Ayer Planning Board and Conservation Commission Agree OSRD Process Needs Tighter Rules

AYER — January 22, 2021 — Ayer's Planning Board and Conservation Commission held a joint remote session to iron out coordination gaps in the town's Open Space Residential Development review process. Conservation Commission Chair John Schmullenberger and Planning Board Clerk Jonathan Krantz co-facilitated the meeting, which drew all five commission members but only two of the planning board's five seats — leaving the board short of a quorum. Town Planner Mark Archambault and Conservation Administrator Joanne Christoff both urged that the four-step OSRD design process developed by planner Randall Arendt be formalized as binding regulation rather than guidance, noting that applicants routinely ignore suggestions. Christoff told the planning board, "If you want something different from the commission than what you've been getting, you just need to decide what that is and then ask." The Conservation Commission announced it had published a public hearing notice for adoption of a no-disturb buffer zone regulation, aimed primarily at developers, which could affect a current OSRD application carrying a potential density increase from roughly 19 base lots to 28.