Town of Shirley - Shirley, MA

PLANNING BOARDFiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012)The Town of Shirley’s Planning Board is an active municipal government entity whoseoverall goal is to foster the development of the community. The Planning Board is resultsoriented in assisting citizens and community leaders in directing future changes. ThePlanning Board facilitates the community’s quality of life through housing, economicdevelopment, open space and recreation, transportation, and land use. The PlanningBoard encourages preservation of natural landscapes and important land resources bypromoting excellence in site development and design.The Planning Board is mandated by law to:• Prepare and maintain a Master Plan• Prepare, adopt, and administer Subdivision Rules and Regulations• Review all subdivisions of land submitted under state and local Regulations• Supervise construction of all subdivision roadways and infrastructure• Prepare, present, and report on all proposed zoning amendments for TownMeeting• Act as Special Permit Granting Authority where designated by theProtective Zoning Bylaws• Review site plans for commercial and industrial development.The Planning Board held regularly scheduled public meetings (the first and thirdWednesdays of each month) plus additional meetings totaling 28 meetings in the lastfiscal year.Apple Orchard Estates subdivision is incomplete and the Planning Board continuesefforts with regard to their Modification. There was a great deal of time and effortinvolved with this subdivision in the last few fiscal years as the efforts to move forwardthe engineering modifications along are taking much time and follow up. The BondFunds and the Revolving Accounts are monitored and updated regularly as BondReleases were requested, considered and released. Additionally, there is an ongoingeffort with the help of Apple Orchards to deal with the drainage problems for HarvardRoad. Much of the aforementioned work also continues through Fiscal Year 2013.The Village at Phoenix Pond has filed for a Modification to their Special Permit to buildsingle family homes in place of the balance of the over 55+ units. This is continuing intoFY2013 and has taken up a great deal of the Planning Board’s time.Further, there are other various projects ongoing throughout this time period.Approvals of Special Permits, Special Permit Extensions, Site Plan Reviews, ANRPlans, Release of Covenants, and Modification Decisions were issued by theBoard as well as Road Acceptances, Release of Roadway Covenants, PassbookAssignments, and Bond Releases, while observing the Permit Extension Act the117