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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-23-HATS-min HANSCOM AREA TOWNS COMMITTEE NOTES OF MEETING Held at 7:30 PM on April 23, 2009 At Lincoln Town Offices PRESENT: Jeanne Krieger (Chair) Lexington Board of Selectmen Anne Shapiro Concord Board of Selectmen Mike Rosenberg Bedford Board of Selectmen Richard Canale Lexington Planning Board Lisa Mustapich Bedford Planning Board Robert Domnitz Lincoln Planning Board Margaret Coppe Lexington HATS Dorothy Steele Massport/OGCA J.C.Corcoran Hanscom Air Force Base Lou Sideris Minuteman National Historical Park Delia Kaye Concord Natural Resources Director Art Smith Bedford Conservation Commission Karen Mullins Lexington Conservation Administrator Peter Von Mertens Lincoln Conservation Commission Tom Gumbart Lincoln Conservation Director Dan England Rural Land Foundation (Lincoln) Buzz Constable Rural Land Foundation/ MAPC Mike Day Community Newspaper Group 7:30 PM INTRODUCTION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS The Chairman introduced the meeting and outlined the agenda, on which the main item is a discussion of conservation issues. Attendees introduced themselves. The Chairman announced that this will be Anne Shapiro’s last HATS meeting as a Selectman and thanked her for her service, recalling that during this time there have been varying issues to address including the BRAC review and changes in air traffic. 7:35 PM DISCUSSION OF CONSERVATION ISSUES Each town outlined its organizational structure for activities related to conservation of land and natural resources, as follows. Lexington Lexington has a seven member Conservation Commission, supported by staff. There is also a subcommittee of Land Stewards which involves a large number of volunteers in trail construction and similar work and holds an annual stewardship meeting. Conservation activities have included monitoring invasive species, and a new watershed project is being developed in conjunction with engineers. Publicity channels are the local newspaper, websites and schools. Citizens’ groups also run walks and educational programs. 1 Lincoln Lincoln has a Conservation Commission, which focuses on regulation and stewardship of conservation land. It is supported by staff, consisting of a director, assistant, land manager and part-time ranger. There are also two private, non-profit organizations: the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) and the Rural Land Foundation (RLF), which work closely with the Town. The LLCT has no permanent employees but operates a summer internship program. The RLF coordinates arrangements for land to be put into conservation, often involving tax advantages and sometimes linked to development. At times it has led capital projects and promoted cluster developments. It became the owner of the mall at Lincoln Station as a result of a land deal. The organizations are long-standing and at various times different parties have taken the lead on acquisitions. As a result, the ownership and management arrangements interlock. Fund raisers include sale of books and trail maps. If state reservations and the National Park are included, approximately half the area of Lincoln is in some form of conservation. Recent management activities have focused on monitoring of land in conservation restrictions to ensure ongoing protection, and work on invasive species. Grants have been obtained from Community Preservation Act funds. Monthly conservation coffees are hosted by the Conservation Department, with different topics presented or discussed, and there is a joint program of walks and talks. Last year an event on invasive species was operated in conjunction with an art exhibition. There are three Community Shares in Agriculture (CSA) projects in Lincoln which help to involve citizens in the land, as well as other farming operations. The Town has recently established an Agriculture Committee to bring together the farming community and give it a voice. Bedford Bedford has a seven member Conservation Commission. It also has a trails committee. There are disused rail beds in the town, portions of which are dedicated as multi-use trails; the committee is looking at extending the Minuteman Trail to Concord and extending the Bay Circuit Trail. Many pieces of conservation land adjoin the rail beds. The town also has flood plain land along the Concord River. A volunteer stewards program watches the trails and flags up maintenance needs. Funding relies on the Conservation Commission and DPW budgets. nd Informative walks are held and there will be one on May 2 covering the trail near Middlesex Community College. Concord Concord has a Natural Resources Committee with a number of subcommittees. Natural resources staff consists of a director, assistant, two part-time staff and two rangers. The town holds around 1300 acres of conservation land and a further 500 acres are in conservation restrictions. A grant has been obtained for a pilot project to monitor conservation restrictions. The Concord LCT is similar to the Lincoln LCT and also owns land. Portions of the town are in state and federally managed areas: Walden Pond State 2 Reservation, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Minuteman National Historic Park. Estabrook Woods is largely in private ownership. An Agriculture Committee was established a few years ago, appointed by the Board of Selectmen. There are no CSAs but Gaining Ground is a non-profit organization that grows food for shelters and pantries. It is hoping to expand. There are also two community gardens and a third is being established. Some comparisons were made between the towns. Three towns have wetlands bylaws; Concord has a proposal for Town Meeting to establish one. Such bylaws create a framework for local enforcement with fines. All towns have Community Preservation Committees which are a potential source of funding. Most towns have prepared, or are preparing, Open Space Plans. The extent of land acquisition varies; Lexington