- Verizon and Comcast
- Live stream via Zoom
- And to YouTube
Watch the Zoning Board of Appeals playlist on YouTube back to January 2022 |
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Watch the Zoning Board of Appeals playlist on YouTube back to January 2022 |
121 Grove Street - ZBA schedules public hearing on Comprehensive Permit - Nov 30 |
In our recent Making Sense of Climate discussion, Ted and I discussed this Somerset Zoning Board decision. While the news seems positive with the reversal of their earlier vote, according to the article, some of the residents will continue to challenge this ruling.
"A PROPOSED TRANSMISSION cable manufacturing plant in Somerset to serve the US offshore wind industry cleared a major hurdle on Thursday when the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to revise one of the conditions that had become a sticking point with the company.The board in mid-September voted unanimously to require Prysmian to only use vessels capable of running on electricity when in port picking up cable. The shore-to-ship electricity condition was designed to prevent vessels from pulling into Brayton Point, the site of the proposed factory, and running their dirty diesel engines during the lengthy loading process, which can require the ship to operate 24 hours a day for 10 to 14 days."
CommonWealth Magazine: "Somerset offshore wind plant clears major hurdle" |
FM #973 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 973 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Town Council meeting held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. 8 members of the Council were present in the Council Chambers (D Pellegri absent & unable to participate).
Quick recap:
License ownership changes for the alcohol license at The Curry House were approved
Health Director Cathleen Liberty provides insights on the Metacomet Health Alliance and the benefits to Franklin
The inclusionary zoning proposal back from the Planning Board review was moved to a second reading, one step closer to approval
The 3-part package of zoning changes for accessory dwelling units was moved forward from the EDC Plus recommendation with a contentious somewhat modification to refer to the Planning Board for their review. It will come back to the Town Council for their review and potential approval vote sometime in the near future
FY 2024 budget should be ready for review by Friday, with the Finance Committee and Town Council hears set for May
The recording runs 2 and 40 minutes. Let’s listen to the Town Council meeting on April 12, 2023. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-973-franklin-ma-town-council-mtg-04-12-23
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The agenda doc can also be found on the Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_-_april_12_2023.pdf
Metacomet Health Alliance presentation -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8a._presentation_metacomet_2.pptx.pdf
My notes in one PDF file -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OcCY239kVmLdAiMS2FFZSMQyS7JWcCoZ/view?usp=share_link
My quick notes and the meeting video -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/04/town-council-moves-inclusionary-zoning.html
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Town Council approves Curry House alcohol license change, hears about health alliance, moves Inclusionary Zoning along to 2nd reading (audio) |
FM #972 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 972 in the series.
This shares my conversation with Town Council Chair Tom Mercer in our Town Council Quarterbacking session. This is one of the series of conversations meant to provide a recap of the prior night’s Town Council meeting.
Akin to one of the many sports post-game analysis broadcasts we are familiar with in New England, this would be a discussion focused on the Franklin Town Council meeting of Apr 12, 2023:
ok, what just happened?
What does it mean for Franklin residents and taxpayers?
We cover the following key topics
Police Station Building Committee
Second readings on lot line changes, the last bulks ones for now
Public hearing on the inclusionary zoning changes back from Planning Board, move to second reading
Accessory dwelling unit bylaw proposals referred to planning board
Budget coming out Friday, hearing schedule set for Finance Cmte May 8, 10, 11 & Council for May 24, 25
Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes.
Our conversation runs about 32 minutes. Let’s listen to the Town Council Quarterbacking session recorded Apr 13, 2023. Audi file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-972-town-council-quarterbacking-04-13-23
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The agenda doc can also be found on the Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/town_council_agenda_-_april_12_2023.pdf
My notes in one PDF file -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OcCY239kVmLdAiMS2FFZSMQyS7JWcCoZ/view?usp=share_link
My quick notes and the meeting video -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/04/town-council-moves-inclusionary-zoning.html
--------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
This Town Council Quarterbacking session gets inside the zoning changes; inclusionary and accessory dwelling units (audio) |
1. Accessory Dwelling Units legislation
Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting - March 22, 2023 |
FM #949 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 949 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Economic Development SubCmte meeting held in hybrid format on Wednesday, February 23, 2023. Some of the audience participated via Zoom, some were in person in the Council Chambers.
