Town Meeting to Consider Scenic Road Bylaw
This week's Town Meeting article of the week.
Welcome to Town Meeting Article of Week, where we take a look at one article per week leading up to Town Meeting. We'll give you some background on the issue at hand.
Article 30: To see if the town will adopt a scenic roads bylaw to protect the scenic quality and character of certain public ways in the town by regulating the cutting or removal of trees, the tearing down or destruction of stone walls and the construction of any new driveway or private way or the alteration of any existing driveway or private way.
Criteria for Designation as a Scenic Road: The Planning Board, Conservation Commission, or Historical Commission shall, in determining which roads or portions of roads should be recommended as scenic roads, consider the following criteria:
a. Roads bordered by trees of exceptional quality; b. Roads bordered by stone walls; c. Roads bordered by any other natural or man-made features of aesthetic or historical value; d. Roads for which alteration is being planned or is likely to be planned in the future.
Seeking changes: Any person, organization, state, or municipal agency seeking the written consent of the Planning Board regarding the cutting or removal of trees, the tearing down or destruction of stone walls and the construction of any new driveway or private way or the alteration of any existing driveway or private way in so far as such alteration takes place within the right-of-way when such work involves the cutting down of trees or the destruction of stone walls, or portions thereof, shall file a written request with the Planning Board. It shall inlude text of a legal notice identifying the location of the proposed action, a statement of the purpose(s) for such changes, a list of owners of properties, a fee, as established by the Planning Board, and any further explanatory material useful to adequately inform the Planning Board.
The board will hold a public hearing on the issue and make a decision on the request within twenty-one (21) days of the closing of the public hearing.
Background: Last summer, residents raised questions when two scenic roads in town - Robin Hill Road and High Street- were striped.
Approved Scenic Roads:
The following list of roads have been designated as scenic roads pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 40 Section 15C:
Byam Road from Robin Hill Road to Acton Road
Garrison Road from Littleton Road to Hunt Road
Crooked Spring Road from School Street to Meadowbrook Road
Worthen Street in its entirety
Crosby Lane in its entirety
High Street from Acton Road to Locust Road
Parker Road from Concord Road to Acton Road
Robin Hill Road in its entirety
Mill Road from Boston Road to the former Old Billerica Road * entire length of Mill Road
Town Meeting is April 30, 2012 at the Senior Center.
Tom Gilroy
11:07 am on Friday, March 30, 2012
With all due respects to those that crafted this article, this is an abrogation of the rights of the property owner who has the right and responsibility to maintain their property without the permission of the town or one of it's regulatory bodies. Should there be a hurricane, wind, snow, ice storm the property owner would have to petition the Board and wait up to 21 days for a response. How rediculous?
Sue Carter
11:31 am on Friday, March 30, 2012
Tom - this only applies to the area within the town Right of Way and does NOT infringe on PRIVATE PROPERTY. If there is an emergency there are provisions to allow the DPW to do what is needed without delay. There are also provisions to remove nuisance vegetation (like bittersweet) without any permits required. The Planning Board was trying to be very sensitive to concerns resulting from the October snowstorm. Please check out the full text available on the town website. (diclosure: I am on the Planning Board)
Krista Perry
11:44 am on Friday, March 30, 2012
I've just attached a PDF of the town meeting warrant so you can read the full language. I tried to give readers a "cliff's notes" version in this article but there are those provisions in there for DPW.
Tony
6:42 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012
If I read the warrant article correctly the Planning Board can designate any road as scenic. I also don't see any wording that specifies exactly how this article doesn't infringe on private property rights. There isn't anything defining the Town's "Right of Way" in a way that makes it clear where owner's rights begin and the Town's end. From what I read, the Planning Board could prevent me from taking any tree that is a danger to my home, family, or property no matter where that tree is located on my property. This proposed article is yet another infringement on property owner rights and should be voted down at Town Meeting. Homeowners if you have trees that you're waiting to have taken down, do it now while you still can.
Tom Gilroy
7:53 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012
Sue, I am sorry but I agree with Tony, above. We all know the genius of this article was the traffic lines that were put on Robin Hill Road and I have read the article which I will speak against at Town Meeting.
Sue Carter
8:13 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Right of Way is a defined width along the roadway - typically 33' which is the "two rod road" although major routes are often 50-60' wide and newer subdivision roads are 50'. The width of the street would be shown on the survey plan for your property which shows your leagal frontage.
The roads typically considered "scenic" are the older roadways so if you have a 22' pavement, you could estimate that the right of way is about 5.5' from the pavement. Older roadways often have stone walls lining the edge of the right of way, which are also the property lines.
The traffic striping might have gotten people to review that while we had a few roads designated as scenic, we had no bylaw that defined what a scenic road designation means. This by-law will do just that and is in keeping with the state law governing scenic roads. Please note that it regulates removal of trees in the right of way and stonewalls which are likely the property lines. The trigger for stonewall removal is set to allow the average single family driveway without permits. Tree removal is triggered for trees larger than 6" diameter and is designed to prevent the unnecessary removal of large street trees. (BYW- street trees cannot be removed under the Shade Tree Act without a hearing held by the Tree Warden.) This bylaw does not regulate any striping- only tree and wall removal.
The designation of any new roads will take a public hearing and will not be done in a vacuum.
Tony
8:19 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012
This is still a slippery slope. I want a scenic town, but we don't
need more regulations. I don't want to have to go to the planning board every time I need to take a tree limb or two. Enough's enough with government intervention in areas it doesn't belong. I will be contacting my TMR and voicing my opposition to any further power grab by the planning board.
