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OSRC minutes_ 03.02.22 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Open Space and Recreation Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: None LOCATION: City Hall Council Chambers DATE: March 2, 2022 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: David Alden-St. Pierre (Chair), David Brewster(Vice Chair), Elizabeth Dunne, Gregory Sharp, Marilyn McCrory, Alison Dudley BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Charlie Mann, Todd Callaghan, Wayne Miller STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Chelsea Zakas,Associate Planner OTHERS PRESENT: Steven Crowley, Ward 3 Councilor RECORDER: Sharlyne Woodbury 1. Call to Order Alden chairs and opens the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Note, a this is a hybrid of virtual and in-person meetings allowed by extension (Act effective June 16, 2021 thru April 1, 2022) of state Executive Order signed March 12, 2020 due to COVID-19. 2. Open Space and Recreation Plan Public Forum 7:00 PM—8:30 PM a. Presentation by Chelsea Zakas Zakas reviews the Action Plan, explains it is in draft format. Zakas discusses the survey results in conjunction with the action plan data, goals, and objectives. This is an interactive public presentation. Zakas invites the public to walk through the chambers,review action items on poster board, and use color coded stickers to coordinate with their preferences in areas of interest: most important—not important. Per the boards, the public overwhelmingly support Goal B objective and initiatives. Pickleball remains a public favorite. Zakas reviews next steps in the process for the draft action plan. The goal is to develop a final 7-year Action Plan based on community feedback and PlanBeverly Data. McCrory invites the public to look at their neighborhood, if you see opportunities to write them down and contact their ward councilors or contact Zakas for these potential open spaces. b. Members of the Public Opportunity to reflect on the the OSRC Plan Caroline Mason Baird, 583 Hale Street Addresses goal A. Specific concerns are the overbuilding on the diminishing open spaces. It's an assault on the environment and a disservice to those who do not have access to open spaces. Urges the committee to acquire a greater set back to the Bass River waterfront than is currently projected on the drawing board. Steven Crowley, Ward 3 Councilor Reviews Gloucester Crossing and appreciates the committee work done to preserve,protect and acquire pocket parks for areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Ward 3 has the least amount of Open Space&Recreation Committee March 2,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 open space for the residents per capita compared to other wards typical of single home/resident dwellings. Ward 3 is comprised of multi-family residences and apartments. Rebecca Ballantine, 23 Mill Street Live in YMCA housing. She is happy to be here and contribute to the meeting. As a resident she is excited by the Simon Street pocket park. Expresses concerns with the children and their limited open space opportunities they have. Would like to see increased awareness of public meetings. Would like awareness for the children with special needs who frequent inner city parks. Speaks to the park maintenance and equipment. Mulch is harmful to children, swings could be updated and made safer. Emphasizes lack of communication to understand what the city can do to support these efforts. Feels residents are sitting in idle with concerns heard, and no action taken. Dean Berg, 45 Neptune Street Resident of Ward 4. Excited to see actions related to community gardens and urban agriculture. Representing Green Beverly. Discusses urban sustainability, reviews carbon footprint. Advocates for locally grown food. 3. Convene for regular meeting 8:05 PM—9:00 PM 4. Members of the Public Opportunity to Address the Committee a. Tess McColgan,Beverly Council on Aging,Walk in the Woods program Not available for tonight's meeting. 5. Approval of Meeting Minutes a. January 5,2022 Motion: Brewster moves to accept the minutes as amended. Sharp seconds. the motion carries 6-0. b. February 2,2022 To be reviewed at the April 2022 meeting. 6. Discuss Principal Items of Business a. Community Preservation Committee—Representative Report McCrory provides the updates. The application for Simon Street parks was approved and will go to the city council meeting March 7, 2022. b. Planning Board—Representative Report No updates at this time. Members will discuss at the next meeting. c. Harbor Management Authority Updates—Representative Report No updates at this time. Members will discuss at the next meeting. d. Conservation Commission—Representative Report Open Space&Recreation Committee March 2,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 Alden provides the updates. Most notably he will be resigning his position by the end of April 2022. e. Encroachment Updates No updates at this time. Members will discuss at the next meeting. f. Parcel Updates —additional details outlined in Zakas' staff report. i. Green Street update 27 X— There are no updates at this time. DPW will install sign and kiosks and fencing in the spring. 