2008-02-20-PB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Minutes for the Meeting of February 20, 2008 Page 3 for a view, his concern was not to impose on the privacy of Dover Lane houses. He noted that the construction would require a lot of clearing of underbrush and small trees. He felt that the geometric center of the site would be the best place for construction. Ms. Silvera said at the top of the hill she would protect the trees, and she appreciated the stone walls and would try to keep them. She said the house would be environmentally friendly, using sustainable practices. The roof would have small plants and evergreens would be planted, both of which would minimize views of the roof. Ms. Silvera presented a model of the proposed house to the Board. Ms. Manz said the model was helpful and asked if the orientation could be changed slightly away from Dover Lane. Ms. Silvera responded that they could not since the orientation would be strictly for a solar standpoint, but she would have lots of evergreens that would be high enough to provide privacy. Ms. Manz said the smaller houses that would face Pleasant Street should share a driveway, which would reduce the number of curb cuts. She wanted to see a sidewalk along the street. Mr. Zurlo said it would be best if the houses off Pleasant Street were not orientated inward to an interior drive. Access from Pleasant Street may not present much of a safety hazard with a regular and predicable rhythm of driveways. Ms. Silvera said a shared driveway was less desirable; people would stop to pick up their mail and hold up traffic on the main road. Mr. Hornig said he was interested in a sidewalk that extended across the entire frontage on Pleasant Street. Mr. Hornig said he wanted to talk about the slopes. His first reaction had been to stay away from the hill, but he understood that the whole point was to put a house on the top of the hill although it would create a lot of disturbance. The LEED standards recommend that steep slopes be left undisturbed. This might be mitigated by gaining access from Moon Hill Road with a 12-foot driveway. The berm house would be another contributor to site disturbance. If access to the top house could be gained from Moon Hill Road, the driveway could be shortened considerably and pulled off the sloped area. Ms. McCall-Taylor said there are two LEED standards, one for site development and one for buildings. The Planning Board could consider site issues, but building standards fall under the jurisdiction of the building department, not the Planning Board. Mr. Henry said due to the concerns about site disturbance and placement the berm house may need to be sacrificed. He asked if the homes at the bottom of the site would also be built to LEED standards. Could one claim to be green if the site were destroyed in order to site a green house on the top of the hill? The applicant would need to provide a clear definition of a green