rarely does it whereas in Lincoln there is widespread public support and a variety of approaches have been used over time. Bedford has a Land Acquisition Subcommittee and a target list. It has found that small parcels in key locations can make an important contribution. Lincoln echoed the usefulness of a prioritized approach, including a wish list of trail connections. Competition for land and funding were touched upon. Lincoln reported that recently the town has chosen to apply more funds to housing but that conservation has been well funded and benefitted from gifts in the past. Wildlife issues were discussed. In Concord, four wildlife tunnels under Route 2 have been monitored with cameras and found to be well used by a range of animals. UMass Amherst has also studied the potential for a wildlife and pedestrian overpass in the Walden Woods/ landfill area. The beaver population is increasing across eastern Massachusetts. These animals are recognized to be part of the natural ecosystem but flooding caused by their dams can be a big problem. It was noted that intervention is allowed as an emergency measure if roads, farm fields etc. are flooded. A new mechanism is available to bypass dams. Beavers have been known to destroy newly planted trees and Lincoln is asking for beaver protection in some Orders of Conditions. Canada geese can be problematic when they foul water supply reservoirs or recreation areas. Measures to scare them are used in a few cases. Vegetation management around Hanscom Field was discussed. Mike Rosenberg reported that the public hearing on the Jordan Conservation Land in Bedford is continuing. The Conservation Commission has requested better flagging of the trees by Massport and is still gathering evidence. A Lincoln representative recalled that a more coordinated approach was taken to vegetation management planning in the past, but the towns’ administrators gave assurance that they did have an opportunity to discuss the current update to the VMP at the start of the process. J.C.Corcoran offered to help publicize the towns’ conservation activities and events, at the base. It was agreed to at least share website references where much of the Action: Conservation reps/ Chair information is posted. 8:35 PM AIR FORCE BASE PRIVATIZATION The Chairman provided an update on base housing. She recalled that the Selectmen met with the base administration in January. It was explained that under the agreement 3 for the privatized housing, the Air Force has an obligation to ensure a high level of occupancy and the ‘waterfall’ system prioritizes tenants, beginning with various military- related groups. Recent correspondence from the public relations officer shows that occupancy has been extended to categories 3 and 4 out of seven so that it includes families of retired military personnel and if it goes further it will include military contractors and then the general public. 8:45 PM ZONING REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS Bob Domnitz reported that Lincoln’s Planning Board has discussed the proposed Land Use Partnership Act (LUPA) and has written a memorandum to Lincoln’s Board of Selectmen highlighting the “good, bad and ugly” provisions (see appended memo). One concern raised was the proposed changes to site plan review, a procedure that Lincoln uses extensively. It is currently a home rule power that the courts have accepted and developed a body of case law on. The Act would build it into legislation (unnecessarily in Lincoln’s view) and reduce towns’ ability to use it to control details. Lexington mentioned that it also uses site plan review for some types of development and is proposing to use it without special permits in the business district. Overall, Mr. Domnitz suggested that the proposed legislation was overly complex, that the bundling of provisions within it was undesirable and that small last-minute changes could have far-reaching consequences. The HATS Committee discussed the issue of impact fees. Some towns ask developers to pay for infrastructure such as sidewalks and intersection improvements. Richard Canale explained that the current legislative framework for impact fees is weak, only specifically authorizing them in certain cases. The state may be aiming to restrict impact fees and planners in many towns are concerned. It was agreed that HATS members will continue to consider their responses to LUPA. 8:55 PM BATTLE ROAD SCENIC BYWAY It was reported that a Steering Committee has been established with representation from the four towns: Arlington, Lexington, Lincoln and Concord, together with the National Park. Christine Wallace of MAPC is the staff support. A management plan is expected to take two years to produce. A public meeting is being planned for June. It is expected that inventory research will be done on a number of topics. 9:05 PM MINUTES The three Selectmen present voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the th meeting held on March 26. 9:10 PM NEW BUSINESS Minuteman National Historical Park Announcements Lou Sideris reported that federal legislation to extend the boundary of the National Park by 67 acres to include Barrett’s Farm has passed. A celebration event was held on th April 17. Also, under the Economic Recovery Act, MNHP will receive grant funding of $1.5 million for renovation of the Buttrick gardens and field near the North Bridge and th the John Nelson house and barn on Route 2A. The Park’s 50 anniversary celebrations 4 are beginning, with exhibits in the Concord Library and at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington and a series of events including a September gala at Cary Hall in Lexington. Next Meeting th The next HATS meeting will be on May 28. The discussion topic will be regionalization, and town managers have been invited to attend. [later postponed to June th 25 – Ed.] The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM. Minutes submitted by Catherine Perry Approved as notes (due to lack of a quorum of those who attended), June 25, 2009 5