ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
BUSINESS MINUTES OF
October 18, 2006
Present: Bruce Simpson, John Burke, Lorraine Sweeney, Robert Garrity,
Martin Murphy, Elissa Flynn-Poppey, Michael Kulesza
Absent: No one
Meeting was videotaped by Peter Chipman for NCTV
The duly posted meeting convened at 7:45 p.m. in room 105C at the Norfolk Town Hall.
The members signed vouchers for postage reimbursement, office supplies and consultant reviews.
A letter will be sent to Mr. Paul Borrelli requesting that he submit a check in the amount of $5000.00 to replenish the Norfolk Condominium 40B consultant inspection account. Mr. Garrity made the motion to request the monies. Mrs. Sweeney seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
It was reported by the Administrative Assistant that individuals were waiting in the lobby as they thought that their attorney had filed a variance petition that would be previewed this evening. If the application for the variance is filed within the next couple of days the Board will endeavor to post a meeting in accordance to the Open Meeting Law and preview the application for a hearing in November.
The Board adjourned at 8:00 p.m. to conduct the public hearing for Pine Creek Development. Attorney Nylen had faxed a letter with a request to continue the hearing scheduled for this evening to December 20, 2006. After a discussion regarding the date for a continuance the Board adjourned the public hearing at 8:15 p.m.
The Board conducted the public hearing for Liberty Norfolk Development at 8:15 p.m. The hearing closed at 9:15 p.m.
The business meeting reconvened at 9:15 p.m. The members discussed who could be present at a meeting to preview an expected application.
Approve business minutes of September 20, 2006 – A final draft copy of the minutes had been forwarded to the members via e-mail and hard copy in agenda packets to review prior to the meeting. Mr. Burke made further revisions that were typographical but there were no revisions to the substance of the minutes. It was noted that Peter Chipman, a member of the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee, but not the Zoning Board of Appeals, sent e-mails to the office and the Board regarding his perception of the incompleteness of the draft minutes.
Mr. Burke made the motion to accept the minutes of September 20, 2006. Mrs. Sweeney seconded the motion. Mr. Kulesza questioned why certain information pertaining to Mr. Chipman was not included in the minutes. Mssrs. Burke, Garrity, Simpson and Mrs. Sweeney noted that they did not hear the same comments that Mr. Kulesza stated that he heard. Mr. Murphy gave his perception of what he heard discussed in the report by Mrs. Flynn-Poppey.
Mr. Burke stated that, according to guidance documents, meeting minutes should include, at a minimum, the date, time, and place of the meeting, the identity of the members present and absent and all actions of the Board that were taken. A verbatim record of the meeting is not required. Mr. Garrity quoted excerpts from a guidance document from the Attorney General’s office on the Open Meeting Law. Minutes should serve as a record of what was done at a meeting and not necessarily what was said. Discussions not related to the actions of a board do not have to be included in minutes. Mr. Burke noted that according to Town Counsel audio tapes can be erased after the minutes are approved.
The members entered into a lengthy discussion on what they recollected during the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee presentation given by Mrs. Flynn-Poppey at that meeting. The members discussed what information should be included in the minutes.
Mrs. Sweeney made the motion to adopt the policy recommended by Town Counsel regarding to the content of minutes and to keep audio tapes until the minutes are approved. Tapes may be erased and reused if there is no outstanding public records request or litigation involving the tapes. This policy will also follow the recommendations from the SPR bulletin and open meeting guidelines from the Attorney General’s office. Mr. Garrity seconded the motion. The detailed records for cases will be more detailed in their content in order to be helpful to the Board members, which follows current policy. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
Peter Chipman, who was present videotaping the meeting for NCTV, requested a copy of the audio tapes of this meeting. He was asked to put his request in writing to the Board. After a lengthy discussion the vote to accept the minutes of September 20th was 5-1 with one abstention. Mr. Kulesza voted nay and Mr. Murphy abstained.
Conservation Commission review: There was one new application to review for the Conservation Commission. Glen Capuchin of 162 North Street filed a Notice of Intent for a proposed addition within the 50-100 foot buffer. There were no apparent zoning issues and the Board will file the application without comment.
The Board noted the receipt of a report from Graves Engineering regarding Pine Creek Development.
The members discussed the matter of the Norfolk Credit Union and the location of its proposed parking. It was noted that the Planning Board had issued a site plan approval which called for the parking in the front yard. The front door of the proposed building will be facing the Town Hall. There is also some confusion on the street numbering for this entity.
The members reviewed a draft level funded FY’08 budget analysis prepared by the Administrative Assistant. The Administrative Assistant will prepare a draft impact statement for the Board to review.
The next Board meeting will be November 15th. Mr. Burke has a conflict on that date. Mrs. Sweeney stated that she will have a conflict for the meeting of December 20th. The Board determined that they would meet on December 13, 2006 rather than 5 days before Christmas. A room location will have to be determined.
It was noted that a retirement party is being planned for this Sunday for Frank Gross who is retiring as the Town Moderator.
Mr. Burke made the motion to close the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Mr. Kulesza seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
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Robert J. Garrity, Clerk
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