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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 09/10/03 r (' r Pladning Board Minutes September 10, 2003 Present: Tom French, Chair; Bernie Dolan, Doug Annino, Mark Cook, Fred Armstrong, Ken Torman, Walter Jenkins Shaun P. Burke, Director ofPlannin and Develo ment 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. Motion: To appoint Mr. Annino Acting Chair (Dolan-Cook) All in favor. PASSES I 2. Form A Plans I 3. Correspondence 1. Minutes August 27, 2003 Motion: To approve as submitted (Dolan- Torman) Five in favor. Jenkins abstained. PASSES 2. ZBA application for variance - 65 Elyse Road - Sideyard setback. Mr. Burke suggested a negative recommendation be sent to the ZBA because the application doesn't meet any of the statutory requirements for a variance. Mr. Armstrong suggested the addition could be built off the back of the house. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation because it doesn't meet the statutory requirements; no hardship is demonstrated and the addition could be placed elsewhere (Dolan-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES 3. Letter from Lawrence and Elizabeth Winslow re: taking Essex Street land out of Chapter 61A, which means the town will be given the option to purchase it. Mr. Burke explained this land abuts a parcel the town recently purchased. He said the land is within the Zone II and may be buildable, and suggested sending the Board of Selectmen a letter recommending the town look into buying this land. Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen a letter recommending the town evaluate buying this land (Dolan-Cook) All in favor. PASSES 4. Letter from Brian Leahy, Real Estate Manager, Home Depot requesting a change in Community BenefIts Package for Water Department items. The proposal is for 371 rain barrels instead oflow-flow toilets, as originally offered. The value of the toilets had been $37,000, and the rain barrels will be worth a comparable amount. Mr. Annino asked whether anyone would use rain barrels; Mr. Burke said there have been more requests than the town has barrels. Mr. Cook suggested splitting it, half toilets and half barrels. Dr. Torman agreed, and suggested either option should be available. Mr. Burke said the rain barrels, if they are used, could save more water than the low-flow toilets. Mr. Cook said the DPW isn't currently offering low-flow toilets as a mitigation item. Mr. Burke suggested allowing the substitution but encourage the DPW to investigate the possibility of offering either option. Motion: To allow the substitution and strongly suggest the DPW Director look at offering either option according to demand (Dolan-Torman) Five in favor. Cook abstained. PASSES 5. August Building Permit Summary 6. Meeting Notices 7. The Beacon 8. Mass Interchange newsletter 4. Site Plan Review - 305 Forbes Boulevard - National Development Sherry Clancy, National Development, explained the plan for additional docks at 305 Forbes Boulevard, the former Ames warehouse. Ms. Clancy said the building only has docks on one side. She has found the building won't work well for potential tenants as it is currently designed, and additional docks will make it more flexible. Ms. Clancy explained there is a potential tenant for part of the building, who wouldn't need as many docks as shown on the site plan. A 120-foot deep truck court would be constructed with excavation away from the building and underpinning for to support the wall. There is a landscape plan showing how the edge of the new truck port would be treated. She said the area is heavily treed now. There will be a detention basin installed to replace an existing swale. r Department Head Comments The clerk read a memo from the Engineering Department. Ms. Clancy said Mr. Field has visited the site, and they are working on his concerns. She said the perc tests and deep test holes have been done, and they are investigating a wet bottom basin. Board Comment Dr. Torman asked ifpublic safety should be involved. Ms. Clancy said there were Police and Fire representatives at the staff meeting. She said there will be no change in use or traffic in the building, but just a reconfiguration for convenience. ..-- Mr. Jenkins said increasing the utilization of the building is a positive change. Ms. Clancy said they have been working on the building to make it more attractive. Mr. Burke said the staff went through all the issues during its site plan meeting, and agreed renovating the building and getting some tenants would be a positive thing. He recommended sending the Building Inspector a positive recommendation with the Engineering Department's concerns as a condition. Mr. Annino asked about screening from Route 495. Ms. Clancy said there is heavy cover there, with the exception of a shed, which can be seen from 495. She said she would be leaving the existing trees. Mr. Annino asked about the landscaping plan. Ms. Clancy explained when the swale is relocated and reconstructed, there will be a guard rail along the edge of the new parking areas, with 8-10 foot trees. Some part of the lot will sheet flow to the swale then to the detention basin. At the entrance, lower plantings will be used. Mr. Annino asked fordminimum 2 ~ inch caliper trees. Mr. Annino asked if the detention area will be grassed. Ms. Clancy said it is an infiltration basin with vegetation on the bottom, but they are discussing a wet bottom basin with Mr. Field. She said she would bring the final plan to Mr. Burke. ..