27A —There are no updates at this time. ii. Bass River Overlay District Members were not able to attend the meeting March 1, 2022. Dudley noted that friends of hers attended the meeting. She discusses where the public has deep concerns. The Ryal Side Civic Association is very concerned about the over development of the district. Zakas confirms 10%is largely over shot. There are 7 large parcels the city wants to develop from the bowling mat to National Grid. The only way to acquire more open space is if a land owner generously donates the open space. Zakas notes Ch 91 would be the trigger to get more open space. Where a percentage of the lot has to be water use or open space. The only way to trigger Ch 91 is redevelopment. The carwash is not going away. Zakas confirms the way the parcels are divvied up depends on how much open space preserved. The larger the parcel, the larger the open space preservation requirement. Per Zakas the city is in favor of a plan that keeps the parcels large to preserve more open space. Brewster noted the support for Sedna apartments and the small pocket park with a little path for waterfront access. OSRC wrote a letter in support. Alden discusses the need for housing and all the elements that come with it. Increased inner city residences does not necessarily decrease the carbon footprint. Simply because these dwellings are located next to public transportation does not mitigate the use for personal vehicles. Even if it did,there are other services residents use, such as Amazon for deliveries, that maintain or possibly increase carbon footprint. If residents use public transportation, there is likelihood the offset of alternative means to have goods and services delivered increases traffic congestion and the carbon footprint. iii. Congress Street—"Pocket Park" There are no updates at this time. Alden requests this be removed until the project is no longer stalled. iv. Gloucester Crossing Simon Street—mentioned under"CPC representative report." V. Norwood Pond update (NSMT) Open Space&Recreation Committee March 2,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 Alden provides the updates. He met with Bill Haney, confirming the One Norwood Pond bridge built will connect the trails. They are waiting for money from Cummings to build another bridge and to fund survey work. Proposals from different surveyors are currently under consideration. vi. Endicott College trails Zakas provides the updates. The most recent meeting included the Mayor, Darlene Wynn, Jenna Pirrotta and Wayne Miller. They identified the trail easements. A map was created and provided to the Endicott Board of Trustees. Zakas will follow up for status. Alden asked Zakas to share the map. vii. Pole Swamp Lane There are no updates at this time. Zakas notes this parcel in addition to others require another meeting with the mayor due to time lapse. Alden suggests creating a list of alternative parcels and projects that seem to be stalled. Do not want to lose site of these interests and issue. i. Moraine Farm There are no updates at this time. Alden will reach out to Jared Pinciaro for an update. Let ward councilors know about the parcels in their ward. On encroachments. Wood lane. Zakas and Pirrotta site visit in fall 2021. DPS supposed to install public lane. Member would like to know where this is at. Parked cars with photo demonstrated private land owners encroaching on the public lane. 7. Trails & Open Space Discussion a. Trail Safety& Trail Guidance There are no updates at this time. b. New trail at Sally Milligan There are no updates at this time. 8. Other Business a. MassTrails Grant Funding Zakas informs members they will hear back and wait for June on the grant application. b. NOI for trail work—Discussion on next steps Zakas will coordinate with Pirrotta for updates. Zakas discusses Topsfield's attempt at creating an NOI for trail work. Zakas explains Topsfield's process and methodology. They went through the process to cover city wide trail maintenance,rebuilding small bridges and water crossings. The Topsfield conservation commission approved. The state application was denied from the DEP. Department of Environmental Divisions. DEP said separate NOIs should be filed . Dunne suggests maybe get authorization for trail maintenance. Zakas will see if she can locate a state repository to find Weston and compare to Topsfield. c. Preston Place Lot Open Space&Recreation Committee March 2,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 The owner would like to sell it to the city. The city may not want to purchase since the area is not buildable. It is landlocked. It was suggested to donate to the city. Brewster notes acquiring the lot protects from an abutter purchasing the property and building on it, thereby limiting public access. Alden believes the land should be protected because it abuts the Manchester border and Beverly city property. Surrounded by certain number of sides. Side bar: Alden asks about the follow up from Parks and Rec with the ADA survey. Zakas will follow up on that. McCrory asks about the New England"cottontail" and Chapter 4 wildlife preservation. McCrory will find additional info. Zakas notes part of the next steps will be divvying up the plan for further review. 9. Adjournment McCrory moves to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m. Dunne seconds. The motion carries 6-0. Next Meeting: April 6, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.