HomeMy WebLinkAboutRight-of-Way Minutes - April 19, 2011 (Draft)_201402041506170264ROADS & RIGHT OF WAY COMMITTEE MINUTES, DRAFT
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Meeting Scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Garage Area at 2 Fairgrounds Road
Attending: Anne Bissinger-Poor, Sylvie O’Donnell, Allen Reinhard, Chair, Lee
Saperstein, Secretary pro tem, John Stackpole, Harvey Young (at 4:33 pm).
Absent: D.Anne Atherton, Nat Lowell
Guests: Carol Dunton, Bert Ryder, Andrew Vorce
1. Call to Order. Chair Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:02 pm and asked
if there any additions or amendments to the agenda. There was none.
2. Approval of March 15, 2011 minutes. After noting that the date on the heading
should be March, not February 15, and that the street name on page 3, line 8, should be
Pleasant and not Please, the minutes were accepted unanimously: Stackpole moved and
Bissinger seconded.
3. ATM results relating to R&ROW issues. Mr. Vorce reviewed the actions of
Town Meeting that affected roads and right of way. On the whole, he felt that the Town
had advanced the purposes of access in its actions. The list that follows matches the list
in the March 15th Minutes.
Article 35 passed. This authorizes the Town to seek funds for taking Boulevarde
and associated roads leading from Surfside to the Airport. The next step is for the Town
to schedule a special election to seek approval for a budget override to appropriate these
funds. Once the engineering and design steps are performed (the “layout”), the Town
will need to appropriate additional funds for road construction. A substantial majority of
abutters and owners affected by this taking have granted easements for the taking, thus
reducing the legal burden on the Town. If other sources of funds cannot be identified, up
to thirty percent of betterment costs may be assessed to abutters.
Article 37 passed. This article provides for a disposition of the un-laid portion of
Miller Lane. The article was a citizen’s article that sought for the Town to provide access
to three land-locked lots on Miller Lane. The article was amended before Town Meeting
to provide for a short extension of Miller Lane to the eastern most lot and for the balance
of the Lane to be conveyed to the Nantucket Land Bank for a walking path. If the land
owner provides access to the other two lots by easements over private land, the deal is
done. If the land owner wishes for access by public way to the remaining two western
lots, then another Article will be need to be brought to the next Town Meeting. Article
110, Map F, provided for the disposition for the remainder of Miller Lane to open space
and/or sale to the Nantucket Island’s Land Bank.
Article 92 passed. Permission was authorized to take or purchase the property at
the corner of Union and Francis Streets, 50 Union St. The intent of this article is to
provide a larger radius of curvature for this corner, which is the only route suitable for
large trucks into the heart of the Island. Funds for this purchase were not included in the
article and will need to be identified in the future.
Articles 98 and 99; 100 and 101 passed. These articles authorize the taking and
disposition by yard sale of a number of paper streets in Surfside. Mr. Vorce noted that
the ROW Committee should review these streets to see if any should be retained by the
Town for public access. ACTION: Subcommittee review of these ways.
Articles 105 and 106 passed as amended. These two articles provided for the
taking and disposition of a lateral way at Ann’s Lane to the ‘Sconset Bluff Footpath
along with the curing of adverse possession of Town-owned land by a private land
owner. Article 106 was amended to state that if a public way was not created opposite of
Ann’s Lane, then an alternate would be taken somewhere in the three lots of land owned
in common at that site. These two articles represented the completion of tasks from the
‘Sconset Bluff Footpath Subcommittee that required Town-Meeting approval.
Articles 107 and 108 passed. These two articles provided for the taking and
disposition of a number of other paper streets and ways on Nantucket. Of significance is
the disposition of an extension of Hulbert Avenue that will now become open space in
the Jetties Beach reservation.
Articles 109 and 110 passed. These two articles also dealt with paper streets and
ways and included, as mentioned above, the disposition of Miller Lane. ACTION: Miller
Lane was on our committee’s original list of sites deserving of a public-way marker. We
need to follow the disposition of this way and, if it goes to the Town, provide clearance
of land into a pedestrian way and the installation of suitable markers. If it goes to the
Land Bank, we should work with the Land Bank to see that it is marked appropriately.
