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2000-09-14 CITY OF BEVERLY Public Meeting Minutes BOARD: Master Plan Steering Committee SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: September 14, 2000 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Dinkin John Thomson, Donald Preston, William Rodenbaugh, Linda Goodenough, Maureen Troubetaris, Larry Ralph, John Young, Joanne Avallon, Virginia McGlynn, Scott Houseman, John Murray, Wendy Frontiero BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: William Delaney. Bruce Oveson, Charles Zarba, Wendy Pearl ALSO PRESENT:Planning Director Tina Cassidy, Chairman Harbor Management Authority John Frates, Vice-Chairman Harbor Management Authority Don Neuman, Chairman Open Space and Recreation Committee David Gardner, Ken Buckland of The Cecil Group RECORDER: Karen Bradley Cassidy calls the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. First, she asks if members have any suggested changes to the draft minutes of the committee's June 8, 2000 and July 20, 2000 regular meetings. Thomson requests a change on the June 8. 2000 minutes on page 4. He states that Houseman is in fact not in favor of clustor zoning by special permit, but rather of conservation subdivision plan. Cassidy agrees with the correction and will make the change. Troubetaris: motion to accept the minutes as amended of thc committee's June 8, 2000 and July 20, 2000 meetings, seconded by Thomson. All members in favor, motion carries. Introduction Cassidy explains to the Board that the Open Space and Recreation Committee and the Harbor Management Authority have been invited to this meeting to discuss how their respective issues relate to the Master Plan. Open Space and Recreation Committee Presentation Cassidy invites David Gardner, Chairman of the Open Space and Recreation Committee, to address the Board. Gardner explains to the Board that his Committee has completed a map of the City, which includes 250 - 300 parcels of interest to the Open Space and Recreation Committee. He also explains that the Committee has identified top priorities for acquisition, which include the Santin property that has been acquired and the Hill Estate. He also mentions Master Plan Steering Committee minutes September 14, 2000 meeting Page 2 the Dallas property as a property of interest. He next explains that the Commlttee has set up sub- committees which include: Trails - The goal of this sub-committee is a Trail Map for Beverly connecting to the Manchester border. Regional - This sub-committee is in the process of contacting surrounding communities wtth the intent of connecting trails in Beverly with those in neighboring communities. Trees - This sub-committee is working with City Arborist Phil Klimowicz on a citywide tree plan. They intend to complete this and apply for a Match Funding Grant for next year. Master Plan and Zoning- This sub-committee is in the process of reviewing the Preservation By-laws, which being drafted by the MAPC. They are also working on putting a procedure in place by which the Open Space Plan could be incorporated into the Master plan Inventory- This sub.committee has completed a map of the City's most desirable locations for acquisition. They are also in the process of declaring potential 2nd Tier Sites for possible acquisition. He asks the Board to review the draft Preservation By-laws and emphasizes how useful all the tools explained in this document are. He would like to see at least some of these tools incorporated into the Master Plan. He next explains that he would like to establish some type of administrative mechanism requiring any ZBA variance or subdivision application to include a copy of the section of the Open Space Plan that would be affected. He also suggests that a narrative be required explaining the impact of the proposed project on the Open Space Plan. Cassidy suggests reviewing the map at this point in time. Gardner explains the color code of the map. He explains that the Committee is trying to acquire some key properties and waterfront improvements. Cassidy explains that the size of the parcel is not always relevant. Dinkin asks it the Committee has inquired about grant money for easements and development rights. Cassidy explains that one of the goals for the Landowner Forum is to try to indentify parcels that could possibly be acquired by conservation easements granting tax incentives to the property owners. Gardner points out some of the key propreties including the Santin property and the Hill Estate, which is about 40 acres in size. Cassidy also points out some small privately owned parcels within the Santin property that are still privately owned. The possibility of acquiring an easement on the Bartlett Estate for public access is mentioned. Gardner concludes his presentation with a plea to incorporate the Open Space objectives mentioned in his letter into the Master Plan. Master Plan Steering Committee minutes September 14, 2000 meeting Page 3 Gardner briefly explains that the Recreation Committee is presently putting together a park plan. At this point, the Committee is in the process of establishing the amount of space the Recreation Department will need to meet the projected demand for active recreational facilities in the future. Harbor Mananement Authority Presentation Cassidy invites John Frates, Chairman of the Harbor Management Authority and Don Neuman, Vice-Chairman of the Harbor Management Authority, to address the Board. Frates explains to the Board some of the short-term goals of the Authority. He states that the City owns 60 boat slips at the public marina. Their goal is to make this one of the best public marinas in the New England area. They have been concentrating on cleaning up the area and working on the facilities. They are presently upgrading the electrical system while facing tight budget constraints, Frates explains that the Harbor Mamgement Authority's long-term goal is based on a report from the consulting firm of Fort Point Associates. The study recommends the Harbor Management Authority demolish the McDonalds building, the Glover Building and the harbor rnaster's building and replace them with a restaurant and marina facilities. They are in the process of acquiring a grant to improve the facilities. Eventual plans for a public access walkway would be to go west, connecting to the Bnss River, all the way up to the United Shoe, over the bridge recently built by the Harbor Management Authority, to the McKeown School. The Harbor Management Authority has built a bridge behind the McKeown School They are planning on formalizing a "Name the Bridge Contest" including each elementary school in the City for somr publicity. Frates explains that this bridge enables was integral to providing public access eventually from Tuck's Point to the McKeown School They are planning to put together a brochure to give Beverly Harbor more exposure. Frates makes mention of the parking problems related to uses along Beverly