TEWKSBURY MASTER PLAN COMMITTEE MEETING

July 17, 2003

 

The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm.  Members present were Frank Sweet, Sal Torname, Joe Gill, Steve Sadwick, Nancy Reed and Susan Duffy.  Judi Barrett  from COG, was also present.

 

  1. Approval of Minutes

 

The meeting minutes of June 30, 2003 were approved unanimously in a motion made by Gill and seconded by Reed.  ( Later during the Land Use discussion,  it was realized that the Woburn St. transitional zone, Park Street to the Lowell line, was not in the June 30th minutes.  Gill motioned to amend the meeting minutes of June 30, 2003, Reed seconded, and the committee approved the motion unanimously.

 

  1. Approval of Invoices

 

Gill asked if the COG invoices were approved by Sadwick to which Sadwick confirmed that they were.  Torname questioned if we are still on budget even with the latest meeting additions.  Sadwick informed the committee that we were in line with the budget, that he did not foresee the committee going over budget and Barrett concurred.  COG invoice # 0230-05-180 was approved for payment by a unanimous vote through a motion by Gill and seconded by Torname.  COG invoice # 0230.1-05-176 was also approved for payment through a motion made by Gill and seconded by Reed. 

 

  1. Land Use Study Group

 

Since one of the Master Plan’s Land Use committee representatives was not in attendance, a motion was made to hold off appointing the citizen members until the next scheduled Master Plan Committee meeting.    A list of the interested citizens was distributed to the Master Plan members.  A motion was made by Reed and seconded by Gill to move up the appointments to the August 4, 2003 meeting, and the motion was unanimously approved. 

 

  1. Natural And Cultural Resources Element

 

The committee did not have any additional comments regarding this element.  Resident Steve Deackoff questioned where he could review the maps referred to in this element.    Sweet directed him to the master plan website to view the maps, and/or to see Sadwick for a copy.  Duffy also presented Deackoff with a set of the draft maps to look over.  The draft Natural and Cultural Resources element was adopted unanimously in a motion made by Reed and seconded by Gill.

 

  1. Open Space and Recreation Element

 

The committee did not have any additional comments regarding this element either.  The draft Open Space and Recreation element was adopted unanimously in a motion by Gill and seconded by Reed. 

 

 

 

  1. Population and Housing Element

 

The committee did not have any additional comments regarding this element.  Resident Warren Carey had questions regarding the data presented in Table 1, page 2, specifically as to why Andover and Wilmington were not listed in the comparison data.  Barrett answered that COG duplicated the listing of town comparisons that were done in the previous Master Plan, and also discussed that the information was taken directly from the Census Bureau.  The committee agreed to Barrett adding the towns of Wilmington and Andover data to the table only, but not in the text of the element.  The draft Population and Housing element was adopted unanimously in a motion made by Gill and seconded by Duffy.

 

  1. Economic Development Element

 

Barrett informed the committee that after speaking with NMCOG recently that she has some regional context information that she feels should be added to this element.  The committee agreed to Barrett adding the additional information.  Barrett will send on the revised copy to Sadwick with the changes highlighted so that committee could review the changes only without having to review the entire document again.  The committee then conditionally approved adoption of the draft Economic Development element, by a motion made by Gill and seconded by Duffy, understanding that changes could be added at a later date. 

 

  1. Traffic and Circulation Element

 

Resident Carey questioned the reasoning behind the “traffic calming” measures as outlined in the draft on page 15.  Sweet reiterated that the committee’s concept of traffic calming was safety oriented and not to be used as a tool to restrict out of town traffic from using Tewksbury’s streets, which was Carey’s concern.   Resident Gail Walsh suggested that under “East Street”, page 15, 5th bullet down, that the sentence should end in “for sidewalks”, to which the committee agreed.  The amended draft element, Traffic and Circulation, was approved for adoption by a motion by Gill and seconded by Duffy.

 

  1. Land Use Element

 

Sweet briefly reviewed what has been discussed to date regarding the Land Use element.  Much discussion centered on East Street and the proposed transitional zone along East St. near Carter and Lumber Lane.  Barrett discussed the types of development that would be allowed in a transitional zone.  In answer to some residents’ questions regarding Map 3, the “Land Use Policy Plan” and how the boundaries did not seem correct, Reed explained why the map may appear a bit distorted.  Barrett also explained that when she looked at the East Street area where a proposed transitional zone could be, that she looked more at topography than solely lot lines.  Resident Mr. Walsh stated that he would not be in favor of changing the current zoning in that area to a transitional zone.  Reed suggests only going one lot in for the zone, to which Barrett states that the zone would not be deep enough.  The committee agreed that some type of transitional zone should be in the area,

but also felt that further study was warranted.  In a motion made by Gill and seconded by Reed, the committee approved unanimously to have Barrett and Sadwick take another look at the area in question on East St., and to make a recommendation at the next meeting regarding proposed boundaries of the transitional zone, or if the zone should be modified so it can be studied further, possibly with the Land Use Study Group. 

 

  1. Next Scheduled Meeting

 

The goal of the next meeting is to wrap up discussion of the draft master plan, minus the Introduction and Executive Summary which Barrett is currently drafting.  The committee will also discuss the draft Community Facilities and Services element.    The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 4, 2003 at 7pm at the Tewksbury Police Station.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:53pm by a motion from Gill and seconded by Duffy.