-- I " ( I Mr. Annino asked about lighting. Ms. Clancy said there would be wall packs with cutoff ftxtures added to the building, depending on how many additional docks are added. There will be lights at each of the access doors. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a positive recommendation with the condition that the Engineering Department's comments are addressed and the final plans for lighting, trees and detention basin are brought to Mr. Burke (Dolan-Torman) All in favor. PASSES I 6. Around the Table Dr. Torman volunteered to serve on the Capital Improvements Committee. Motion: To appoint Dr. Torman to the committee (Dolan-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Dolan asked about having the brush trimmed to improve sight distance at the comer of Plymouth Street. Mr. Cook said the town has a commitment from MassHighway to redesign the Route 106 underpass, with approval under TIP in 2005. He said MassHighway estimated $2.5 million; VHB has estimated several times that amount. ,- I Mr. Burke presented the board with copies of the ENF for the School Street development. He said he has spoken to the developer about attending a meeting to discuss the plans. Mr. Burke said he was concerned about the four access points shown on the plan. Mr. Annino said he would like to see a full traffic study; Mr. Burke said the scoping session would be held within a few weeks. Dr. Torman said he was concerned about the traffic within the site, as well as outside. Mr. Burke said the developer has requested access from Route 140, but Mass Highway did not support that. Mr. Annino said that would be a good idea and asked if the town could speak to Mass Highway about reconsidering that. Mr. Dolan said this would have a regional impact. Mr. Annino asked for utilities and parking plans for the October 8 downtown workshop. 5. Special Permit Public Hearing continued and Scenic Road Public Hearing continued - Gourdin Circle - Red Mill Realty Trust - Mill Street Mr. Burke suggested either continuing the public hearing until Mr. French arrives, or conducting the scenic road public hearing first, then the special permit. Motion: To continue the public hearing until 8:35 p.m. (Dolan- Torman) All in favor. PASSES Scenic Road Public Hearing The clerk read the public hearing notice. (' Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, explained the plan to remove one 10-inch maple and two smaller trees. The stone wall will be wrapped into the entrance of the new road. He said there will be a 5-foot wide planting bed in front of the wall with junipers, daffodils, 11 I daylilies and hemlock mulch. Existing trees will be left in the area behind the street line, on the left side at the common open space. New trees will be planted on the right side. [Mr. French arrived at this time] Mr. Maloon explained a granite "Gourdin Estates" sign will be installed within the stone wall, with a roman pisa pillar on the right side. Mr. Cook asked if that stone wall would be fieldstone, as discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Jenkins said the concern was that there be an effort made to match it to the existing stone. Ed Jameson said the reason for the roman pisa is to tie in with what will be at each driveway. Board Comment Mr. Dolan asked about the planting bed. Mr. Maloon said it would be in front of the stone wall, and be fIve feet wide. Mr. Dolan asked about replacing the trees being removed from Mill Street; Mr. Maloon said they will be replaced on the new street. Mr. Annino asked for five-gallon junipers in the planting beds rather than three-gallon. He asked Mr. Jameson if the trees would match what exists; Mr. Jameson said he wanted to make the entrance attractive and would blend with the existing setting. Public Comment Mr. Tatum said removing the large trees in Mill Street would not be a benefIt. ..-- Motion: To approve the scenic road application contingent on the special permit approval and the change to incorporate five-gallon junipers rather than three as shown on the plan (Dolan-Cook) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Dolan-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES Special Permit Public Hearing Mr. Maloon explained the Conservation Commission hearing has been closed and some ofthe flags have been relocated, but there wasn't much difference. However, the lot line of Lot 10 has been moved to place the vernal pool in the open space. There will be a conservation restriction concerning the vernal pool added to the plan, as well as a small fence where the road abuts that area. Mr. Maloon suggested trees rather than a fence. Mr. Maloon said Mr. Sullivan wants the roof water to go into the ground, so Lot 7 has been increased to accommodate a retention area. Mr. Maloon explained he had been working on an easement through property of Gregory for the water loop to Cedar Ridge Lane; however, that easement was not granted. The easement was then proposed to go through property of Grellas, which was also not granted. Therefore, there is a 40- foot easement shown for the town. The water will come through an existing stub and loop up the road, then back to Mill Street. He said because of the reduced pavement width and sewer in the middle of the road, the water main will r be placed in the grass plot area on both sides of the road to keep it away from the sewer. r Mr. Maloon explained the drain line proposed to go through the open space will be wrapped around the edge of the road instead with a to-foot utility easement. There will be no clearing of the common area, as originally proposed. The brush and branches will be cleared to six feet high from the common area and it will be left an open woodland. Mr. Maloon said a new drainage study for the site