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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNCD Meeting Notes, Nov. 9, 2016Meeting Notes Regarding the Neighborhood Conservation District Wednesday, November 9, 2016, 7:10 PM Present: Donna Moultrup, Chris Neurath, Rich Goldhammer, Wendy Russman- Halperin, Tina McBride, Diane Pursley and Bob Creech. The primary purpose of this meeting was to meet with the Turning Mill NCD representatives. They were willing to share their experiences so far in the process to help the Byron/Lockwood/Mass. Ave. group be ready for the scheduled public hearing at the Historical Commission on November 16th. The four possible candidates for the Byron/Lockwood/Mass. Ave. Study Committee were invited to the meeting. Diane Pursley started by outlining the steps in the process: meet with the Historical Commission; have a public hearing open to all neighbors in the defined area plus those living 100 feet from the border of the defined area; have a Study Committee appointed; produce a report on the goals of the NCD; have a final public hearing with all neighbors inside the NCD defined area and neighbors within 300 feet of the area border; and finally, a citizen petition to Town Meeting which ultimately approves the formation of the NCD. With input from all of the Turning Mill representatives, there was discussion of their process so far. They had their first hearing in July, but because the Attorney General had not yet approved the Town Meeting article, the Study Committee could not be appointed. Even after the approval by the Attorney General, it took until recently to have the committee appointed and their first meeting is the week of November 13th. There is some feeling that, although Town Meeting approved this article, Town government has been slow to be accepting of the process. This has implications for the Byron/Lockwood/Mass. Ave. group since we have a very short time to complete the process once the November 16th hearing is finished. Since they have a large number of homes involved, it is also going to cost over $2,000 to send the final public hearing notices certified mail. Donna quickly estimated that it might be around $200 for the Byron/Lockwood/ Mass. Ave. hearing. Bob Creech shared their neighborhood process to determine what characteristics their NCD would try to preserve. Since they have over 150 homes in their NCD, the process was more involved. The comments from their process ended up in five general categories: woodland setting and feeling, architectural style, nature, responsible homes, and privacy. Architectural style; small, affordable houses; and preserving the 1930s feel of the neighborhood were things identified by the Bryon/Lockwood/Mass. Ave. group. There was considerable discussion of the pros and cons of adding the somewhat different Mass. Ave. houses to our defined area. One of the houses was the original farmhouse and owner of land on which Bryon/Lockwood was built. Since most of the driveways back onto Rhodes St., the houses are an integral part of the neighborhood. The houses have their own architectural style, different from Byron and Lockwood, but consistent among themselves. Lastly many of those owners have expressed a sincere interest in being a part of the NCD. The plan is to include Mass. Ave. if at all possible, and until those houses, perhaps, opt out in the final analysis. We were referred to the Turning Mill website for more information. We were also referred to the Denton Rd., Wellesley, and Machine Shop Village in Andover to see examples of the final reports produced by the study committees. The meeting ended at approximately 8:30 PM. Sincere thanks were expressed to the Turning Mill representatives for taking the time to share their experience with us. It was expressed that, hopefully, we will be able to work together to make sure the Town understands our purpose and we will be successful in petitioning this spring's Town Meeting to allow us to have our NCDs. Donna Moultrup, Volunteer Recorder