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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 12/13/2023'QAEC Her-J)�, 0 A h ASA. �S1P RECEIVED IU,11! CL1',N'S OFFICE 202U AN I I A 8: 31 Mebti i jnMiiukes Deceinhei >tk 20&S Town of Mansfield Planning Board Meeting Held in Person in Meeting Room 3A/B and Virtually Using Go ToWebinar Platform Present: Joseph Cerretani, Chair; Sharon Friedman, Clerk; Ralph Penney; Michael Feck; Beth Ashman -Collins; Mark Corsillo Sreelatha Allam, Associate, and James Turnbull, Associate Sarah Raposa, Director of Planning & Development Priscilla McGill, Administrative Secretary Absent: Michael McClanahan Mr. Cerretani read the meeting's introductory remarks. Format: 30 minutes 1. Introduction of the Firm & Team with a short presentation on the typical review process. 2. Experience interacting with Towns that have town engineers and how they would work with ours for a seamless transition. 3. Staff and Board questions Also present for the interviews were: Josh Reinke, DPW Director Rick Alves, Town Engineer/Assistant DPW Director 7:00 am - Green International Ko Ishikura, P.E., Principal -in -charge, and James Thorne, P.E., Site Plan Lead Engineer were present. Mr. Ishikura made the initial introduction to the company and listed other Town municipalities that they have been working with and outlined their team structure. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 1 of 8 Mr. Thorne then explained his role as engineering coordinator for typical peer review challenges and processes. He then presented and explained their processes for the following: • Peer review challenges relating to cost, coordination with the Town, verifying and addressing all comments, and working with the Board regarding waivers and conditions of approval. • Peer review steps • Example of an organized project spreadsheet with an explanation of each section • Coordination with Town Engineer • Why Mansfield should choose their team; o Extensive in-house disciplines, experienced staff, track record of serving municipalities, responsive team to meet Board schedules with a proven streamlined, organized, and comprehensive review process. Josh Reinke asked how the firm manages a disagreement with a client. And what steps are taken when there are technical differences with the applicant. Mr. Thorne replied that they would bring in the Town Engineer for discussion and comment for a resolution. Mr. Ishikura said they represent and protect the Town's interest. Rick Ales asked what is their number one priority in reviewing plans for the Town. Mr. Ishikura responded that their priority would be to protect the Town's interests. Ms. Raposa asked what challenges they may have experienced with other Planning Boards. Mr. Ishikura replied that hospitals are sometimes a challenge; they don't want to pay. Mr. Thorne spoke of occasional cost issues, but they are always resolved. Board Comments Mr. Cerretani noted that the Town is fortunate to have Mr. Alves working for the Town. He is a wealth of knowledge, but overworked when additionally presented with applicant plans to review. He asked who would be the Town's main contact and who would be the other team members. Mr. Thorne said that he would be the main contact. He said that there are other team members, in the same building, available to assist based on the project scope and capacity. Mr. Thorne said that he works out of the Tewksbury office and that the firm also has an office in Lincoln, RI. Ms. Friedman asked how they stay current with all the regulation changes and how they would stay current for the Town of Mansfield. Mr. Thorne said that they are very involved with many design projects and are required to remain up-to-date with regulations for permitting. For the Town, they would work closely with the Town Engineer and Board, and review the current Town Bylaws and regulations. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 2 of 8 Ms. Allam asked that if during the contract, the team changes, how would that be addressed? Mr. Ishikura replied that Mr. Thorne has been with the company for nine years. There are times when personnel changes could occur but they do not occur often. The turnover is small at Green International. Mr. Thorne said that he would always have additional staff working with him on any Town project. Mr. Turnbull asked if they could speak of experiences with transportation with complete streets and with complex plans. Mr. Ishikura said they have a robust transportation group of about 25 employees including a PTE (Professional Transportation Engineer) and have worked with several towns for transportation projects and complete streets with traffic and design studies. 7:30 Pm - Tetra Tech Sean Reardon and Steven Bouley were present. Mr. Bouley said that he would be the project manager. He has 15 years of experience and is licensed in MA & RI. His career focus is on call municipal work managing multiple towns. Mr. Reardon said he has been with Tetra Tech for 32 years and has a broad set of skills working with municipalities. Mr. Bouley explained the team member organizational chart that would work for the Town. They offer a wide range of other in-house services that could assist with reviews and have over 20,000 employees. Mr. Bouley explained their process using a real -life Town (Medway) that they recently worked with. He then explained a typical review process. • Request from Town • Response letter with the scope of services • Two -week turn -around from notice to proceed • Initial peer review letter depicting evaluation of Bylaws, State regulations, and general plan design • Updated peer review letter that tracks comments throughout the process, in follow-up to the applicant's revised plans. • Construction administration budget estimate • Pre -construction meeting • Field inspection reports • Track action items • Everything is numbered/dated • Bond/punch list and Bond estimate • As -built review when the project is complete • Invoice Mr. Reinke asked how they resolve conflicts with the applicant. Mr. Reardon said their objectives are to be sure the design is right. At times there are items that the Board has purview over and they would work with the Board to resolve. