On Tuesday, September 2, the Marion Planning Board met and held a public hearing on the proposed addition of a new section to the Zoning Bylaw to address Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4) General Permits to the Code of the Town of Marion.
Per the Marion Department of Public Works, “In compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA), the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) authorizes any operator of a small municipal separate storm sewer system to discharge stormwater runoff under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), in accordance with the conditions and requirements set forth under the MS4 General Permit.” In order to maintain compliance with state laws, the town is late and must pass MS4 guidelines soon or face state-imposed penalties.
Before talks on the MS4 Bylaw itself, Jennifer Francis and Kerry Saltonstall of the Marion Transportation & Circulation Task Force spoke first and focused on Route 6. They stated in their presentation that the road through town has “poor pavement condition and drainage issues.” The panel said the road has not been paved since 1987, or about 40 years. They also mentioned the route basically bisects the town, blocking those on the north side from easy foot/bike access to Town Center and beaches. They presented various plans for the redevelopment of Route 6, with Francis saying, “making the whole area much safer and getting rid of the divide between north and south Marion” and added “nothing is set in stone. There is still a long way to go.”
Widening the road will not be necessary or sought. As future development in both housing and business is planned for the area in town and connecting to Route 6 directly, they recommended improving the road as soon as possible. “The question was, how do we make the town more pedestrian-friendly?” Saltonstall said. They emphasized this being a work in progress with nothing truly finalized.
Following talks on Route 6, the public hearing on MS4 thus began. Chair Andrew Daniel stated first the bylaw is very much “ever changing” and a work in progress. Vice Chair Alanna Nelson stated the bylaw should be easy to pass through, though there is the prevalent worry by the board that, should this be a zoning bylaw (as recommended by Nelson), it would require a two-thirds supermajority to pass. Nelson also said public hearings on the proposed bylaw “should be often” as it is “hard to do that [kind of talk] at Town Meeting.”
Upon being questioned by a member of the audience, the board agreed that the MS4 Bylaw draft should be available online for download on the town website (marionma.gov). Member Tucker Burr said, “I think too many people [will] see it the first time at Town Meeting.”
The public hearing didn’t contain many comments from the public, and instead there was a discussion by the board on the current draft and areas of focus for change. When asked whether to close or continue the hearing, Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee cautioned against closing. “We have to be really mindful of that,” he said, referring to the day following the proposed continuance being when the Select Board is meeting to confirm the Fall Town Meeting schedule. Daniel believed work had to be done to the Rules and Regulation section. Therefore, the public hearing was tabled with a unanimous vote, with the stated section to be reworked.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board will be held on Monday, September 15 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Police Station, 550 Mill Street or remotely accessible through Microsoft Teams.
Marion Planning Board
By Sam Bishop