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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-06 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF OCTOBER 6, 2009 MINUTES Board Members Present: Allie Brown, Chairman Paul Bolin, Alternate Member Doug Damon John Miller Nat Rosenblatt Andy Sturgeon Miles Theeman City Staff Present: David Gould Peter Witham Bud Knickerbocker Chairman Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. In the absence of Board Member Barnes, Alternate Member Bolin was asked to vote. CONSENT AGENDA As no one wished to remove the item for discussion, Chairman Brown asked for a motion. Mr. Miller moved to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Theeman and it passed by a vote of 7 to 0. The item approved is as follows: Item No. 1: Site Location of Development Modification approval for minor revisions to reduce the building footprint by 133 square feet and other site changes at 308 Godfrey Boulevard in an Airport Development District. New Castle Hotel Corporation, applicant. NEW BUSINESS Item No. 2: Overview of 2006 Shoreland Zoning Guidelines. Planning Officer Gould explained that the State of Maine DEP Shoreland Zoning Unit revised the State’s Shoreland Zoning Guidelines in 2006 with a deadline of July 1, 2008 when municipalities would be expected to either adopt the State’s new guidelines or update their local Shoreland zoning provisions to be consistent with the new regulations. This deadline 2 was extended to July 1, 2009. Staff has been working with DEP’s Shoreland Zoning Staff for some time and has drafted amendments to the City’s existing regulations and has drafted associated map amendments. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the State’s new changes and mapping identify the Penjajawoc Marsh as a high value wetland which under the new regulations would require a 250-foot Resource Protection boundary. Mr. Gould gave a brief history as to efforts of the City in conjunction with the Penjajawoc Marsh Bangor Mall Area Task Force who came up with a plan to protect the Marsh. The plan included a provision to maintain a 75-foot Resource Protection Boundary, required that no structures would be allowed within 250 of the wetland edge, that housing needed to be clustered with the open space contiguous to the Marsh, that impervious area on each lot was limited, and that all projects needing subdivision plan approval or site development plan approval would be reviewed by the Marsh Mall Commission prior to being submitted to the Planning Board. The new State guidelines would suggest the City revisit the present regulatory structure around the Marsh which appears to be a step backwards in the work of the Task Force and Commission. Mr. Gould also noted there are conflicts regarding forested wetlands that have been included for many years that do not now need to be included. In past discussions the Board was reticent to remove the Shoreland Zoning Resource Protection District. Mr. Gould noted that under the new provisions there is a wetland adjacent to Trillium Trail in the Fox Hollow Subdivision that has been identified by the State as a High Value Wetland with 250 feet of Resource Protection District surrounding it. There is a developed property within the 250 foot RP boundary which would make the structure nonconforming. In this case Staff would like to adjust the resource boundary to limit the impact on properties that are already developed. Mr. Damon indicated he supported the City’s Penjajawoc Marsh protection scheme as it represented a local based system as opposed to a State imposed system. He felt local control and decision making was typically better suited to local needs and concerns. Chairman Brown asked if there were specific environmental criteria provided to support the determination that certain wetlands were of high or moderate value wetlands? Mr. Gould noted there may be criteria but he had not seen a set of factors used in making that determination. Mr. Sturgeon indicated that the Ordinance needs to be clear that the Zoning map should not govern the location of the zoning district but the actual location of the waterbody or wetland on the ground. Given the set of maps the City is working with can lead to erroneous interpretations of where the zoning boundaries are located. At this point, Mr. Gould indicated that he would like to get the Board’s feeling on what elements of the new language the Board would be willing to support prior to formally initiating an amendment to the Land Development Code. The Board discussed wetlands, forested wetlands, and Shoreland zoning. Mr. Rosenblatt asked what Staff would like to see changed. Mr. Gould indicated that the recommendation would be that there be no change to the Marsh; that the forested wetlands be done away with; and that wetlands on the map would need to be better explained as to their representation on the map versus their actual location on the ground. 3 Mr. Gould noted that while a forested wetland may not be protected by Bangor’s Shoreland Zoning Resource Protection District it still would be protected by other State (DEP) and Federal wetland protection laws. Mr. Rosenblatt asked how the Shoreland Zoning Section and the Resource Protection Districts functioned within the Zoning Code. Mr. Gould noted that the Shoreland Zoning Section of the City’s Land Development Code acts as a overlay district providing additional restrictions to some properties. Section 165-34, the Shoreland Section defines what areas it applies to (certain water bodies and wetlands) The section then provides additional standards; setbacks building heights clearing standards etc) for those areas. A couple of Zoning District like Resource Protection and Stream Protection are created to meet a Shoreland Zoning function but act as zoning districts of their own. Mr. Gould noted that the original concept for shoreland zoning was based on a community that may be somewhat remote with limited regulatory zoning structure, limited development, and public infrastructure. As the State’s model evolved it became a complete zoning regulation. Urban communities like Bangor, Portland and many others already have a fairly sophisticated land use regulation scheme and need not adopt the State’s model to regulate features already covered in their nonshoreland zoning code. Planning Officer Gould reiterated what he anticipated bringing forward: 1) the City would propose to continue to protect the Penjajawoc Marsh via the Overlay District and not make significant changes to the Resource Protection Boundary or the existing Overlay provisions; 2) the Resource Protection adjacent to Trillium Trail would be adjusted so as not to create nonconformities to existing developed properties; 3) existing forested wetlands presently zoned Resource Protection would be proposed to change to their underlying district, 4) the Shoreland Zoning Map and Ordinance will be annotated to reflect that features depicted and their related zoning boundaries should be field verified as to geographic location; and 5) finally, prior to the requisite public hearings, staff will review the specifics with the Board. Mr. Rosenblatt asked about changes in timber harvesting. Mr. Gould indicated that there are provisions for the State Forestry Bureau to regulate timber harvesting. Towns can elect to have the provisions administered and enforced by the State. If enough towns elect to do so, then the State Forestry Bureau will regulate them everywhere. Given the ever increasing demand on local Staff, the Code Office would support the forestry professionals taking over that function. Item No. 3: Planning Board Bus Tour – Trip Logistics. The consensus of the Board was to hold the Bus Tour on Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Planning Board Members indicated that they would like for the following sites to be included in the tour: 1) the forested wetland on Church Road; 2) the Bomarc Road neighborhood; 3) potential development areas; 4) the horse barns at Bass Park; 5) Kittredge Road; 6) Stormwater improvements; 7) the new Wal-Mart; and 8) the new Eastern Maine Medical Center Garage. 4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 4: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. stth Chairman Brown indicated that the Minutes of the September 1 and 15 Meetings were in order. Mr. Damon moved to approve both sets of Minutes. Mr. Bolin seconded the motion, which carried by a vote of 7 to 0. There being no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m.