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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 03/21/01 r RECEIVED TOWN CLERYS OFFICE Planning Board Minutes . -. h March 21, 2001 0 I MAY 25 AM /0: 55 Present: Scott Frank, Acting Chair, Bernie Dolan, Clerk~ Roger Achille~ Kenneth Torman~ Thomas McShane~ Thomas French t~iANSF 1. February Building Permit Summary 2. Meeting notices Easton Zoning Board of Appeals, Norton Planning Board, Foxboro Planning Board, North Attleboro Zoning Board of Appeals, North Attleboro Planning Board, Attleboro Planning Board, Attleboro Zoning Board of Appeals, Sharon Zoning Board of Appeals, 3. Grant filing deadline notification - EOEA and DEM programs 4. TransReport newsletter 5. Housing Partnership Network newsletter 6. The Beacon 7. JTPG Meeting notice 8. Planning magazine The clerk read the public hearing notice. r Mr. Folkman presented the board with conceptual plans for a 55 Years and Older housing facility abutting Baybrook Farm off Branch Street. (Mr. McShane arrived) Mr. Folkman explained his petition to rezone three lots from Rl to R2, which allows this sort of facility. He said he realizes a positive recommendation from the board is not a contract, and that even with the zoning change, a special permit would be needed. He explained he had the plans drawn so the board could see what he has in mind. The plans show one and two story, wood-construction ranch-style single-family homes, as well as some townhouses (54 units in all), with open space, a pond with a mill house, walking trails, and other items. With an aging population, Mr. Folkman said there is a market for this sort of housing, which is on sewer and within walking distance of the center of town. Doug Annino, Annino Associates, described the site as flat with some wetland areas, heavily treed, with one access point. He said he attempted to create a community feeling with some focal points, along with a buffer to protect abutting properties. The units will be one- and two-bedroom and will cater to adults over age 55~ there will be no opportunity for children. ~ I David May, DeWolfe Real Estate, said this would be a positive project for the town, as it would provide an alternate housing option to allow residents to stay in town, and the residents would require limited services. He and Mr. Folkman estimated the units selling for between $200-300,000. (' r (' r (' r r Public Comment Patrick Collins, 32 Marshall Avenue, was concerned with the town's existing water problem and the effect of additional high-density development. Steven Turner, 6 Chandler's Way, asked how many single-family house lots could fit on this site. Mr. Folkman said the land is pretty wet, and estimated seven houses if it remained Rl; he said it would be about the same number if the land were R2 due to roadway length and lot frontage requirements. He said even with that small number of houses, the service demand would be higher than with the over 55 facility. Mr. Collins was concerned that even without children, the over 55 facility would still have a high water and sewer usage. Mr. Turner asked what the differences were between Rl and R2. Mr. Frank explained the uses weren't very different, although the over 55 facility is not allowed in Rl; but the major difference is the dimensional requirements. Mr. Folkman said he believes the market to be for people 55-65 who want to downsize, rather than older people. Mr. Dolan asked if the site distance had been measured; Mr. Folkman said it had not. Mr. Dolan was concerned that following a zoning change, any of the R2 uses could be conducted on this site, and the developers would not have to do this project. Mr. Folkman said he did not think there would be any other kind ofland use here. Mr. Folkman said he thought this project would help diversifY housing options in town, and feels it fits in with the goals of the Master Plan. He added he has been to a meeting of the Fair Housing Committee to present his plan. The clerk read a letter from the Fair Housing Committee supporting this concept. Mr. McShane asked how Mr. Folkman envisioned this project fitting into the neighborhood, saying the Planning Board had recently proposed to rezone the Industrial land to Residential, but was opposed by the neighborhood. Mr. Folkman said the site is far from the Industrially-zoned parcels, and that when the zoning changed in 1989, Branch Street was close to built out, and many of the older homes are on 30,000 square foot lots. He said his abutter, Baybrook Farm, is a cluster development with smaller (12,000-20,000 square foot) lots and higher density. He explained he is still working with one of the landowners about retaining a strip of land as a buffer, there is woodland and wetland to the rear as a buffer, and the site abuts school property. Mr. Folkman said he did not think there would be an issue with pollutants from the Industrial site, and added his traffic counts are far below limits. Mr. McShane said the board worked hard to create the 55 and over zoning because it was a good addition to the Zoning By-Law; he said he thought this was the kind of concept they had in mind at the time, but in a different location than they had thought about. Mr. r r r r r Folkman said they had considered buffering, wetlands, existing neighborhood density, and sewer issues, and feels they will be able to address all items. Dr. Torman was concerned about the existing water problem on Branch Street, which has increased with Baybrook Farm. He asked Mr. Folkman for sufficient studies to both identifY and address this problem. Mr. Folkman said they are aware of the problem, but have not done specific engineering at this point; he said they may have to use slab construction rather than basements. Dr. Torman asked whether Branch Street would be able to handle the additional traffic; Mr. Folkman said he did not think the additional trip numbers would be an issue. Dr. Torman said the intersection of Branch and East Street would definitely be impacted; he also said he would want to see a second access to the site. Mr. Burke said he thought this project followed the intent of the by-law, so he was comfortable with the proposal from that perspective. He has spoken with an umber of residents, but would have liked more neighborhood reaction. Mr. Frank agreed this was the sort of project the board had in mind when it drafted the by-law, but said what the board is considering at this point is the rezoning of three lots in Rl to R2. He was concerned about what could potentially be built here if this project is not done. Mr. Folkman said bringing an architect on board early in the project was an effort