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Report of the Planning Board <br /> To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens of the Town of Mashpee <br /> k; <br /> It is the distinct honor of the members of the Planning Board to submit our annual report for the <br /> calendar year 2009. <br /> Due to the resignation of former Chair Beverly Kane in December 2008,the Board reorganized at its <br /> January 7, 2009 meeting,with Thomas F. O'Hara elected Chair, Dennis H. Balzarini remaining as j <br /> Vice Chair and James P. Leonard elected Clerk. The other Board members at that time were Joseph <br /> E. Mullin and Associate Member Mary E. Waygan. <br /> On February 9,Albert S.Wickel was jointly elected by the Selectmen and Planning Board to fill Ms. <br /> Kane's vacancy until the May election. <br /> At the May 2009 election Mary Waygan was elected as a full member of the Board and John J. <br /> Cotton was elected as Associate Member. The Board reorganized again on May 20, retaining the <br /> Chair and Vice Chair and electing Joseph E.Mullin as Clerk. Chairman O'Hara also represents the <br /> Board on the Design Review and Community Preservation Committees. Joe Mullin serves as the <br /> Board's member on the Historic District Commission and Mary Waygan represents the Board on the <br /> Environmental Oversight Committee. <br /> During May,Bill Newton also joined the Planning Department staff as a part-time Assistant Planner <br /> to help with updating the Town's Comprehensive Plan, for which the Board serves as the "Local <br /> Planning Committee". As the year ended, the Board and Town staff were in the process of <br /> distributing a major public opinion survey to help guide us in developing the Comprehensive Plan <br /> update. <br /> 2009 Major Board Actions and Activities: <br /> Early in the year,the Board extensively reviewed but ultimately did not approve proposed changes <br /> to the South Cape Village special permit that would have allowed the"Joy Street"pedestrian mall to <br /> be converted to a street and parking area. The plan would also have relocated Commercial Street <br /> away from the Roche Brothers entrance for safety reasons. <br /> The Board also had numerous hearings about a proposed expansion of the Willowbend project,with <br /> extensive neighborhood input. A reduced version of the proposal, allowing 40 additional <br /> condominium units, was ultimately approved on May 6. <br /> In August the Board approved an "Artisan Marketplace" in a previously-approved 46,000 sq. ft. <br /> building in the Mashpee Industrial Park, along with a large associated parking lot. <br /> Throughout the year the Board continued preliminary conversations regarding a tri-party <br /> Development Agreement between the Town of Mashpee, Cape Cod Commission and Mashpee <br /> Commons L.P.regarding the remaining neighborhoods to be developed under Mashpee Commons' <br /> master plan,specifically,East Steeple Street,Trout Pond and North Market Street West. Late in the <br /> year,Mashpee Commons withdrew the Trout Pond neighborhood from consideration as part of the <br /> Development Agreement. The Cape Cod Commission has formally voted to participate in such a <br /> Development Agreement, for which hearings will begin in 2010. <br /> 147 <br />