Chair Reinhard stated that the 2011 Annual Town Meeting was very successful for public
access.
Mr. Vorce reminded us that the proposed budget for the Community Preservation
Committee, Article 28, was passed and includes funds specifically designated for “Public
Access to open space and acquisition fund for properties, Phase 3, $150,000.” He stated
that he and Mike Burns, Transportation Planner, were available to help. If we want to
assemble an advisory or consultation group for this, we should do it by July 1st. The
Committee took up this matter under Item 6. below.
4. Update on Sconset Foot Path management plan meeting with Town
Manager. Chair Reinhard reported that he and Harvey Young had met with the Town
Manager about the ‘Sconset Bluff Footpath Management Plan and the various elements
in it that will require maintenance and management from the Town. This conversation
led to the scheduling of a report to the Board of Selectmen on the proposed management
plan. Mr. Harvey Young and Chair Reinhard will present the plan to the BOS and will
highlight three items (Mr. Young arrived at 4:33 pm as this item was being discussed):
Maintenance of the path by the Department of Public Works, particularly mowing
and clearing to the four-foot standard. ACTION: Messers Reinhard and Young
will work with DPW to maintain good relations with abutting land owners.
Enforcement of acceptable public behavior by the Police Department. Chief
Pittman has agreed to assign these duties to one or more of the Community
Service Officers who patrol in the ‘Sconset area.
Signage. Recommendations were made by the subcommittee on signs to be
posted at the entrance to the path and at the lateral ways. ACTION: We need to
work with the DPW Sign Department to create the main sign and the markers for
the lateral ways. Connected to this will be the need to acquire a Certificate of
Appropriateness from the HDC.
5. Public Way monument installation phase 2. ACTION: We need to schedule
placement of the Phase II Monuments as soon as possible. We may use the CPC grant to
pay the surveyors and constructor. We should use the services of the surveyors and the
Town Clerk to maintain a record of the locations of the older, existing concrete
monuments, and the Phase I and II granite monuments. Members of the committee are
asked to review the list of existing monuments (attached) to see if any others are known
to exist.
6. Discussion: A plan for our CPC funded Open Space/Public Access Initiative.
A lively discussion ensued about how to expand public access with funds made available
by the Community Preservation Committee grant. Chair Reinhard explained that the
grant gives broad authority in terms of lands that might be acquired for public ways. He
also suggested that we assemble an advisory panel of people who are expert in
Nantucket’s public ways, such as Anne Bissinger-Poor, Wayne Holmes, and Arthur
Reade. ACTION: Committee members should think of additional potential members for
this group. Chair Reinhard will invite these experts to a future meeting of the ROW that
is mutually convenient for them.
Items that were discussed, not necessarily in this order, include
The Greenway project: to provide two north-south and one east-west “public
ways” similar in concept to such major ways as the Greenways on Block Island or
the Appalachian Trail. While much of these ways would traverse open land
already owned by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation or Nantucket Land
Bank, gaps in the ways would be targets for acquisition by CPC funds. ACTION:
Anne Bissinger volunteered to pull up GIS maps to cover the potential routes.
Chair Reinhard suggested that we should be interested in a way from Jonathan’s
Way to Low Beach. He will look into this.
County Road Takings Projects. The 1975 Takings Project was incomplete. There
is scope for continuation of this work and the assistance of experts who were part
of the earlier project would be invaluable.
Public Landings. In 1846, the Land Court was formed and shortly thereafter it
created the designation of “Public Landings” to delineate points on the shore that
could be used to land boats. Finding them and providing for their preservation,
perhaps by taking, would be an useful project. Anne Bissinger suggested that the
Proprietors’ Roads did not extend beyond the 1820 set-offs of common land and
that this might have created additional gaps in access to the Public Landings.
