WASHINGTON PLANNING BOARD

Master Plan Update Subcommittee – Working meeting Minutes

January 21, 2015

Committee members present: Lolly Gilbert, Jean Kluk, Bob Williams, Carolyn Bullock, Steve Terani and Nan Schwartz.

Visitors: None

1.0 The meeting was called to order by Jean Kluk at 4:00 PM, in the Town Hall.

2.0 The minutes from the December 2^nd meeting were fine and didn’t need and changes. In reviewing them we were reminded that we decided on adding a “Utilities” chapter.

3.0 We went over the Natural Resources chapter draft. Kluk asked if the end of one paragraph could move to the Land Use chapter. Schwartz agreed. Kluk asked where Cherry Valley is and Schwartz said it is in an area now encompassed by Pillsbury State Park and it was a big logging/mill site. She will specify in the chapter. Schwartz said that in reading the Regional Master Plan draft there were things they mentioned which would be good to add such as vernal pools. Kluk said that they also included threats to forest and water resources such as invasive plants and climate change. Schwartz will go back and include some of these things in the chapter. We need to check the acreage of the Camp Morgan property because it is different in several places. We will include the CPA map in the section where we talk about them. We decided to remove the section on recreation and put it in the recreation chapter. Williams asked about whether we want to put all the survey questions in the section about the community survey, to him it seems like a lot. Bullock said we could decide later, we should look at some other master plans and see how they did it, maybe we should summarize. We went over the goals and recommendations and decided to tweak them to fit the input we received. We will combine numbers one and two concerning land conservation and look at combining more of them. We discussed the Planning Board being the driver of the message. Schwartz will bring in the criteria the Conservation Commission uses for identifying land for conservation. Terani found several typos, which will be fixed.

4.0 Land Use and Zoning - Kluk went over the updates to the chapter since our last meeting. We discussed several changes and the need to check acreages on the Land Use table. They will check the existing sound ordinance and change the “light industry” definition.

5.0 Services and Facilities - We will look at this chapter again after Town Meeting.

6.0 We discussed holding a public hearing on the first 3 or 4 chapters and the vision statement sometime in May. We decided that the first week of June would be a good time to do it, maybe before the June Planning Board meeting on the 2^nd or the next evening. Schwartz will ask Planning Board members at the February meeting, what they would like to do for the public hearing.

7.0 Kluk said proceeding forward we will keep working on the three draft chapters. We looked at the introduction she wrote and suggested a couple of changes. Kluk will make the changes and send it out by email. Schwartz will start a Recreation chapter and move the section she has into it. Schwartz will get a copy of the Natural Hazard Mitigation report and will speak with the Energy Committee about writing the Energy chapter.

7.0 Our next meeting will be in mid-March, the date to be announced.

Meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Nan Schwartz

Planning Board Secretary