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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 06/06/01 r Planning Board Minutes June 6, 2001 0 I JUN 2 I AM 1\: I 8 Present: H. Thomas French, Chairman, Bernie Dolan, Clerk; Roger Achille; Thomas McShane; Kenneth Torman; Scott Frank ~tANSFIELO Shaun P. Burke Director of PI ann in and Develo ment MASSACHUSETTS RECEIVED TOWN CI..[Rt~S OFF ICE 1. Minutes May 23,2001 Motion: To approve (Torman-Achille) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. Frank arrived] 2. Request for Release of surety - Stillbrook Farm - Professional Developers. Memo from Mike Ahem recommending $8,538 be released, leaving a balance of $10,062. Motion: To release $8,538 (Dolan-Achille) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. McShane arrived] 3. Zoning Board of Appeals decision - Hansen Associates - East Street - for less than required lot size (Positive Recommendation) 4. May Building Permit Summary 5. Meeting notices Attleboro Planning Board; Attleboro Zoning Board of Appeals; Foxboro Planning Board; North Attleboro Planning Board 6. Meeting notice - DHCD 7. Meeting notice - Canoe River Aquifer Committee 8. The Beacon newsletter r , Mr. French stepped down as Chair at this point. Motion: To appoint Mr. Frank Acting Chair (Dolan-Achille) All in favor. PASSES The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. Frank explained this is a special permit public hearing, which requires a super majority of the entire board; Mr. Cook and Mt. French have decided to abstain due to conflicts, leaving five voting members. Michael Bliss, attorney with Connors and Bliss, explained Phase II is a special permit for the 34-acre site, zoned Industrial 3 and currently used for trailer storage. The proposed use is retail, with two special permits required due to the size of the Home Depot store (over 100,000 square feet) and for the addition of an 11,000 square foot restaurant. He said the special permit can be granted after the board weighs the advantages and detriments of the project, adding the retail use will be less intensive than the allowed industrial uses. Brian Leahy, consultant with Trammell Crow Co., submitted letters of support. He explained the site would be designed, constructed and maintained by the retail tenants, so if the abutters have any problems, they will be taken care of r Mr. Leahy said there is an outstanding drainage issue in back of Home Depot, they are working to contain all drainage on site, and will be in compliance with DEP Best r Management Practices. An Environmental Notification Form was submitted to the state in June 2000, and is currently going through the MEP A process. In addition, a draft Environmental Impact Report has been submitted, which addresses traffic, air quality, noise, and water quality. The engineers are incorporating the department head comments into a comprehensive set of plans, which will be ready for the next meeting. A Notice of Intent has been filed with the Conservation Commission, which closed its public hearing on June 4 and will be voting on an Order of Conditions at its June 18 meeting. Mass Highway has submitted a memo indicating it is not opposed to the plan and supports the Norfolk Street signalization. The stormwater will be directed through "four bays" to the detention basins, which will improve the quality of the water going back into the wetland areas. Greg Mikolaities, Appledore Engineering, presented existing and proposed site plans. He said they have conformed with landscaping requirements, including raised islands. In accordance with Conservation Commission requirements, there will be a detention pond at the back of Home Depot directed to catch basins at the front of the site. A swale will be created on the Norfolk Street side of the site to catch runoff from the catch basins at the front of the site. The buildings will be on town water and sewer, with a pump station connected to a force main near the restaurant. Parking will be in front of the buildings, and there will be r dedicated truck routes. Sloped granite curbing will be added at the entrance to the truck I route off West Street to discourage cars from driving around the back of Shaw's. They are proposing raised crosswalks to discourage vehicular traffic from traveling directly in front of Shaw's. Peter Goldberg, Tech Environmental, explained the sound study. He said the placement of the buildings will shield the residential areas from traffic noise; they will comply with DEP noise policies. The clerk read correspondence, including a letter from Mr. Leahy regarding the two members who are not participating, a letter from Mass Highway saying they are not opposed to the plan, department head comments from Fire, Water, Planning and Engineering. The clerk read several letters of support and several letters in opposition to the project. In addition, the clerk read Appledore Engineering's response to the department head comments. r Attorney Bill O'Connell, Brady and Monac, explained his letter dated June 6, 2001 on behalf of abutter Royal Oak Trust regarding several issues. Mr. O'Connell asked to have the parameters of the site better defined, as well as the exact lot size, to have the open space calculations explained, and to determine whether parts of the residential Quirk property are being used in the open space calculations. He also said his firm is having an engineer look at the stormwater management plan and would like to submit those findings. r Attorney Bliss said they would better define Phase I and Phase II, and would be filing a Form A plan to delineate the property boundaries. Attorney O'Connell said Phase I appears to have been changed significantly; Mr. Frank said if that were true, it would be at the developer's risk, since the original site plan has already been approved by the Building Inspector. Public Comment Nancy Norton, 64 South Walnut Street, asked how to be sure trucks would not use West Street, since they could use the new Norfolk Street signalized access. Mr. Frank said the applicant has agreed to do route plans for the site, but cannot control trucks going to other sites. Dr. Torman added the town does not have the authority to prohibit trucks from using a roadway. Mr. Leahy explained their plan to install "No Left Turn" signs at the end of the driveway onto West Street. Mrs. Norton asked what the expected decibel level would be. Mr. Goldberg explained he anticipated 44-46 db at the closest residential properties. Mr. Burke noted that one of the recommendations in the sound study is for 10-foot sounds barriers behind the loading docks at Shaw's, which is a good idea but will change the Phase I site