Rails to Trails. Mr. Saperstein mentioned the development of the Nantucket
Railway roadbed into a walking trail and Ms Bissinger mentioned that the concept
of rail to trail should be explored. Subsequent to the meeting, Mr. Saperstein
found the following related links: www.railstotrails.org and
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/rwt. a federal report on the
development of these trails: see Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 21, section
17C on liability.
In closing this item, Chair Reinhard asked the committee to think about other potential
uses of these funds. In general, footpath easements will be easier to acquire than will
road takings.
7. New business. Mr. Saperstein indicated that he had been notified by the Town
about the expiration of his appointment and had, therefore, filed the application for
renewal. Mr. Lowell is the other member whose term expires this year.
8. Adjourn. Having completed the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm.
Next meeting: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 4:00 p.m. at 2 Fairgrounds Rd.
R&ROW Committee Outstanding Projects and Issues Priority List:
Surfside area road takings and public way improvement project
Pedestrian/bike path linking Prospect Street path to Madaket Bike route via Mill Hill
Surfside paper road/abutters way takings
First Way Pedestrian/Bike Access and Road Improvement Project
Update Priority Takings List and process used to evaluate priority for takings
A Plan for the Establishment of a Nantucket Greenway and Footpath System
Miller Lane footpath: Property transfer to the Land Bank on hold by town
Footpath from Washington St. Ext. to Orange Street Improvement Project
Spruce Street, viewing platform/boardwalk to East Creek Road
East Creek Road layout
Public cemetery access and maintenance plan
Oversight of maintenance West Chester St. Ext., Crooked Lane and Cathcart Road
Publication of “A History of Roads and Ways”
Chapter 91 Public Access License Enforcement: Harbors Plan Implementation Com.
Mill Hill Project: Map of trails and public property, status of public use
Completed projects needing implementation and follow up:
Access to Sconset Footpath
Public Way marking project phase 2
ROW Improvement Plan follow-up and implementation
Lee W. Saperstein, Secretary pro tem
25 April 2011
Attachment:
TOWN AND COUNTY OF NANTUCKET
COMMITTEE ON ROADS AND RIGHT OF WAY
List of Existing Public Way Markers
Note: These markers are the pre-existing cast concrete markers that are marked with the
cast-indented words “Public Way” displayed in a vertical alignment (beginning with the
letter ‘P’ at the top). Existing markers protrude from the ground in the range of 42 to 46
inches (approximately); they are hexagonal in section but not equilateral as their front
faces are broad enough to contain the lettering. Cast in place toward the top of the
marker are spare surveyor monuments marked with the words “County Road Bound.”
Similar markers have been found at the top of Bound monuments where they have a
conical indent for marking the exact spot of the Bound. Evidence of old paint suggests
that the posts were painted white and the indented lettering was black.
Auriga (School) Street. There is a marker on the right (as one faces the ocean)
embedded in the bushes.
Charles Street at the intersection with Hulbert Avenue. Charles Street continues to
the Harbor but has no parking beyond Hulbert.
Madaket. Allen Reinhard has identified three monuments in a row that mark the ocean
end of one of the streets (Chicago St. or Macy Road?) that go south from the end of the
Madaket Road.
Millbrook Road. Just inside of its intersection with Millbrook, an unnamed way that
goes to the Head of Hummock Pond has a monument on the right-hand side as one faces
the pond. This is approximately 40 Millbrook and is alongside of Land Bank land.
North Cambridge Street. There is a monument at the end of North Cambridge just
before the wetlands.
Warrens Landing Road. There is an existing monument at the bound marking the
intersection of Warren’s Landing Road and Eel Point Road at approximately (opposite)
48 Warrens Landing Rd. Warrens Landing Road carries on to Madaket Harbor where we
placed a new monument in Phase I.
Washing Pond Road. There is a monument at the intersection of an unnamed Way with
Washing Pond Road at approximately 38 Washing Pond Rd. The Way carries onto a
small parking area and access to the Washing Pond beach.
April 26, 2011