampening the Desires of people to develop things in Amherst by Tweaking our inclusionary bylaw and I think that may be one of the things that Janet is very well I know Janet is very passionate about inclusionary zoning and that may be one of the things that she's worried will Fall by the wayside, but I don't think it will I think that everybody recognizes that that's a big issue that we have to deal with so I just wanted to offer that as a Kind of a bomb and Gilead if you will To this discussion Maria please um I just want to say I don't mean to sound like a Debbie downer I I was just trying to give some history about you know How the zsc has tried to be proactive and how the town council really is just trying to get their feet under them And so I am excited that once they come up with a directive for us That we can dive deep into it. Whether it's with the planning board or zoning subcommittee or the MPIC that we've talked about this committee master plan implementation committee. There's so many Exciting things that could come our way. And so I don't mean to say like I'm trying to you know dissolve work or whatever I'm just saying let's not throw it out of cook in the kitchen right now because there's a lot of moving parts um, that's a lot of analogies, but Um, so I I'm I'm just saying for now. Let's lighten the load on the planning staff Let's hear from crc what they want us to maybe you know study and hopefully there things we're interested in too and I think I don't know if the newest members saw the top three lists that we Uh as a planning board discussed it was like um downtown Downtown something I don't know exactly. I mean downtown was pretty broad but it's not like There are different aspects of downtown, but I think we kept it really broad. We didn't specify another was um housing That's my my my thing. Um, I'm carrying a torch for that is uh to unlock parcels and diversify our housing stock and then the third one was Was it inclusionary zoning? No What was it as recodification? But I think It was included in downtown um revitalization and Anything having to do with housing. Yeah, so it was pretty big broad topics, but we sent to crc like our top sort of Initiatives and priorities and then hopefully I don't know when but they'll come back to us with something that Maybe they either discuss with us or task for us to study or I don't know what but For now. Yeah, I just want to pump the brakes on You know creating more work and more random studies until we know where we're going So I just want to say yeah, I'm not trying to say like let's Do less. I'm just saying let's wait to hear what it is that we should be doing Yeah, so I you know, I feel like we should continue bringing you know ideas Directly to the planning board not in a committee setting but bringing it in and then having chris You know deliver that to the crc bringing Information from the crc, but I I think we have a lot you know of good ideas That need to be heard that we can all discuss But I do feel like we need we kind of need a flow chart That's a precursor To to the one that's on their screen right now uh, janet So we actually have an extra meeting at the end of this month and I wonder like If we could sort of devote, you know, if we don't I'm hoping that we don't have a lot of permits and things like that But I wonder if we could devote that time to talking about You know the master plan implementation committee if we want to start that up Or committee assignments because we have a lot of stuff So maybe you know we have a lot of new members And so maybe we can talk about what each committee does And how those things fit together I would encourage people to read the minutes of the crc and things like that because right now they're working on housing policy I'm not sure what they're doing specifically event. I don't think they're working on a specific zoning things and so Um, but maybe you know people could read up a little bit um on that and and things like that So maybe in our last extra meeting in the month we could talk about you know Who's doing what or who wants to be on what committee and if we're if we do the master plan implementation committee People should look at you know chapter 10 of the master plan or the new maybe the new members can Do the heavy lift and read the master plan because there's a lot to that too So I don't want to like throw all these things out But I do think it's like a time for a sort of reorganizing and re-remembering and things like that. So that's that's just my suggestion I do believe that You know master plan discussions and the zoning by-law can be You know part of our regular agenda item And you know the the agenda can kind of be decided before we meet but certainly allotting You know time to talk about either one of those although the zoning zoning by-laws is going to be the more important thing but again I think it all starts with Coming out of the you know from rob mora the billy commissioner and and the planning department in terms of You know they're They're draft and then we can start Commenting and that'll get the discussion started, but we do need work. I think with that flow chart But um Just going back to something that janet had said before was like before the planning board was the gatekeeper sort of for Zoning amendments to town meeting and then you had the petition articles, right and Tin voters. I don't know if that's correct, but it sounds sounds good, but now We are still one of those entities and the public petitions Are still there, but in addition now we have the crc and we have Individual town council members. I believe that can initiate, you know zoning amendment So there's there's a lot. Well, there's a lot of moving parts here and we're just not the pipeline That we used to be with the former Town government chris I just wanted to mention that rob mora and I are planning to meet with the crc on september 15th Which is in the afternoon. So some of you may not be able to come, but if you are able to you might want to tune in on that meeting So we're going to be talking about What we're doing with the zoning bylaw So that's september 15th. I think it's at two o'clock in the afternoon Spitting out of my calendar Okay What what time is that chris? I believe it's at two. I think that's when they generally meet, but I can confirm