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 3 of 8 Mr. Alves asked what their priority is when reviewing plans for the Town of Mansfield. Mr. Bouley replied that the goal is to meet the needs of the Board, Town, and residents. Their priority would be to protect the Town. They would always make sure that the other stakeholders and abutters are always protected from development that happens and that would be a priority. Ms. Raposa asked what challenges they have had working with other Planning Boards. Mr. Bouley said managing communication and document control is important. Mr. Reardon said it is also important to manage the emotions of the public. As professionals, they would try to resolve any issues but there are instances when the Board's input would be required. Ms. Raposa noted that Mr. Reardon is currently assisting the Town on another matter as an expert witness. No other Board questions. 8:00 nm - Weston & Sampson Daron Kurkjian and James Riordan were present. James Pearson and Alyssa Peck were present virtually. Mr. Riordan explained that the firm is 120-plus years old with an office in Foxboro and other east coast locations. He reviewed the following: • Discipline areas that they cover • Team member introduction for the meeting • Jim Riordan, LEED AP, Technical Lead • Alyssa Peck, PE, Team Lead from the Foxboro office, Civil Design Engineer • James Pearson, PE — Technical Review Engineer • Daron Kurkjian, PE — Contract Manager • Why Choose Weston & Sampson - Highlight differences of what they offer and why choose their company o Expertise with on -call assignments o Longstanding peer review experience o Multi -discipline services under one roof • Municipal Experience and team experience with municipal regulations and ordinances • Project approach and review process • Highlighted two municipal projects (Cohasset & Framingham); review topics; review criteria Mr. Reinke asked how they would resolve a conflict. Mr. Kurkjian said typically they provide a memo noting any violations or discrepancies relating to the regulations or Bylaws. They will make very clear technical recommendations but defer to the Town and Board. Mr. Pearson said that there are times when there is a gray area and waivers may be required or Board review for resolution. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 4 of 8 Mr. Alves asked what would be the number one priority in reviewing the plans. Mr. Kurkjian said it would depend on the project and they would determine the main focus upon review. Mr. Riordan said that the Town is their main priority and they work closely with the Town to make the project work for the Town's needs. Ms. Raposa asked what challenges have they experienced with Planning Boards. lvlr. Riordan referenced a community they are currently working with and that Town noted that they had many strong opinions and it was not initially clear who was in charge. They worked closely with the Town Manager to make a list of criteria for the project. Then one person from their team and one from the Town were chosen to be in charge and the main contacts for the project. Mr. Corsillo noted that they also worked for Mansfield, CT and would that be confusing. Mr. Kurkjian said they differentiate by office and there would not be a conflict or issue. Ms, Friedman asked what they liked about working with the municipal condos project here in Mansfield and if there were challenges. Ms. Peck replied that it provided an opportunity to work closely with the Town and the regulations for that project. Mr. Pearson said that he also worked on the project and that it provided an opportunity to align their strengths with the Town. Ms. Allan asked how they manage construction -phased services. Mr. Kurkjian said that at times they would be required to conduct site observations with review reports. Follow-up may then be needed on conditions of approval for the Planning Board. They review safety risks and abutting property. He also noted that their team does offer extensive construction experience. Mr. Kurkjian said they also have resident representatives if there is a full-time or more frequent need. Mr. Turnbull asked about their experience in special site reviews mainly in transit -oriented development and special overlay districts. Mr. Kurkjian replied design guidelines and aesthetics do come up during the Planning Board peer reviews. Their team of architects will review the renderings, profiles, and elevations of the buildings for consistency to complement the surrounding buildings. There were no further Board questions. RECESS 8:43 pm to 8:47 pm 8:30 pm - JM Goldson Laura Smead, AICP, Planning Consultant, presented the following: • Introduction to the firm; they have 17 years of experience with an eight -member team. She explained the expertise that they offer. