The Planning Board on Monday voted 7-0-1 to oppose a proposal made by the Charter Review Committee to trim its membership from nine to seven, with member Rob Benson abstaining.

Town Clerk Connor Degan, who also serves as the Charter Review Committee chair, came before the board to explain proposed revisions to the town charter that could impact the board.

Degan noted that the town charter is reviewed every 10 years. The committee solicited feedback from town department heads and committee chairs. It also created a public survey. These efforts  generated about 100 responses. The committee also compared Hopkinton with towns of similar size and demographics for ideas for improvements. From this information, the committee made suggestions about revisions to the town charter.

The information gathered showed that Hopkinton’s Planning Board is “slightly abnormally large” compared to other towns, according to Degan. It has “at least two more [members] than any other planning board.”

The other proposed change would get rid of the town planner position. It previously had been held by Town Manager Elaine Lazarus when she was appointed to the position in 1992. Degan characterized the role currently as “defunct” and said that it “has not been filled for quite a while.”

Degan said he was there to gather feedback on how these proposed changes would affect the board.

Added Degan: “None of the changes that we discussed are set in stone.”

Supermajority importance highlighted

Member Brian Johnson told Degan that there have been cases recently where a supermajority of six members was needed to approve a proposal. If the number were reduced to seven, a supermajority would be five.

“There are times when one or more of the members of the board are not eligible to vote,” he stressed. “As we reduce the size of the board, we increase the number of times in which we would effectively get to a point where a single board member could veto the request.”

At the July 6 meeting, a proposal regarding a historic home on Maple Street had to be continued because there were only five members in attendance.

Chair Matthew Wronka noted another case where a supermajority was necessary was for the 75 South Street project. It was approved in June in an 8-0 vote.

Wronka also said the size of the board has not changed since it was created in 1945.

Degan said the number change was suggested because there has not been a contested Planning Board election since 2019.

Member Michael King suggested that two members could be considered alternates.

“My concern is there’s a select few voices that have provided feedback that may or may not be congruent with what the town at large wants,” said Benson.

He added that the 100 responses to the surveys is an “incredibly low percentage” of the town’s voting population.

Degan countered that there was “significantly more feedback” to this Charter Review Committee than to its predecessor a decade ago.

“I think we run into the issue that there’s a lot of people in town who don’t understand what the charter is and its relevance,” he added. “It doesn’t affect their lives directly.”

The town charter mostly impacts town officials, he pointed out.

Wronka noted that board members are diverse and bring perspectives from all areas of town.

Said Degan: “And that’s a really good case right there for why the Planning Board works effectively at the number it does.”

He added that there will be a public forum on the town charter in the near future. It will be televised on HCAM.

There initially was discussion that the revised charter would be presented for consideration at the Special Town Meeting on Oct. 26. Because of the feedback being received and concerns the Select Board raised about the process being rushed, it may be voted on at May’s Annual Town Meeting instead.

Member Parker Happ stressed the importance of having staff support to provide information to help members make informed decisions. Wronka agreed, noting that the Board of Health and Conservation Commission have support staff to guide them. He also said that a staff resource would reduce the need for spending money on consultants.

“It has been just eye-opening hearing the perceived challenges you’re facing as well as things that could be improved by increased integration with town staff,” said Degan.

Hayden Rowe site requires major plan amendment

After a prolonged discussion, the board voted 6-2 to require that an applicant seeking a minor site plan amendment go through the major site plan amendment process instead because of expansion of the project’s second phase.

Principal planner Aneri Patel explained that 87 Hayden Rowe Street originally was approved in 2023 as a two-phase project. However, the plans approved at that time only showed the first phase, for which the board approved 45 parking spaces.

The applicant now is seeking to add onto the rear building, she said. The applicant is proposing to add 1,200 square feet to the 2,000 square-foot building. The request also includes increasing the number of parking spaces to 53.

Scott Richardson of Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects (GRLA) spoke on behalf of applicant Ken Driscoll. He said that Driscoll decided to increase the building size by one floor during construction. Driscoll also wanted to change the use from the approved service/storage building to office space.

The majority of members agreed that these changes were significant enough to require a major site plan review. A hearing will be held at the next meeting on Sept. 14. This would allow abutters to be notified. In 2023, residents had concerns about stormwater runoff.

Benson and member Parker Happ voted against the measure. They believed that a minor site plan amendment was adequate.

Patel said the process could be streamlined because the stormwater infrastructure is already in place for both buildings. A peer review would not be required, she added.

LNG permit requests approved

After a brief discussion, the board voted 8-0 to approve stormwater and earth removal permits for the Eversource liquified natural gas facility at 55 Wilson Street. This 51.5-acre parcel is the site of three cryogenic storage tanks used for storing liquified natural gas.

The board granted a waiver from the maximum 3:1 slope requirement because of site constraints as well as for the loam and seed requirements.

ZAC, EDAB liaisons selected

Member Elyse Mihajloski was elected as the board’s representative to the Zoning Advisory Committee in an 8-0 vote. She told the board she had previously served on ZAC and was interested in returning in this capacity.

Johnson volunteered to be the liaison to the Economic Development Advisory Committee. He was approved in an 8-0 vote.