Harbor. Rodenbaugh asks how important the Ventron property would be to the plan. Frates explains that it is a must. At this point, Neuman explains the three consttuents that the Harbor Management Authority always considers when making decisions on managing city-owned landsites on the waterfront. They are the commercial fisherman, the pleasure boaters, and the public with respect to recreational access areas. He states that when considering where the Master Plan in order to put a plan into place for the waterfront. He envisions public walkways and retail establishments in order to draw people to the Beverly Harbor. Neuman makes mention of a possible boat ramp on the site that would be no cost to the City, a state agency exists that incurs all costs to build and maintain such a public boat launch; the City would have to provide administrative personnel. Cassidy asks if there are any other comments or questions for the Harbor Management Authority. Goodenough explains that she vacationed in Maine this summer and brought in some pictures of Kennebunkport. She explains the site walk of the area and states that Beverly has the Master Plan Steering Committee minutes September 14, 2000 meeting Page 4 resources to do something similar in nature. Neuman agrees with Goodenough that the Beverly waterfront is a gem, but without new zoning designations changes are limited at this point. Buckland states that another option could be to construct commercial office space at the Ventron site so the city could gain back some of the money spent on acquiring the property. Neuman states that the biggest problem with the Beverly waterfront is the lack of parking. He suggests that if the Ventron property was acquired, a parking garage on the site would be key to serving the entire waterfront area. Frates explains that they envision the same concept as the Arthur Fiedler Bridge connecting the parking garage to the waterfront. Dinkin states that he has concerns with the idea of putting parking on the Ventron property. He further explains that a commercial district should put a viable resource for transportation into place. Preston questions how to encourage existing businesses to change their current uses (Port Marina and Desmond's Yacht Yard). Cassidy states that proposing a more attractive use to the existing businesses' advantage could promote the zoning changes needed. Dinkin expresses concern on approving zoning variances on the Ventron property. He suggests use by special permit as a more viable solution. Goodenough emphasizes that design planning should be of great importance when putting the harborfront plan into place. Preston suggests walking the harborfront and marking destination spots, determining what the most appropriate use of each parcel would be and putting zoning into place according to this design plan. Troubetaris states that linkage of the entire waterfront should be a consideration when putting this plan into place. Murray explains that there are many communities that could be used as examples of successful waterfront couversions. He states that Beverly Harbor is a unique waterfront since its waters are deeper than most waterfronts, which could make this a more useful port for that reason. There is some question on whether Beverly Harbor should remain a Designated Port Area (DPA). Neuman suggests acquiring some professional opinion on what boat size could be permissible for the Beverly Harbor, and deciding the question of DPA status on that opinion. Cassidy explains that public community meetings should be scheduled for this fall. Master Plan Steering Committee minutes September 14, 2000 meeting PAge 5 Master Plan Implementation - The Cecil Group Buckland explains the process and tentative schedule to develop and complete the Master Plan: Develop Draft Findings Report 9/00 Coordination with Steering Committee 9/00 Public participation and consensus - Develop the vision 10/00 - Analyze alternatives 11/00 Develop implementation strategies 12/00 Draft and finalize Master Plan 1/01 He also posts the Key Issues relative to setting up workshops to complete the Master Plan: · Residential development - Beverly as a residentiaI community. · Open Space and Recreation preservation of City land and recreational needs. · Commercial development revitalization, new development and tax base. · The harbor public access and uses. . Traffic and circulation - improving exisiting conditions, managing construction. · Service drainage, utilities and City facilities. · Quality of Life: diversity, attraction and amenities. Buckland explains a handout relative to public workshops for completion of the Master Plan. He explains that a roundtable format of public workshops gives the public the idea that their involvement has accomplished something. Buckland asks the Committee if there are any questions or concerns. Troubetaris explains that this process is very similar in nature to the workshops performed by another consultant in 1998. Cassidy explains to Buckhnd that several members of the Committee would prefer a different process. She suggests reviewing thg results of the 1998 Goals & Policies phase and comparing them to the present goals and objectives. Buckland explains that the goals and objectives are the only consideration. He also mentions that in addition to the goals and objectives, the key issues identified by the Committee should also be incorporated into these workshops. Buckland states that the current City contract includes three meetings with the Cecil Group, and those meetings could be set up differently based on the information. Preston expresses the need for more specific changes and not basing workshops on a broad spectrum of issues. Dinkin states that this workshop structure is too broad. He feels that the workshops need to be more focused, utlitizing smaller groups with specific goals. He states that the meetings need to be results oriented. Master Plan Steering Committee minutes September 14, 2000 meeting Page 6 Cassidy suggests that the first 30 minutes of each mceeting be dedicated to summarize prior results and be specific on present topics for each meeting. Buckland recommends going to different locations within the city and conducting each meeting with a specific set of goals relative to that area. Cassidy and Buckland will discuss how to structure meetings with proposed formats. Dinkin, Goodenough, and Preston volunteer to form a sub-committee to assist in structuring the fommt for the workshops. Once they devise the plan by the end of next week, they will communicate with the Committee to get approval Cassidy hands out copies of an article from the Atlantic Monthly that was provided by Young. Hope Benne of Livingstone Avenue states that Letters to the Editor are a very important way to inform the community on the formalization of the Master Plan. Cassidy states that focused articles could be a more effective means for informing the public on current issues. The meeting is adjourned at 9:15 p.m.