During the November 6 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, Planning Administrator Mary Crain advised the board that Town Counsel Katherine Laughman of Kopelman and Paige would attend an upcoming meeting to discuss the current state of the legislation and fielding questions.
During previous meetings of the Planning Board, members briefly discussed how the Town of Mattapoisett would approach implementation of ensuing legislation pertaining to the 2016 referendum vote to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana and what role the Planning Board would have in regulating associated business venues in Mattapoisett.
Crain said, “I’ve invited other boards, including the selectmen, to attend the November 20 meeting.” She said that Laughman was taking the lead at the law firm on municipal matters related to marijuana dispensary regulation.
Also during the meeting, the board members discussed a request by Dennis Mahoney & Sons regarding acreage off Crystal Spring Road.
A letter from the company noted a request to remove certain acres from 61B status (Massachusetts General Law regarding recreational land classifications and taxation) to commercial classification. It was speculated that the re-classification would allow the property to move forward for additional solar arrays.
Planning Board member Janice Robbins said a public hearing was probably in order but didn’t know which board was responsible for holding a public hearing on the matter. Chairman Tom Tucker asked Crain to ascertain from Town Administrator Michael Gagne if the Town would exercise its right of first refusal or not. The topic was tabled pending the administration response.
Earlier in the evening, Patricia Harrington’s request to construct a new driveway at 167 North Street was approved after Highway Superintendent Barry Denham said he was in agreement with the plan as submitted. Denham also said that he had met at the site with the contractor and Tree Warden Roland Cote regarding unapproved tree removal mitigation and replacement of a stone wall.
“We determined that the stones were just random stones and Roland was happy with the planting of three linden trees,” Denham said.
In a continued hearing from October 2 for a two-lot subdivision off Randall Road owned by Gingras Nominee Trust, the board spent an hour reviewing waivers and revised plans submitted by engineer Alan Ewing.
At the previous meeting, the board members spent several hours reviewing the detailed drawing and debating the merits of a long list of requested waivers. On this night, they moved through a few remaining line items, achieving a consensus that allowed the project to move forward.
However, not everyone on the board was pleased to be approving a 25-foot roadway as Robbins declared, “For the record, I think we’re still approving a driveway, not a road.”
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for November 20 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Planning Board
By Marilou Newell