that for you Okay So it's it's 8 53 If we were talking about nine nine o'clock. We're awfully close to that point um, I think we've had a lot of productive conversations on Unzoning and and and what our role May or may not be Um It will will continue this discussion, you know the next meetings uh, so Is everyone general okay with moving on from from this topic so we can wind up. Okay. I see some heads shaking Affirmatively, uh, so topics not reasonably anticipated 40 48 hours prior to the meeting I don't have anything. Okay, and then new business Do you have anything there? All right, and then form a a and r subdivision applications Um, I would like to ask pam Um, if she remembers if we have any New a and r's I have this feeling that we have a new a and r that's gone to jason, but I can't remember Do we have a new a and r pam? That is ready for tonight. No, we have something that's going to come up on september 16th and um what that is No, I don't because Actually, it hasn't gone to jason. It's going to go to jason on friday When i'm in the office on friday You have a new a and r but not for tonight for the 16th of september Okay, uh upcoming zba applications Um chris i'm behind the loop in that because I haven't been to the staff meeting So i'm not aware of anything new not aware of anything new either. Okay And then upcoming spp spr sub applications We do have one application which I may have already told you about which is the library Wants to put a tent on their front lawn to um conduct library business and that'll be coming to you on the 16th Okay And uh if we get down to the planning board committee and liaison reports the piner valley planning commission. I did attend Executive committee meeting last thursday um We approved lots of money for them to spend From various sources, but I have to admit chris, uh, there was this community development block grant Discussion that meant, you know, they piner valley planning commission is a great Entity for getting money into western mass and I think, you know through the cares act, but They pretty much like went all around amherst for one particular grant and I so I assumed that Amherst was doing its own thing in terms of pursuing our own loan Uh as part of the uh of the cares act And I just wondered if you Were aware of that and maybe get me in the loop a little bit more because I was just like Why not amherst sort of? We have applied for money from the cares act and um, we've received. I think it's three hundred and twenty one thousand dollars for various uses and I believe that one of them is Um a micro helping micro businesses And some of the money is going to craig's doors and I'm sorry that my Brain is not really full right now with the other items But I can send you a memo that lists. Um, how that money is broken down into whom it's going Uh, so I will do that. I understand a lot of the towns within our region don't have as strong as planning department as we have in amherst and And so we do we tend to you know, sometimes do our own thing because we have that that capability and that and that avenue To the directly to the to the funding agencies. Okay um, I just wanted to make that comment and uh, but that's all with Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. I guess and then once we get settled You know, we're getting an associate uh, commissioner or I don't know what that would would be So that's something you can discuss on um, when you talk about Hannah comes on board And again, we have spots to fill so Yep Would you like a regular report on grants that we're going after or grants that we've received because that's one of the big things that we do And we've been going after a lot of them recently Just for my participation on the Pioneer Valley commission it might Because I just feel like I don't know what's going on Yeah, when they discuss those things, but I will do that And so Mike, uh, you know, we thank his you know service And we're gonna miss him. Um, but he was our Um liaison for the community preservation act committee and um I don't know if they've met but again if Next cycle we get Johanna here and we'll start nominating Uh, some people and get you know, all of us involved the extent that People are interested in and in these things the agricultural agricultural commission again has been vacant Then the design review board Same thing But I don't know if you can speak to The c-pack or the design design review board. Do you know anything chris? Um, yeah, I know that c-pack is starting its work earlier this year Sonya Aldrich who's the Comptroller is their staff person and she's starting their process in mid october She's asking to have Applications received by then so um, we're working in the planning department trying to figure out If we're going to apply for anything, but the categories are housing affordable housing recreation open space and Historic Historical commission. Yeah yes, so I'm sorry, we've been thinking about this and i'm sure that members of the community have been thinking about this So if there are things that you're interested in applying for you You might want to just let me know so I can put it into the pipeline But that is coming up on october 12th So they're going to be starting to meet once they get their applications in from all the various service organizations and Entities that apply for these funds They are gonna have to go through them and then decide what they're going to recommend to town council for funding Usually they don't start that process till like november december january Thank you chris And the design review board nothing If it is going to be meeting Soon, I think sometime in the next two weeks and one of the topics they're going to be reviewing is The wayfinding signs we have designs for the wayfinding signs, but we need your locations for them So that's one of the things that's going to be talked about and I know what the other thing is, but it's not coming to mind right now. So yeah So I know those that the signage was a big deal for the You know aging Now Committee you come up with with in terms of making the town more accessible And that that that'll be good to get Some progress on that The zoning subcommittee we've already discussed Report of the chair I wanted to thank Yes Sorry to interrupt, but I had my hand up and I wanted to say