Planning Board Addresses Non-Conformance

The Marion Planning Board was taken slightly aback on February 1 by a non-conforming structure addition submitted by Garrett Bradley of 8 Park Street, and they conversed candidly as they tried to figure out how to handle it.

“I have no idea how these plans conform to the actual lot,” board member Norm Hills observed.

“I have the plan,” Administrative Assistant Terri Santos said, spreading the map over the table.

“Oh, so we only got one plan!” Chairman Robert Lane surmised, as the entire board gathered around the table to scrutinize the plans. The plans were for a second-floor addition over a non-conforming garage.

“It seems like a little much,” observed board member Jennifer Francis.

“Well, they might stay within the original footprint,” Lane said.

“They’re going to expand the footprint; it’s in the plans,” Hills rebutted. Francis joined in. “It looks like the addition is going to quadruple the volume of the original plan!”

“What should we tell them?” Lane mulled. Eventually they opted for a note telling the applicants to consider the fact that the proposal exceeded the non-conformance of the current non-conforming structure. “It’s a substantial increase of footprint and square footage,” said Lane.

Still marveling over the addition plans, the board moved on to another request. G.A.F. Engineering, Inc. recently filed an Approval Not Required application with the Planning Board for Map 5, Lot 23 Ridgewood Lane. Representative Bob Rogers was on hand to explain the ANR designation.

“The extension was previously approved in May 2007 with approval conditions. The condition for approval was that the applicant must deed a portion of the land parcel to a suitable entity for conservation or recreation,” he explained. “Since the building lot abuts the Sippican Land Trust, a six and quarter parcel will be combined with the Sippican Land Trust.”

“Has the Conservation Commission approved the plans?” Lane inquired.

“The Conservation Commission approved these plans all the way back in 2004,” Rogers assured him.

In other matters, Hills asked about the status of the board’s annual report.

“I filed it,” replied Lane.

“You filed it?” Hills replied. “Did the board ever get to see it?”

“No, it’s handed to me and I file it. We’ve always done it this way,” Lane explained.

“My experience in the past has always been that the board gets approval,” Hills pointed out.

“Your experience isn’t with the Planning Board,” Lane stated. “Here, we’ve always done it this way.”

“Just because we’ve always done it this way, doesn’t make it right,” Hills insisted.

“Noted, now let’s move on,” Lane said, settling the issue.

At that point, there was only one agenda bulletin left to cover, which was an initial draft of the Peer Review Engineering Contract.

The contract was drafted for the potential hiring of a peer review engineer in Marion for future projects. “It’s not urgent,” Lane said, cutting across the subject quickly. “I propose that we wait on the drafts until we’ve heard from [Marion Town Counsel] Jon Witten.” The board agreed.

In other matters, Hills mentioned “complete streets,” which is an idea Marion has been considering to alleviate traffic circulation problems and make roads safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. Complete roads offer bike lanes and sidewalks separate from car traffic lanes.

“I attended a workshop on complete streets a few weeks ago, and it’s a good thing that I did,” said Hills. “It turns out that, if I hadn’t gone, Marion wouldn’t be eligible for complete streets,” he reported, hints of bewilderment and amusement in his voice.

Also during the meeting, Hills questioned the rainfall amounts in the bylaws.

“We currently use the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) rainfall data and table from 1998 as a reference in our subdivision bylaws,” Hills explained. “I think we should consider changing the reference in the bylaws to the more recent NOAA rainfall table from 2015. It would be more recent and accurate than the information from 1998.”

Fellow board members chimed in with agreement.

“I’ve read the table and the information, and I find it well-informed,” said member Michael Popitz. “I feel that we should reference this table in the future.”

“Whatever we can do to help infrastructure handle climate change while moving forwards, we should do,” Francis observed as she echoed Popitz’s agreement.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board will take place on Tuesday, February 16 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Music Hall.

By Andrea Ray

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