has been done, and a note has been added to the plan that Mr. Maloon be notified prior to the construction of the water dispersal area. Mr. Maloon explained the tail wall detail. There are two walls for water dispersal, both with 18-inch V -notches. If they are blocked, they will overflow to the area between them. He said the Engineering Department had been concerned about how the water is dispersed because the soil type here tends to have a higher runoff. He said the v-notch will disperse the water to some degree. Department Head Comments The clerk read a letter from Mr. Maloon regarding the above items, as well as memos on the revised plans from Mr. Lewis and Mr. Sullivan. Public Comment Mr. Tatum said there are still issues about the ownership of the land and requested the decision not be made until they are cleared up. Mr. French said town counsel has advised ".-- that the applicant has the legal right to bring the plans before the board, and the board is legally obligated to make a decision. Board Comment Mr. Jenkins said the applicant has done a good job addressing the board's concerns and has used creative solutions to address the abutters' concerns. Mr. Burke asked how much of the tail wall is exposed; Mr. Maloon said it is 18 inches at the outlet, but is higher coming into it. He said on there will be five feet in the ground and four feet exposed. The head wall will be about six inches above the top of the headwall going into the detention area. Mr. French asked about the ownership of the open space. Mr. Maloon said the homeowner's association will keep the piece by Mill Street and the cul-de-sac island; Open Space Lot 3 will be given to the town. Mr. Burke said the fact that this road will remain a private way should be included on the plans and in the permit. He said DPW mayor may not send trucks down the road to pick up trash, and the School Department mayor may not send school busses. Mr. Jenkins said he was concerned about the amount of trash that would be placed on Mill Street if trash isn't picked up on the street. Mr. Cook said he didn't think trash trucks would go down that street unless there was a hold harmless agreement. Mr. Tatum said there ..-- would be too many trash barrels on Mill Street. Mr. French said he would like to have ..-- something in the decision requiring trash pick up on the new street. Mr. Maloon said he thought the homeowners would probably be willing to do a hold harmless agreement to avoid bringing their trash to Mill Street. Mr. Dolan suggested a condition that a hold harmless agreement be presented to the DPW Director; ifit isn't acceptable to the DPW Director, the homeowner's association will have a private collector pick up the trash in front of their houses. There will be no trash barrels from this development on Mill Street. Waivers Motion: To grant a waiver from Section 5.2.2, for a 20-foot roadway pavement width rather than 24 feet (Dolan-Annino) All in favor. PASSES. Motion: To deny a waiver from Section 5.4.2, for the installation of sidewalk on one side of the straight portion of the new road rather than on both sides of the road (Annino-Jenkins) Five in fuvor. One opposed. PASSES. Motion: To grant a waiver from Section 5.4.3, for the installation of sidewalk on one side of the road from Station 0+0 to Station 4+80, with the sidewalk to be set three feet back from the back edge of curbing (Annino-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To grant a waiver from Section 5.5.1, for the installation of slope granite curbing rather than vertical granite curbing (Dolan-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES. ~ Motion: To grant a waiver from Section 4, for the installation of utilities within the right-of-way, in a different location than shown in the standard (Dolan-Cook) All in favor. PASSES. ..-- MOTION: To approve the above-referenced plan and issue the Special Permit in accordance with the Zoning Act and Subdivision Control Law with the following conditions: 1. All conditions of approval shall be met and all department head comments shall be fully and satisfactorily addressed within the 20-day appeal period. Specifically, each of Town Engineer John Sullivan's comments dated September 10, 2003 must be fully and satisfactorily addressed within the 20-day appeal period. 2. All improvements shall be constructed in accordance with the approved plans; 3. All primary structures shall have front, rear and side yard setbacks as shown on Sheets 2 of 10 and 3 of 10 of the plans dated September 8, 2003 4. All above-ground structures in excess of 120 square feet shall be constructed totally within the building envelope shown on Sheets 2 of 10 and 3 of 10 of the plans dated September 8, 2003 5. The roadway and drainage system and structures shall remain private and the Town of MansfIeld shall not be asked to accept or maintain the way or the drainage system or structures. 