sorry Before you moved on to the next thing Since we have these new members and we're going to have to do new assignments for our liaison to these other committees I was wondering if chris or ham could Just put together a list of these committees and when they meet So that as we're thinking about Whether we'd be interested in joining them we can take into consideration our schedules Mm-hmm. Yep. We can do that That would probably help The conversation when we actually get to it Good idea. Thank you I don't know if you have it on your list just already interrupts, but you know Also, since since we are are some new members. I I'd love to Sort of introduce myself formally if we get to a point Um in the agenda do that andrew. I think you were I back off And andrew please Tell us a little bit about you Call me off-guard. Um Well, just I wanted to to To say hello and that i'm very excited and happy to be part of the committee here Um, I am a long time Amherst resident. I actually have done kind of two tours of duty here. I did k through through bachelors I lived in north carolina for a long time and then I came back and I've been here for about 12 years Um, my background actually of a degree in landscape architecture. I've studied some regional planning Um, but I've been in the private sector in banking for the last 20 years and and my roles have been to Help determine the optimal geographic distribution of our branches and atms It's largely it's a planning slash real estate function And so I hope that That experience maybe can can bring some new opinions or ideas To the board. I i'm looking forward to getting to meet all of you and sort of learning more about You know what you what you do and and your interests, but uh, I i'm super excited to be here and wish it wasn't via zoom Thank you. I I appreciate that tom would you mind Tell us a little bit about your background and and interests. Sure. Um, so, uh, I am a resident of Amherst. I have two children going to public schools One in elementary one in middle school. So at fort river My wife is a umass alum native of the area. So we came back here from new york city and from boston um I had a seven years Seven and a half years of architectural training. So, um, my master's degree is in Advanced architectural design from columbia. So i've been studying architecture for quite some time and working on a variety of kinds of projects from high-end residential To working at larger firms working on public process for I was at a firm called CBT in boston and and worked with them at some sort of air rights projects and all kinds of different things And over the years I sort of evolved into a sort of The designer of many different things and so my work is uh in large in scope and I actually own a branding agency Here in the area I do branding design and marketing and promotion for companies like bueno isano and tea guys and other Bart's ice cream different organizations in the area done complete rebrands and stuff like that for them While working as a Partner or collaborator with an architecture Group out of boston and We do a memorial project. So we enter public memorial projects Probably every once a year. We'll submit something. We're finalists for the Martin Luther King memorial and the boston commons those on that team who want to five finalists for that Um, so we've been working. We finished a memorial for the abolition of slavery in non-france, which is like a five million euro project Right on the waterfront there. So, you know, I've been involved in a wide array of projects And i'm just really my research and oh i'm a professor. I teach architecture At hamster college now is joint appointed at amherst college and mount holio college for the first 10 years of my My tenure here, um, but I teach architectural design and Graphic design as well And my research is focused on human centric design and the human experience and relationship to form and and style I'm just excited to be here and um, uh See what I can contribute. Um, you know, whether that's from a design aesthetic point of view or from a community ecosystem point of view I'm I'm excited to play a role Thank you. Tom. Are you licensed? I'm not licensed. No I don't would there be a license that I know I I like I I know architects have to do so much It's like it's not a four-year Minimally, it's not a four-year thing. You gotta go five Actually, I did a five-year undergrad. Um, and yeah Went straight to graduate school because I knew I did not want to do a Seven years of internships or whatever it was that I knew I'm CAD monkeying. So I Moved into teaching right out of graduate school. So that was my focus was that I'm gonna be right away I have a driver's license jack Oh boy, yeah licenses. Um I'm wondering if we should wait for Johanna or should we give a little spiel myself and and doug and maria and jana or wait I whatever you guys we can just end the meeting now What's what's your what's your fancy there? It might be helpful for for her to hear Okay, you want to redo it because I think it'll be really helpful for us. Okay, but I think It's going to be helpful for her as well. So to put backgrounds to faces, I think And she's already heard from from tom and I through the the interview process. No, okay. So So shows, you know, do we want to speak now or just kind of wait? We'll wait. I would say wait. We'll wait. Okay. All right. Um Report of staff We can't hear you. I was saying something nice Exciting to work with you and get to know you and I'm I'm really looking forward to it. So thank you for Signing up and we're We're just happy to have you Very happy Oh Yeah, and then it's adjournment adjourn So and and our next meeting is September 16th 16th. Okay. Yeah Make sure that's in there and I'm trying to get some Decisions done. Thank you all for coming out and signing the decisions. Jenna came out in the rain today So she's really dedicated But I'm planning to crank through some more decisions because we're a little bit backlogged So, thank you Well, I didn't even know it was raining very much because I'm in my basement And you know, you got to help me out here Blast the last the window here somewhere Some egress windows in there for at least ventilation Come on Okay Thank you. Thank you very much. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye everybody