The Marion Planning Board on August 4 could not decide on whether a potential municipal separate stormwater systems bylaw, also known as MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems), should be a general or zoning bylaw.
The board, however, went through a draft written by a subcommittee, and will decide on August 18 which direction this potential bylaw should take.
Board Chairman Andrew Daniel, citing his conversation with Town Administrator Geoff Gorman, said the town has been in violation for many years for not having a bylaw in place. He said a general bylaw does not have to undergo a public hearing or the legal advertising which would come with it, saving the board time. Daniel said, per his conversation with Gorman, the town could adopt MS4 as a general bylaw.
Board member and Pleasant Street resident Sean Sweeney, who has worked with state agencies, warned that it might be wise to classify it as a zoning bylaw rather than rush through the process.
Daniel also said that if a zoning bylaw were to fail at a Special Town Meeting in November, it would have to pass at the Annual Town Meeting in the spring or face a further delay. Daniel said a general bylaw does not face the same legal hurdles.
Some planning officials last week estimated that the town is around eight years late with adopting an MS4 bylaw.
“Right now, we are in non-compliance. They (the Environmental Planning Agency) are going to do something. We don’t know what. Are they going to fine us or stomp their feet and pout.”
Sweeney and some members of the board cautioned against rushing it and finding out later that the bylaw must fall under zoning, especially since the EPA has delineated some areas of town as flood zones.
“I’m very surprised that it is up for negotiation (being a general bylaw or zoning). I am just surprised we can do that,” board member Tucker Burr said.
Daniel said that some communities have passed it as a general bylaw. He said that, as long as the bylaw is clear in making the Planning Board the enforcement authority and not making applicants meet with several boards, it should not be an issue.
Not all board members felt the same, so the board will determine at its August 18 meeting as to whether it should try to pass it as a general or zoning bylaw. The board, by September 2, must agree on a potential bylaw, according to Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee.
Guey-Lee said it is possible for the board to hold hearings and advertise but said the schedule allows for little room for delay. The town has been given a December deadline to pass a bylaw, and Town Meeting is in November.
The board went through the bylaw draft that a subcommittee helped develop. Daniel mentioned one section that states that any alteration to land of an acre or more should require a permit if it is within an MS4 zone. He said that might be a difficult requirement for an applicant looking to build a single-family home.
Board members also indicated that there should be language that points out how the EPA map that delineates flood zones, or MS4 areas, is in flux.
Guey-Lee mentioned how one section for Point Street falls within the MS4 map, but the other section does not. He said neighbors only a few feet apart might face different requirements.
Planning Board Vice Chair Alanna Nelson was not present but, in a written document to the board, said that the rules must be clear and consistent for businesses. Daniel also said that the definitions and language within the bylaw should be consistent with planning regulations and bylaws now in place.
The board will meet again on Monday, August 18 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Police Department and will continue discussion on this matter.
Marion Planning Board
By Jeffrey D. Wagner