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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-03-16 9 GROTON TOWN PLANNING BOARD MEETING Tuesday , March 16 , 1971 8 * 30 P .M . - 9 # 30 P . M . -M, SENTs D . Carey , Chairman R . Cotanch H . Dow Z . Kane F . Scheffler J . Bell - Secretary D . Carey : Any corrections or omissions to the minutes of the last meeting ? If not , - they stand approved . I think these letters I wrote to Assemblywoman Constance Cook and Senator Smith should be made a part of the minutes so they will be on record . (Mr . Carey handed copies of these to those present to read and attached hereto is one copy of each and they are hereby made a part of these minutes for the record ) . (Mr . Carey then handed out copies of a Town Planning Board Policy Statement written by George Totman to all present to read and continent on . ) R . Cotanch : The 701 group sooner or later will have to have a planning statement as to what we want to be , VON — industrial or agricultural or what , We - and this is George ' s attempt at that . H . Dow : The same thing could be said with fewer words but these words are pertinent and well chosen it seems to me . R . Cotanch : You have a few two dollar words in there and they look good . This second paragraph is beautiful . The second sentence in the second paragraph at least . Z . Kane : Shouldn ' t "are " in the second paragraph be "on" ? I can ' t make any sense of this that way . It ' s probably just a typographical error . R . Cotanch : Yeah . H . Dow : The choice of words in the last paragraph is questionable - - "The methods utilized in the past by the Groton Town Planning Board and the experiences shared as a result will stand them in good esteem as the planning function continues to establish its rightful place in the town , and the town continues to grow and prosper . " - - I would almost think he meant to say stand them in good stead but maybe he didn ' t . I think , in substance , it ' s well stated . D . Carey : I question that it ' s specific enough . R . Cotanch : Just reading it over - - it ' s the only criticism I have on it - - it ' s a general statement . - 1 - H . Dow : In terms of what Dan just said , I would say the meatiest paragraph of them all - - this statement of position - - is the first paragraph on page 2 - - that seems to be right on the button as to what happens and who does it and what . It recognizes the position of the Town Board in good manner . D . Carey : Would you say that the 701 Committee would develop a plan sometime in the future here ? R . Cotanch : Plan , - - yes . D . Carey : A policy statement ? R . Cotanch : No , - - a policy statement will have to be forthcoming from the two planning boards of which the 701 committee is taken and that statement , hopefully , will be somewhere near compatible so that they can be handed to the consultant and the zoning ordinance directed from it . D . Carey : I think , - - it seems to me that we could take these proposals here -that the 701 Committee approved and that this Planning Board approved at our last meeting , - - and use those as a more specific basis for a policy statement . R . Cotanch : 0 . K . These statements that I read to you at the last meeting were handed over to Niederkorn as they were approved here and I expect that Thursday night we will be hearing some zoning results from these state- ments . D . Carey : Some what ? R . Cotanch : Some discussion on specific zoning , - - Thursday night . Did you get a card on that meeting , Hicks ? H . Dow : I was thinking of your own card[ referring to the meeting Thursday night , - I received that . R . Cotanch : I didn ' t send them - - they probably sent them out under my name . The Village is responsible for every other meeting and this is their meeting but I didn ' t receive a card so wondered if they had sent them out . D . Carey : Thursday night at the Village Hall - - 7 : 30 isn ' t it ? R . Cotanch : No , - 8 P . M . D . Carey : Well , - - do you have anything to bring up tonight , Ron ? R . Cotanch ; I don ' t think anything has happened beyond our last meeting and tonight . You are aware of the meeting Thursday night . H . Dow : Of course , we have lost a lot of snow since ! D . Carey suggested that we make the Town Planning Board Policy State- ment by George Totman a part of the minutes of this meeting and a copy of it is hereto attached and made a part hereof . D . Carey : I thought Roger was going to be here to report on a couple of items to- night but he isn ' t here - - is there anything else we want to discuss ? R . Cotanch : This planning statement George has is very fine right up to the last paragraph but I ' m not too enthusiastic about that . - 2 - x D . Carey : I don ' t know that we are necessarily approving that planning statement . I think we should all try to write up something on policy and then put all the ideas together because really these paragraphs that have to do with the function of this Board and the other boards is just the functional part of it - - the operational part - - Z . Kane : Did anything else happen about the mobile homes ? R . Cotanch : Nothing has transpired since then . H . Dowt You spoke of this being a generalized statement , - - you have in mind a policy statement speaking of specific duties of the Planning Board? D . Carey : No , but of specific areas where we can improve the community . H . Dow : He covers that pretty well . Z . Kane : Yes , - - in a general way but we should be more specific . D . Carey : I think we should go through the statements we have in our minutes re . Niederkorn ' s proposals and develop those as some pattern of a policy statement . H . Dow : It ' s a pretty good opening paragraph . D . Carey : I ' m not critizing it - - I have some reservations