Chair: M Hamblen, C Frongillo, G Jones, P Sheridan
Town Administration: J Hellen, M Cerel, B Taberner, A Love, G Brown
1 - Discussion on the ins and outs of 40b.
2 - Informational overview of “friendly 40b” development proposed for 121 Grove St
The recording runs two hours and thirty-six minutes, so let’s listen to the Economic Development SubCmte meeting on February 23, 2023.
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-949-economic-development-subcmte-mtg-02-22-23
Quick recap:
40b overview
The 40b legislation was enacted in 1969 to help expand the number of communities and neighborhoods where households with low and moderate incomes could secure a safe, affordable home
The 40b legislation is an "Affordable" housing production tool. 40B Projects must have at least 20 to 25% of housing units deeded as affordable
The permitting process of a 40B Project is through the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), not the Planning Board
The ZBA is formally a "Comprehensive Permit Process" which allows for a streamlined permit process. The ZBA may apply more flexible standards than the local zoning requirements
Note it is capital A “Affordable”, there are legal requirements built into either the home ownership deed or to the rental agreements to create “Affordable” units. This is not to say that the units are market rate ‘affordable.’ Affordability is a relative term but per 40b it does have legal requirements set at the Federal & State level, enforced locally
The Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) is the List of Affordable Housing Units that Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) uses to calculate a Community’s percentage of low-or moderate-income housing. Owned units are counted differently (i.e. condos) than apartments. A 100 unit proposal with 25% “Affordable” (note the capital A) if owned would add 25 units to the SHI. If these units were apartments, then all 100 (assuming the 25% “Affordable”) would add 100 units to the SHI
Franklin is believed to be above the 10% requirement. The census data from 2020 has not yet been processed by DHCD to determine the specific percent we are today. We were 11.96% with 2010 data, it is projected that we are above 10% but exactly where is not known today
Information on some of the presentation pages provide details on current 40b developments as well as proposed developments (as of today anyway)
121 Grove St (begins approx 80 minutes into the recording)
The second part of the meeting was an overview of the proposal for 300 or so units at 121 Grove St
The slides shown are noted as “draft”. This is shared as part of the informational work of the “friendly 40b” process created by the Town of Franklin. Based upon the feedback received there are changes likely to the specifics to address the concerns or items raised. For example, there is an open Conservation permitting process underway where the back and forth negotiation could lead to changes in the number of or at least layout of the buildings on the land.
One point raised in the discussion that should be considered is the “loss” of land zoned as commercial industrial when we need that. This particular property overtime has proved the point that it is not fit for C/I development due to its terrain and wetlands. The residential proposal can work around the land in particular to create revenue that for years has not been able to be addressed in any other way
All the slide of the presentation as shown overhead in the Council Chambers were captured in one photo album and the link is provided below
The 121 Grove St proposal will be scheduled to come before the Town Council in the near future and assuming fairly received could begin the formal process by applying through the Zoning Board of Appeals as outlined in the 40b discussion
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The agenda doc for the meeting can be found here -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2023-02-22_edc_agenda_.pdf
40b overview presentation -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YcwAKFPdjcjYNAbPlF4PtuSVr8K8Ns8Z/view?usp=share_link
The Franklin TV replay for this session is available -> https://www.youtube.com/live/K9BYvCAcE1s?feature=share
My notes via Twitter can be found in one PDF here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AIKI1EdTZML5WLCqhhbwLXO6RTi2l2HL/view?usp=share_link
121 Grove St slides (photo album) -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ySstvYGTnhGYh3rp9
--------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Economic Development Subcmte took a deep dive into 40b, then heard a friendly 40b proposal for 121 Grove St (audio) |
a. A Chapter 40B primer by the state Department of Housing and CommunityDevelopment (DHCD) https://www.mass.gov/chapter-40-b-planning-and-informationb. A staff memo and slideshow will be forthcoming at the meeting.
a. Friendly 40B process -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2a._-_friendly_40b_process.pdfb. Median Income Qualifications -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2b._-_median_income_qualifications.pdfc. 121 Grove Street Application -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2c._-_121_grove_st._application_redacted.pdfd. 121 Grove Street Site Plan -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2d._-_121_grove_st._site_plan.pdfe. Planning Board comment letter -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2e._-_planning_board_letter.pdff. Conservation Commission comment letter ->
The agenda doc contains remote participation info -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/_2023-02-22_edc_agenda_.pdf
Chapter 40B primer by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) |