Sue Carter
9:12 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tony- this only applies to trees adjacent to the street. Today you could remove the branches but not the street tree without a hearing. If your street happens to be one of the scenic roads, it would just be a joint meeting between the Planning Board and Tree Warden. The Shade Tree Act was enacted the last century when much of Massachusetts was clear cut and it was an effort to protect the remaining trees outside of private property. As you drive around town, you will see some of the largest (oldest) trees adjacent to the roads, especially in areas that were once fields or orchards.
Check any of the surrounding towns - Chelmsford is one of the few who don't have a scenic road by-law. Given the fact that we have very few buildable lots on scenic roads and this is more geared towards curb cuts, I doubt that you would see many applications. I think everyone is very sensitive to the need to keep our power lines clear of overhanging or damaged branches.
I would encourage you to come to the Planning Board public hearings for any future articles so that you can voice your opinions. The PB does listen to the public and tries to address the concerns of the public before presenting them to town meeting, We can't do that if no one speaks on the articles.
Tony
11:55 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sue: I don't care about other towns. My concern is that this will eventually morph into something that will cost homeowners more time and money then it's worth. Anybody having to go through Chelmsford's variance process knows what I'm talking about. Our individual property rights have already been eroded enough. We don't need more regulations by our government. The notion of Chelmsford "scenic" roadways is questionable. We're not the Berkshires, Cape Cod, or in the midst of other spectacular scenic areas with great open spaces that need protection to preserve their natural beauty. Chelmsford lost it's open spaces a long time ago to development and its natural beauty was replaced by beautiful homes and landscapes bought and paid for by responsible homeowners who have the right to maintain their property as they see fit. If the Planning Board was so concerned about protection of Chelmsford's natural beauty, then why did it approve such unbridled expansion in the last 50 years including allowing the decimation of open spaces like 9 North Road? Lord knows I would think that the Planning Board has greater issues to contend with then spending time regulating how homeowners maintain their property. What's the next surprise going to be? Needing a variance to mow my lawn a certain height?
andrew giannino
10:04 am on Monday, April 2, 2012
OMG Really gotta bring up 9 North RD. The planning board has to follow the law not their whim and fancy. When is this gonna end. Chelmsford has almost 1000 acres of open space and tons of beauty please time to give it up and MOVE ON
Debbie Levine
7:08 am on Sunday, April 1, 2012
Is there any provision for the potential for sidewalks?
Jim Gasper
3:02 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
I agree with Tony, Ariticle 30 is a big government intrusion onto the rights of property owners. This article needs to be defeated. Even the trimming to prevent downed lines is prohibited by this article.
Sue Carter
5:03 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Just to reiterate- this by-law does not impact trees on private property and only impacts 6"+ diameter trees within the public right of way along the street. These same trees are subject to the "Shade Tree Act" which requires a public hearing for the same work as covered by this proposed by-law. If Town Meeting votes this article down, the Shade Tree Act will still apply and remain unchanged.
Tony
1:28 am on Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Ms. Carter: If "these same trees are subject to the "Shade Tree Act which requires a public hearing for the same work as covered by this proposed by-law" then why the need for an apparently redundant bylaw? I don't see any valid reason for it other then the Planning Board wanting to further intrude into our lives. I can also predict that it will probably cost us time, money, and aggravation to schedule a hearing. If Town Meeting votes this article down by your own words "the Shade Tree Act will still apply and remain unchanged." This tells me that the bylaw is totally unnecessary and a further infringement on my rights as a property owner. This bylaw should be voted down, permanently. I'm hoping that all property-owning TMRs are against the additional government bureaucracy that this bylaw will create and votes it down at Town Meeting. Homeowner property rights need to to be strengthened not trampled.
Jim Pinder
10:58 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
All this Scenic By-Law talk started last summer when the Selectmen used it as cover to get newly painted lines on Robin Hill and High Street removed. Not a single resident ever brought it up as far as I can remember. This was how the Selectmen justified taking the removal action. Cohen basically refused to fix the "mistake" his painting crew made putting the Selectmen between his rigid position and a nearly unanimous Robin Hill & High Street neighborhood telling them to get those lines up. This was the vehicle they used to get out of the bind. Seems to me they could have just told Cohen to remove the lines with a vote. A little leadership was needed there and with the exception of Jon Kurland, all the other selectmen just sat on their hands.
What we found during this episode is that the neighborhoods really need protection from town mistakes and the town manager and his agencies aggressively pushing changes into the neighborhoods without any prior consultation.
I think the idea of identifying and protecting scenic roads is a good thing. This by-law is very heavy handed. It just dosen't make much sense to me. I believe it should be rejected as written and sent back to the Planning Board with instructions to trim about 80% of it off. It is not the residents that will do the damage. As the Robin Hill Line Striping Fiasco showed, we need protection from the town itself. That is the 20% we need to keep!
Jim
5:15 pm on Sunday, April 29, 2012
Article 30 is redundant and un-needed. To much government.
Tony
3:15 pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Article 30 is coming up for a vote on May 3rd. I sincerely hope that homeowners will let their TMRs know that this is just too much government intrusion into our lives. I also urge TMRs who own homes to take a very serious look at this article. It's just too wide open and is redundant to current MA law protecting scenic routes. I urge TMRs to dump this potential financial and waste of time nightmare. For anyone who has had to go before the Planning Board, this is a no brainer. I sincerely hope the TMRs see this unneccessary intrusion on homeowner rights for what it is.