about our patting ourselves on the back on what we have done so far . Z . Kane : If we don ' t - nobody else is going to , - - you know . D . Carey : Somebody might reverse us on that one ! He says "Planning becomes less simple each hour , day , and year , as our population increases and people continually move out of the city . " It becomes not less simple but more complex , - - I would think . Z . Kane : It ' s the same thing , only he said it backwards . R . Cotanch : I ' d turn that sentence around , too . D . Carey : Oh , I see now . H . Dow : In other words he ' s agin it and you aren ' t for itl R . Cotanch : Yes , - - a combination of these two paragraphs that are in the minutes - - Z . Kane : This is what I think , - - he ' s got beautiful introductions for it . H . Dow : I have a feeling that our biggest challenge is to somehow bridge the gap between the Town Planning Board and the Town Board . I have a feeling there ' s a schism - - some kind of a gap in our communication . I just have a feeling that the best we could do would be pretty much nullified until the Town Board gets to feel that we can make a contr1bu- tion to their efforts . I just think it ' s a break in communication , somehow . D . Carey : There ' s some apathy there . You can ' t even get them out to a meeting . They just don ' t seem to care . - 3 - I R . Cotanch : I don ' t know - - when you invite them to a meeting it has the tendency to appear like the son calling the father up on the carpet ! More discussion was held on this subject by all . D . Carey : I saw infithe paper that they now have a junkyard ordinance that they are going to enforce . What did they do ? R . Cotanch : They got Mr . Bucko to write up a permit which has only taken him 2 years and 8 months to do . D . Carey : Did he change the date on the ordinance ? R . Cotanch : They did . They had a public hearing on that . D . Carey : They did ? Was it publicized ? R . Cotanch : Yeah . More discussion was held on this subject . D . Carey : I think we have a vacancy coming up on the Board . R . Cotanch : On this Board ? D . Carey : Yes , - the 1st of April . R . Cotanch : Who ' s that ? D . Carey : I think it ' s me . I think I was elected for 3 years . Ro Cotanch : At their last regular meeting they reappointed Gleason for a 7-year term . D . Carey : I was thinking I was getting through this year . R . Cotanch : No , - - lots of luck - - too bad . Our next meeting will be election of officers . D . Carey : Yes , an - that ' s why I thought we should let them know . More discussion was held on this by R . Cotanch and D . Carey . D . Carey : Is there any further business ? If not , we stand adjourned . The next meeting will be April 7th at 8 : 00 P . M . Respectfully submitted , Jos phine Bell • The following is my contribution towards drawing up . . . THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD POLICY STATEMENT The comprehensive plan for the Town and Village of Groton should serve as a general guide for the future development of the town for the next twenty - five years . The plan itself should be regarded as a flexible proposal that is 'based upon a study of today ' s conditions and trends and their projection into the future . It should be important that the elements of the plan and their relationship to the whole 'be continuously restudied and revised as changing conditions 'bring about unforeseen alterations to the physical , social , and economic structures of the community . On the other hand the objectives and policies upon which the plan is 'based are conceived to 'be more permanent and representative of the general philosophy underlying the thinking of the planning 'board and its consultant toward the future development of the town . Any future revision of the plan should necessarily 'be made within the framework of these Objectives . One of the main objectives of the planning program as conceived 'by the official boards and citizen groups should be to preserve and protect the special qualities that have made Groton a good community in which to live . The plan should attempt to do this , and at the same time recognizes that growth of varying kinds and degrees is inevitable and that such development should 'be guided in order that it have a 'beneficial , rather than an adverse effect acre these characteristics which create a pleasant environment . The attractiveness which is presently inherent in the physical assets and landscape of the village and town should be preserved . At the same time provision should 'be made for a balance of new residential , retail , commercial , and industrial development that will 'be a tangible asset for the community in years to come . r . THE TOWN PLANNING BOARD POLICY STATEMENT Page # 2 The planning functions of the Town involves two bodies that play the most vital rolese0 . first , the Town Board as the primary framer of policy and as the legislative 'body which adapts the town budget ( capital improvements ) and the town regulatory measures ( zoning , ) and second the planning board as the chief advisor to the Town Board using a General Plan as a guide in their reports and recommendations , as well as in the decisions they make in approving subdivisions , where they exercise final authority . Planning 'becomes less simple each hour , day , and year , as our population increases and people continually move out of the city . Yet to be effective our ,planning functions have to gain the support of these people and our elected officials . The methods utilized in the past 'by the Groton Town Planning Board and the experiences shared as a result will stand them in good esteem as the planning function continues to establish its rightful place in the town , and the town continues to grow and prosper . GLT/bw c� March 16 , 1971