plan. Mr. Burke asked what the increase in sound would be for the abutters. Mr. Goldberg said it would be around 3 db, which is not really noticeable. r Mrs. Norton asked about the installation of sidewalks on West Street; Mr. Leahy said sidewalks would be installed up to South Walnut Street. Mrs. Norton was concerned about the existing fence, which is in disrepair; Mr. Leahy said the fence would be replaced and maintained. Chris Riondo, 8 South Walnut Street, asked about the sidewalk and crosswalk. Rob Woodland, traffic engineer, explained the proposal is to install a sidewalk along the southerly side of West Street to South Walnut Street, with a crosswalk at that point. He said he believes that will be the safest place to cross the street and the best way to funnel pedestrians onto the site. Jean Wilson, 67 South Walnut Street, was concerned about the outside loudspeakers. Mr. Leahy explained the garden center speaker will be at the side of Home Depot, but will be below the roofline and behind a wall, so the sound will be directed toward Norfolk Street. Mr. Goldberg said in the worst case, the sound will be approximately 25 db from the speaker, but he did not think it will be audible. Celeste Jones, 60 Walnut Street, asked what the noise level is at 9-10 p.m. Mr. Leahy said it is approximately 44-46 db at the closest houses. r Ms. Wilson asked about the berm at the back of the site; Mr. Leahy said the site is currently 10-15 feet below the abutting properties at the back, but the berm would stay and arbor vitae will be planted. r David Martin, 258 West Street, was concerned about the size of the drainage basin at the front of the site and its ability to contain the flow from the large basin in the back. He was also concerned about water going under Route 140 onto his property. Mr. Mikolaities explained they are required not to increase the flow of water off site, which he said they are not doing. He said the front drainage area was sized to include all of Phase II, so it is big enough to handle flow from the back of the site. Mrs. Jones asked where the loading docks will be located; Mr. Leahy explained they will be at the back of Home Depot. Mrs. Jones asked about the building behind Home Depot; Mr. Leahy said it will be an accessory building for maintenance equipment and possibly Mr. Clemmey's office. Mrs. Jones requested trees along her property line as a buffer; Mr. Leahy agreed. Mrs. Jones asked about lighting; Mr. Leahy said the fixtures will direct light downward, and they would be submitting lighting plans showing zero footcandles at the property line. Mrs. Jones asked about deliveries; Mr. Leahy said he would submit the delivery hours in writing at the next meeting. Mrs. Jones was concerned about the speed at which cars travel along West Street and the proposed crosswalk; she suggested a sign warning drivers about the crosswalk. Mr. Woodland said advance signage would be appropriate. Mrs. Jones asked if the traffic lights would be operational before the project opens; Mr. Woodland said they would be, and that all physical improvements would be done before r the site opens, and the lights will coordinate with the other lights in the area. Michael Riondo, 8 South Walnut Street, asked about a lighting study. Mr. Dolan explained the applicant proposes to add shields to the light poles, which will direct the light downward. Mr. Riondo asked about the sound barrier behind Shaw's. Mr. Goldberg explained the sound study specifies the barrier be wooden, with a density of at least five pounds per square foot. Mr. Leahy noted the approved site plan does not show this sound barrier, but they will be installing it. Mrs. Riondo asked if there would be plantings, a sound barrier, or both; Mr. Leahy said the plantings would be done in addition to the sound barrier. Lester McGoldrick, 8 Eddy Street, said he thought this project would be in the best interest of the whole town. He asked what the estimated tax revenue would be if the project were built, saying additional taxes would be welcome, as would additional employment opportunities. Mr. Leahy estimated the tax revenue at several hundred thousand dollars, along with approximately 200 jobs. Sandra Levine asked what the risks are if Phase I has in fact been changed. Mr. Frank said the Building Inspector could revoke the site plan approval. Mr. Burke explained the building permit could be appealed throughout the building process, but added the changes would have to be substantive. r r Mrs. Levine said the draft Environmental Impact Report includes a June 2000 letter from her and Mrs. Jones regarding the need for a special permit on Phase II. She said the response to that letter indicates a special permit had been applied for on the entire site. Mr. Frank explained this application for a special permit was only for Phase II, and as long as the parcels are separated, the uses on Phase I do not need a special permit. Mr. Leahy said the state requires full build-out figures, and at the time the EIR was filed, Home Depot was not yet a potential tenant; because of the size of the building, the special permit is now required. Mrs. Levine asked about sound levels at busy times of the morning and evening. Mr. Goldberg said daytime levels average 10-15 db higher than the 40-50 db they measured between 1-4 am, so it would likely be 50-60 db. He explained the DEP's noise policy is to not increase by more than 10 db, and said the noise mitigation package will ensure that does not happen. Mrs. Levine asked whether trucks coming from behind Shaw's would be cutting through pedestrian areas; Mr. Leahy explained the ring road has plantings on either side, so it is unlikely there will be pedestrians on the roadway. Mrs. Levine asked about a sign on Route 140 directing trucks to use the Norfolk Street intersection to get to the Industrial Park rather than using West Street. Mr. Leahy r explained that was an issue for Mass Highway, but they would look into it. Mr. Woodland said that would be a benefit to the businesses in the park, and he would mention it in the final design. Mrs. Levine asked the board to consider this special permit very carefully regarding the changes it would cause in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Mr. Dolan assured her the board would consider that. Motion: To continue the public hearing to June 27, 2001 at 8:00 p.m. (Achille-Dolan) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To adjourn at 11 :00 p.m. (Dolan-Achille) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: June 20, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. -::;Z;~.d ~CU~i" Signal e of Ct r~ A: +,',\) >>f) UAV 0/0, J (J()/ D of Approval ,-