SRPEDD Seeks Public Input on Rt. 6

Marion residents with concerns about Route 6 are strongly urged to attend an upcoming Marion Transportation and Circulation Task Force meeting in August to share their thoughts before the public comment period ends.

During the July 19 meeting of the Marion Planning Board, Town Planner Gil Hilario reported on the recent meeting of the Transportation and Circulation Task Force, a subcommittee of the Planning Board, during which SRPEDD (Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District) provided a map of Route 6 and asked for input on improving the road.

Hilario encouraged the board and the concerned public to attend the next Task Force meeting, which will be scheduled for some time in August, as again SRPEDD will be seeking suggestions for the improvement of the major thoroughfare.

Planning Board Chairman Will Saltonstall noted that this was an opportunity for residents to talk about “hot spots the public may have concerns about”.

Hilario warned the board and the public that once the public engagement period is over, it would be hard to have any further input in the improvement project.

Hilario has also submitted a grant application for funding the estimates of the cost of the projects suggested for the town’s Complete Streets Program.

In other business, the FEMA flood zone maps will be available soon through the town website, which may be printed on a home computer. A couple of board members had expressed concern that the small scale aerial photos will be hard to read if a homeowner is looking for their individual property, but Hilario said that the town is broken down into “tiles” of photos that are at a larger scale and will provide the images a property owner would need to see their parcel. He will post the links to the maps once FEMA releases the final draft of the maps, and intends to provide the old maps as well as the new for comparison purposes.

The Town may soon be digitizing its historic town records as Hilario, along with the Sippican Historical Society, is applying for a grant called a “request for service” that would fund an archivist from the Boston Public Library to collect and digitize historical town documents and other historic objects such as paintings and coins. The project would begin with the old Town Reports. The digitized documents would be made available to the public online on a customized website.

Also during the meeting, William Madden of G.A.F. Engineering presented an Approval Not Required plan on behalf of Michael Rose, Lydia Freemen, and Claire Tucker, the owners of the property located at 16 Marvel Street.

The plan contemplates combining six individual lots into one conforming lot of approximately 60,000 square feet.

The lots are in the Residence A district, with a small portion in General Business. There is an existing residence in the center of the lots, and an old foundation in the rear of the lots that will be removed.

The question was raised as to what the zoning bylaws state regarding a lot spanning two zoning districts. Madden replied there is no plan to build on the new lot, therefore he had not investigated this question in any detail, but that the new lot conformed to the zoning in each zoning district. This seemed to satisfy the board; the board approved the ANR unanimously.

Board member Eileen Marum has been named to the SRPEDD executive committee that oversees the governance of the organization. In response to another board member’s congratulatory remark, Marum reflected on the appointment, stating, “Yes, it’s leadership. I’m thrilled.”

            The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, July 23 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Police Station conference room.

Marion Planning Board

By Sarah French Storer

 

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