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 5 of 8 • Project team and roles o Jenn Goldson, AICP; founding & managing director; principal in charge o Laura Smead, AICP; Sr. Community Planner; Project Manager, Zoning Specialist o Elana Zabar, CNU-A; Community Planner II & Engagement Specialist o Flavio Villa, B. Arch, MCP; Community Planner for Land Use & Urban Design; Visual Design Guidelines, graphics, GIS o Noah Harper, MCRP; Community Planner II for Housing & Equity; Financial Feasibility Analysis, GIS • Worked with Mansfield on the 2020 Master Plan and more recently for MBTA Compliance • Mansfield project schedule — meeting regularly leading up to the Town Meeting • Building on previous efforts • Testing compliance; Existing MSROD Comparison table of Requirement and Modeled Results (Nov. 2023); very close to compliance with the existing MSROD. • Proposed Districts to meet housing goals • Community engagement • Zoning alternatives; single family home conversions; cottages; town homes; small scale mixed use • Design guidelines; cormnon ground across zoning areas and alternative design in various areas • Market feasibility; analyze existing zoning; incorporate current construction and development cost data; explore a deeper or higher level of required affordable housing There were no board questions. 9:00 pm — Innes Associates Ltd. Emily Imres, limes Associates, and Eric Halvorsen, RKG Associates were present virtually. Ms. huies spoke of their understanding of Mansfield requirements and the need to meet MBTA requirements. • The Town has already taken the first steps and completed the Phase I Mansfield Station Revitalization Overlay District (passed June 15, 2023) • The Town has been working since October for Phase II • Town had worked with JM Goldson on the first phase of compliance • Key tasks for Innes Associates proposal • Scope of services and timeline- confident they can meet deadlines • What is a successful project? Approval of zoning and compliance model; a community that supports zoning changes; community -specific zoning and design guidelines; appropriate level of affordability; meeting Town goals • Team and experience — who they are and why they would like to work with Mansfield Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 6 of 8 Mr. Halvorsen would be the team lead for Imies Assoc. for this project. He explained his background and experience. The team can offer: • Support with associates who can provide GIS work • The compliance model that Inmes Assoc. created that communities are currently using and a tool to test policies which the firm also created • RKG's economic feasibility model uses locally sourced data to determine how zoning requirements impact the financial performance of a potential project. • Communicate and educate the public • Financial feasibility to accommodate affordability Mr. Cerretani asked if there were discrepancies when the models were made. Mr. Halvorsen replied that so far no, as they are very careful to source all of the input data and backcheck data. Ms. lines presented sample zoning for Town Meeting presentation. During the process, they have developed several tools that can be worked into a later stage of public engagement. • Determining geography • Understanding unit capacity numbers • Zoning dimensional standards • Shift development intensity up or down • What are community questions and how to address the questions • FAQ for Town Meeting Ms. Raposa said that Mansfield is seeking to incorporate other town housing goals into the process and asked for their comment on this. Ms. Imnes said that they would see what other documents (such as the Master Plan) could be incorporated into the planning for the MBTA Communities Act for overall review. Mr. Halvorsen said that in previous work with Mansfield, there had been discussion relating to the commuter rail to determine a development strategy for that area. When working on tine economic development portion, there had been discussion for multi -family and mixed -use development in the downtown area. They would continue to include components of the Master Plan; community -based plans. Ms. Inns noted that they also would conduct a full review of Mansfield's Zoning Bylaws. This sometimes reveals some barriers to compliance. Mr. Cerretani asked how their mapping is different from a competitor. Ivlr. Halvorsen said they have been working with communities that did not know where to begin. They then created a parcel scoring metric which was a good jump-off point for districts to align with best plan practices. Ms. Inns said that they have been working on a 3D analysis to show towns what scenarios could look like in their area. There were no further Board questions. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 7 of 8 Minutes November 8, 2023 Motion to approve the minutes as presented (Penney - Friedman) Four (4) in favor, Zero (0) opposed, Three (3) abstained PASSES Minutes November 29, 2023 Motion to approve the minutes as presented (Corsillo - Friedman) Six (6) in favor, Zero (0) opposed, One (1) abstained PASSES The Board members signed the Member Signature sheet for recording with Boston Land Court and Northern Bristol County Registry of Deeds. Ms. Friedman noted that the Con unittee for the Open Space and Recreation Plan update is making progress. The Committee has been working with SRPEDD and SRPEDD has been gathering information for a comprehensive plan with a goal of June completion. Motion to adjourn at 9:40 p.m. (Penney - Corsillo) Seven (7) in favor, Zero (0) opposed, Zero (0) abstained PASSES The date of the Next Planning Board Meeting is January 10, 2024 at 7: 00 p. m. Sharon Friedman, Clerk Documents Presented at the Meeting Date of Approval 1. Sarah Raposa, Director of Planning and Development meeting memo dated 12/07/23 2. Member Signature sheet for recording with Boston Land Court and Northern Bristol County Registry of Deeds. 3. Meeting Minutes dated 11/08/23 and 11/29/23 4. RFQ Evaluation Forms, Proposals, and References submitted electronically for all candidates interviewed. Planning Board Meeting Minutes 12/13/23 Page 8 of 8