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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 02042009 Planning Board Minutes February 4, 2009 Present: Tom French, Chair; Beth Ashman-Collins, Clerk; Doug Annino, Tony16~i~ .... (t~.Hl -)- Donald Cleary., Olivier Kozlowski and Shawn MacDonald, Alternates Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development !'[[J ;~~ r:' r""- ~ C.J Ui-j-ICE P 2:09 1. Meeting called to or4er at 7:30 p.m... I 2. Correspondence 1. Minutes January 7, 2009 Motion: To approve as submitted (Cleary-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 2. ZBA application for Finding - 223 Winter Street Mr. Burke explained the application is to add a mud room on an existing foundation between the house and the garage; the application states that because the slab is existing, there is a pre-existing non-conformity. However, Mr. Burke said when the slab was poured in 1997, the house and garage couldn't have been connected. He said the current owners were not the owners when the slab was poured. Mr. Kozlowski asked if the garage would have had to be behind the house when it was constructed in 1984; Mr. Burke said it would have. Mr. Annino said this shouldn't be a finding because the garage didn't conform at the time. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation. The board understands the applicant's statement that the slab between the house and the garage creates a link between the two buildings, thus making it one pre-existing non-conforming structure and allowing them to petition for a finding rather than a variance. It is unclear to the Planning Board whether this is the situation. It also appears a variance may have been required for the garage when it was built in 1984 because it is not behind the primary structure. It is also unclear whether a variance was granted for the construction. In any event, the majority of the Planning Board does not support the petition to allow for construction of the breezeway, as it would create a building scale and mass less than six feet from a property line, a situation the Zoning By-Law setbacks were intended to avoid. In addition, the board questioned whether a building permit was issued for the slab in 1997. If a permit was not issued, a zoning violation exists and this application should be for a variance rather than a finding. (Annino-Cleary) 6 in favor. One abstention. PASSES Motion: To send the Building Inspector a letter asking him to investigate the permit status of the garage and the slab and the potential safety issues prior to the ZBA public hearing (Jodice-Annino) Six in favor. One abstained. PASSES 3. ZBA application for Modification - 160 East Street Mr. Burke explained a variance was granted for a one-story garage with less than the sideyard setback, and this application is for a two-story garage. He explained 35 feet is the maximum height in this zone. Mr. Annino said this is an intensification of the use very close to the property line. Mr. French noted there is a paper street next to this house; he asked if the paper street would be developed. Mr. Burke said GIS Planning Board 1 2/5/2009 ~... shows that property being owned by the abutter to the rear, and not as a paper street, so it is unlikely to be developed. Mr. Annino said he would be concerned about building code issues and fire separation with an addition so close to the property line. Motion: To send to ZBA a negative recommendation on the modification of the variance to allow a two-story garage. Members were concerned about the mass and bulk of the proposed addition, as well as its height in relation to the existing house and to neighbhoring structures. In addition, given the proximity of the structure to the property line, the members were concerned about building code and fire separation issues.Finally, the Planning Board noted that the town's GIS system appears to show the "paper street" next to the proposed garage is owned by the abutter to the rear and may no longer be a paper street. (Jodice-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 4. ZBA decision - 49 Dean Street - Granted (positive recommendation) I 3. ..Form A (ANR)Plansi 4. Special Permit. Public Ilearing-- 241!F'rancis.Avenue-MWWc, Inc.. Retail Use in 12.Zone ... The clerk read the public hearing notice. Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, introduced Chris DePierro and Kelly Martin. He explained the application is for a retail use in an Industrial 2 zone on a 61-acre parcel of land (the former Owens-Illinois site). The proposal is to use 1,900 square feet of the existing building for the sale of wine. There will be no changes to the exterior, drainage, paving or landscaping. Ms. Martin explained they have to get a retail wine license from the town, but they plan to sell and ship through direct mail marketing rather than a traditional storefront. In order to do that, they are required to accommodate walk-in traffic, although they don't plan to market that aspect of the business. Mr. French asked about the total size of the operation. Ms. Martin explained they will rent 1,900 square feet of the existing building for their retail space, but will also be able to store their product in the existing warehouse building. Mr. DePierro said alcohol is already stored in the existing warehouse building. Charlie Kennealy, V AM Realty Trust, said the existing facility is bonded and already stores similar product for other businesses. Mr. French asked what the public hours would be. Ms. Martin said it would probably be Monday-Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. They do not plan to be open weekends or evenings. The clerk read memos from Electric, Police, Fire, Conservation, Engineering. Mr. French asked if the board has the ability to limit the hours of operation. Mr. Burke said the Board of Selectmen typically does that through the beer and wine license. However, Mr. Burke said because this is a special permit use, the Planning Board has the ability to limit hours of operation. Ms. Martin said they do not want to encourage walk- Planning Board 2 2/5/2009 ~.,. in traffic, but they need to accommodate that type of business as part of their liquor license. Mr. French suggested the board could send the Board of Selectmen a letter recommending the hours as requested. Mr. MacDonald said there are a number of businesses in this building and asked how this office would be numbered. Mr. Kennealy explained the whole site is 241 Francis Avenue, and there is a sign at the front of the property with the business names. Mr. DePierro said they would have a sign on their door. Mr. Kennealy said they will accommodate the Police and Fire Department addressing concerns. Mr. MacDonald asked about access to the rest of the building; Mr. DePierro said this business will have its own entrance. Mr. Jodice asked what expansion this could allow. Mr. Burke said the special permit can condition the size of the retail operation, with additional expansion requiring a modification. He noted retail uses exist in this zone, such as at National Lumber. Mr. Jodice asked about the Fire Department's concerns. Mr. Burke said the Fire Department wants to be sure it knows where to respond in case of emergency. He said Public Safety, Assessor's and Engineering typically work together to address sites. Mr. Annino said he is concerned about bringing the public into an existing warehouse/truck dock area. He said the plan does not appear to address a number of issues, including: separating traffic and pedestrians, providing pedestrian walkways, providing handicapped parking or ramps, details of signage, or trash disposal. Mr. DePierro said public currently comes to the facility through the door they will use. Ms. Martin said this is not a typical walk-in alcohol sale business, and they will not be doing any advertising to attract the public, so she doesn't feel they will have walk-in customers. Mr. Annino said the store will be open to the public, so the board has to address the possibility of walk-in traffic. Ms. Martin said they are willing to comply with the board's concerns. Mr. Annino said the board has to see a plan showing items like handicapped parking spaces and ramps, pedestrian access from parking area to building, signage, lighting and trash disposal. Mr. Jodice said he understands the applicant's business plan, but said he was concerned about possible future uses. Mr. Burke said the permit can be conditioned on ownership. Ms. Collins said the proposed use is still industrial in character, even though it is technically a retail use. She said this use makes sense for this site. Mr. Burke said the special permit cannot be conditioned on the product being sold, but simply on the retail use. Mr. Kozlowski suggested any condition placed on the size of the use shouldn't interfere with the businesses ability to store product in the warehouse. Mr. Burke said warehousing is a use by right; the special permit is only for the retail use. Planning Board 3 2/5/2009 ..... Mr. Cleary asked about employees; Ms. Martin said they will start out with Mr. DePierro. Mr. DePierro said there is existing employee parking for the whole building. Mr. Cleary asked about the unused docks; Mr. DePierro said doors one and two are not used because of nearby parking spaces and the difficulty of maneuvering trucks into those docks. Mr. Cleary asked the size of the building; Mr. Kennealy said it is about 327,000 square feet. Mr. Burke asked if the only signage will be directional; Mr. DePierro said it would be. Mr. French asked the size of the trucks that use this site; Mr. Kennealy said there are some 53-foot trucks. Mr. French asked if the