to show good faith on his part. He added that as long as people are able to sell their houses, these units should sell as well. Motion: To close the public hearing (Dolan-Achille) All in favor. PASSES The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French arrived. Mr. Clemmey introduced Brian Leahy, a consultant on the Erin's Centre project. Article I Mr. Leahy explained his first article regarding Limited Access Highways/Streets. In Industrial districts, if the by-law is strictly adhered to, a landscaped buffer would be required whether there is an existing abutter or not, which he thought was overkill when the business abuts a street or highway. The proposal is for a I5-foot landscaped buffer when the industrial parcel abuts a roadway such as Route 95, 495, or 140 and a 50-foot buffer when the site abuts a residential property. Mr. Burke said Walter Jenkins, IDC Chairman, called him to express his board's support. Public Comment Richard Gordon, 407 West Street, said he was opposed to the proposal and that to lessen the current requirement would negatively affect the neighborhood. (' Board Comment Mr. McShane said the assumption seemed to be that the by-law is intended to provide a buffer for abutting residents, but he believes the purpose is to provide an aesthetic buffer for everyone in town, including motorists. He said the buffer should also act as a buffer for noise and similar factors as opposed to a strictly linear measurement. Mr. Clemmey said the board had sent recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals to lessen the landscaping requirements on the CVS, Osco, and Great Woods Office Park sites, and asked why that wouldn't apply here. Mr. Frank said that is the whole point of a variance, that less landscaping is not appropriate for every lot. He said this would be a wholesale, town-wide change. Mr. Clemmey said the Zoning By-Law does not address limited access highways. He said the state owns the land adjacent to Route 140 and provides landscaping, so the abutting landowner should not have to provide additional landscaping. Mr. Frank said if the state owns that land, it could expand the roadway, and the buffer would be lost. Mr. Leahy said Mansfield's landscaping requirements are the strictest he has seen, which makes it hard when permitting a project. (' Mr. Burke said he thought the intent of the landscaping by-law is to provide a buffer for motorists as well as residential abutters, and he did not think an industrial or business development without any, or with minimum, landscaping, is very attractive. He said Mansfield has been fortunate not to have had strip development along major routes, and the intent of this by-law is to ensure that does not happen. Mr. Burke suggested rather than changing the by-law, the applicant go back to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a landscaping variance. Mr. Frank suggested there might be a middle ground, perhaps by compensating with another grouping of landscaping. Article n Mr. Clemmey's proposal is to add "Car Wash" under the Auto Service Station definition. Article m Mr. Clemmey's proposal is to allow "Auto Service Station" and "Car Wash" in B3. The clerk read a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Grant of Central Street and Mrs. Prohodsky of Fowler Street in opposition to the proposal. f Article IV Mr. Clemmey's proposal is to allow reduced open space from 35% to 30% in the Industrial I zones. Alternately, he suggested a floating percentage of open space or allowing the Planning Board to make a finding per circumstance. r Mr. Dolan asked whether more parking would be allowed if the open space requirement were reduced. Mr. Burke said it would be, but added that it has not been demonstrated r the open space requirement is responsible for the parking problems in the industrial park, or that it has caused any problems renting building space. Mr. Burke explained the 35% came from what existed in the industrial park. Mr. Dolan was concerned about what would happen when existing businesses want to expand and there is not enough room. Mr. McShane said that is why taller buildings are allowed in the industrial park, now the PBD~ so businesses can expand upward while keeping their parking and open space. Mr. French noted that this article is for Industrial I zones, so it would not affect the industrial park, which is now the PBD. Mr. Dolan suggested that whether or not the board supports this particular article, it should look at open space in both zones. Richard Gordon said lowering the open space requirement would be a value judgement on what kind of town Mansfield wants to be. Motion: To close the public hearing (French-McShane) All in favor. PASSES The board will discuss Town Meeting recommendations on the citizens' petitions at its April 4, 2001 meeting. Following the March 14, 2001 public hearing, the Pedestrian Access and Wireless articles have been amended. ( Planning Board Article I - Entrance/Exit Driveway Motion: To support this article as written (Torman-Achille) All in favor. PASSES Planning Board Article II - Modification of Landscaping Standards Motion: To support this article as written (Dolan-Frank) All in favor. PASSES Planning Board Article III - Pedestrian Circulation Mr. Frank suggested specifYing "unless the Planning Board finds such access points to be unnecessary" Motion: To support this article as amended (Dolan-Frank) All in favor. PASSES Planning Board Article IV - Wireless Communication Facilities Mr. Burke explained he had amended the definition of a wireless communication facility, added "included but not limited to" steeples; changed the effective date to May 1,2001, and fixed several typographical errors. r- Mr. McShane said he had a problem with these facilities being allowed by right in the RD. Mr. Burke explained the RD is surrounded by Industrial 1 parcels, and he did not think the RD is significantly different those parcels. Motion: To support this article as amended (Dolan-Frank) Five in favor. McShane opposed. PASSES r- (' r r ~ . .. Article V The definition of Aviation has been amended to better reflect a general aviation airport. Motion: To support this article as written. (Dolan-McShane) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke explained Town Meeting has been scheduled for April 24, but there has been no comment received from the Zoning Board of Appeals or the IDC on the Planning Board's zoning articles. Motion: To adjourn at 11:00 p.m. (Torman-Frank) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: April 4, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. ~'>~ . ature of Clerk ~~ WI te of Appro i ..2...