The Rochester Planning Board held a public hearing for an amendment of the site plan review bylaw at their regular meeting on Tuesday, September 25. After a minimal discussion, the Board voted to close the hearing and report favorably on the amendment, as well as to submit the revisions to the town meeting warrant. The amendment has already been seen by the Rochester Board of Selectmen.
“We discovered a few inconsistencies in the site plan review bylaw that we want to fix,” Chairman Arnold Johnson said. He explained that, while working with the solar bylaw, the Board noticed that the site plan review bylaw lacked language specifying the requirement for a project’s cover letter to include a list of requested waivers. The Board has been requiring such documentation even though it is not part of the bylaw’s procedures.
“That makes for a smoother course for when they go to file,” Johnson justified. “For some reason it was never spelled out in the bylaw.”
Board member Susan Teal remarked that the revision for the site plan review bylaw didn’t seem to be contentious amongst Rochester residents.
“There doesn’t seem to be strong public interest in the amendment,” she said. The complete lack of an audience at the hearing supported her judgment.
The next regular meeting for the Rochester Planning Board will be on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:00 pm at the Town Hall.
By Anne Smith