five proposed parking spaces would be usable. Mr. Maloon said he thought they would be. Mr. Burke said the by-law allows parking spaces to be within 200 feet of the building. Mr. DePierro said there are at least 10 spaces along the entranceway within 200 feet. Mr. French asked if it would be better to have five parking spaces where the landscaping is shown; Mr. Burke said there is a large oak tree there. Mr. Burke noted the by-law allows off-site parking as much as 200 feet away. Mr. Annino said people have to be able to get to the building safely. Mr. French suggested a crosswalk. Mr. Burke said he isn't sure that people will go to this site to buy wine, unless it is very special and unavailable elsewhere. Mr. Annino said the board has to assume people will go to this site and make it safe for them to do so. Mr. Kennealy said the footprint of the building has not changed, and there has always been public access; Mr. DePierro said the public comes to the building's U.S. Customs facility daily to pick up luggage. Mr. Annino said because this is a retail use, it is different. Mr. Jodice asked if the board could look at the site in the future to see how much use the retail store is getting. Mr. Burke said the board has done that on large traffic-producing projects, like Mansfield Crossing. He noted the town liquor license is renewed annually, but said the traffic issue would be very difficult to monitor. Mr. Annino said the building code requires handicapped space and ramp at the front door. Mr. Kozlowski asked what the Board of Selectmen look at during the liquor license process. Mr. Burke said it looks at license violations, like serving an underage customer. He said traffic complaints would probably not be a reason to deny the liquor license. Mr. Annino said he is concerned these two uses - retail and warehouse - don't go well together, and the board has to be more concerned about safety. Mr. Burke said the answer may be to add spaces in the front of the building, including the handicapped spaces and ramp, and to extend the sidewalk at the front of the building. Mr. French suggested 10 spaces, preferably in front of the building, a handicapped space and ramp, signage and lighting. He said if the spaces aren't in front of the building, there should be a walkway to get pedestrians into the building safely. Motion: To continue the public hearing to February 25, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. (Annino-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Planning Board 4 2/5/2009 5. Conceptual Di8cuss,on - Wayside Jtstates- 8 Lots offSaddle Ridge -- Michael Trowbridge ' Michael Trowbridge, Hutchins-Trowbridge Associates, explained the board reviewed a conceptual plan on this site about a year ago, with 14 lots and 2,400 feet of roadway. There were a number of issues, including vernal pools, which led to the project being scaled back. This conceptual plan shows Saddle Ridge Road being extended about 400 feet and eight lots in a cluster. The total length of the cul-de-sac roadway would be 1,100 feet; Saddle Ridge Road as it exists is about 750 feet. Mr. Trowbridge said the extension would be a better layout than had been proposed and would have less environmental impact. Mr. Annino said the board has not granted waivers on the length of a dead-end road. Mr. French said this would actually result in about 1,500 feet of dead-end road, since Black Pond Road is also a dead-end. Mr. Trowbridge said putting in a second means of access would cause problems with the wetland buffer zone. Mr. Annino said he would not be comfortable with a 1,500 foot long dead-end road. Mr. Burke asked about the possibility of putting in a cul-de-sac at the end of Saddle Ridge Road with two or three lots, plus three Form A lots. He said that wouldn't extend the road anymore than the length of the bubble, and would also improve the public safety issue on the dead-end road. Mr. Trowbridge said his clients would like to get more lots. Mr. Burke said that would require a significant waiver for the length of the dead-end street, plus the cost of 400 feet of additional roadway instead of simply a cul-de-sac. Mr. Trowbridge said there was a plan approved on this site in the 1970s, but the zoning has changed significantly since then. He said the only thing that can be done by right now would be Form A lots. Mr. French said he wouldn't be in favor of extending the length of a dead-end street, and said the board's policy has been not to grant that waiver. He asked if a second access could be constructed; Mr. Trowbridge said he thinks it could be, with some work required in the buffer zone. Mr. Trowbridge said he would look at other alternatives on this site. I 6. Public Comment Next meeting: Be. Signature of Clerk ,2009 at 7:30 p.m. 9 ? .-- ~ --2"-., -0 Date of Approval Planning Board 5 2/5/2009 ~..