6. The Master Declaration Reservations and Restrictions, Gourdin Estates, A Residential Subdivision, shall be recorded with this special permit as an addendum. In the case of any conflict between these two documents, the conditions of this special permit shall prevail. T' (' 7. Common open space 3, shown as 296,211 +/- square feet, shall be deeded to the Town of MansfIeld under the provisions ofMGL 40 Section 8C and of Amendment Article 49 and Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, to be managed and controlled by the Mansfield Conservation Commission. Common open space 1 and 2 shall be owned and maintained in its natural state by the homeowner's association in perpetuity. The vegetation within the open common space shall not be cut, altered or disturbed in any way. 8. Deed restrictions shall be included on lots 1-4 inclusive in order to maintain a thirty fIve foot (35') no tree or brush cutting and no building zone; 9. A hold harmless agreement shall be presented to the Director of the Department of Public Works to allow trash pickup at each home within Gourdin Estates. If the hold harmless agreement is unacceptable to the Director ofthe Department of Public Works, the homeowner's association ofGourdin Estates shall arrange for a private trash collector to pick up trash at each home. There shall be no trash receptacles from Gourdin Estates placed on Mill Street; 10. The homeowner's association shall be responsible for trash removal (pending the outcome of condition 9, above), snow plowing, maintenance of the roadway, streetlights, stone wall and the drainage system; 11. Street trees shall be a minimum of 12 feet tall and have a minimum 2 Y2 inch caliper when planted; 12. There shall be no permanent trash dumpster placed on site; 13. The drainage area shall be cleaned twice a year by the homeowner's association and reports shall be submitted to the Town Engineer; 14. There shall be a sign installed stating that the roadway is a private way and listing the house numbers on the private way; 15. That portion ofthe plan to be recorded shall contain the following note: "Any and all conditions of approval contained in this special permit written decision shall apply to any and all subsequent owners, in whole or in part." 16. That portion of the plan to be recorded shall contain a note referencing the recorded special permit decision and where said decision may be found. 17. All conditions accompanying the approval of this special permit, as well as the above waivers from the MansfIeld Subdivision Regulations, shall be written on that portion of the plan to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. 18. That portion ofthe plan to be recorded shall contain the following note: "This subdivision, in part or in whole, shall not be resubdivided in a way which will create additional buildable lots beyond the eleven (11) lots approved in this permit." 19. This cluster residential development is approved by both this special permit in accordance with the Zoning Act and this Planning Board Certificate of Action under Subdivision Control Law. 20. Prior to signing the approved plan, the applicant shall submit a covenant running with the land, suitable for recording and written in conformance with the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land, MansfIeld, MA and the Subdivision Control Law. 21. The applicant shall submit, prior to the request for release of lots from covenant, a tabular summary of all quantities of each construction item to be broken down in a manner sufficient for the Planning Board or its agent(s) to estimate the cost of ~ I (' ..-- construction for bonding purposes. Said tabular summary shall include, but may not be limited to, all roadway work, landscaping, common areas, water, drainage, electric (power and lights), and other construction proposed on the plan. 22. Prior to granting a release from covenant, in part or in whole, the applicant or subsequent owner shall complete all the required improvements or submit a performance bond, a deposit of money, or a bank passbook in an amount determined by the Planning Board to be sufficient to cover the cost of all or any part of the improvements required by this subdivision approval. Said surety shall also include a twenty percent (2()o,Io) contingency factor based upon the value of the work remaining at the time of posting of surety. ..-- 23. Completion of all roadways, drainage areas, and other improvements required by the Rules and Regulations Governing the Subdivision of Land shall be accomplished within two (2) years from the release of the covenant or posting of surety. 24. Prior to the application for issuance of occupancy permits for any dwelling having its frontage on the private way, the following items must be complete. a. The entire roadway within the residential compound shall be constructed up to and including the binder course of bituminous concrete and satisfactorily inspected. b. All street drainage shall be fully complete and functioning with all grates and castings set to grade. c. The stormwater drainage area shall be operational, fully constructed and completed according to plan. d. Street lights shall be installed and operational. 24. All plan revisions required after the close of the public hearing shall be completed and reviewed prior to the Planning Board signing the special permit; (Dolan-Annino) Mr. Jenkins - In favor. This is a difficult site from a topographical and geologic standpoint, the applicants have been willing to work with the board and the abutters, aesthetically it will fIt into the neighborhood, and the town gets open space. Mr. Armstrong - In favor. The benefIts outweigh the detriments, the applicant has worked hard to make this work, met the board's requirements, and taken into consideration all concerns. Mr. Annino - In favor. This is a good use of the site, the board and applicant have entertained different ideas and ways to make it fit into the environment, and is not detrimental to the town. Mr. Dolan - In favor. The benefIts outweigh the detriments, the Conservation Commission gets some land, and the applicant has worked with board ..-- Mr. Cook - In favor. The benefIts outweigh the detriments. (' Mr. French - In favor. The benefIts outweigh the detriments, and cluster is the best way to develop this land. All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Cook-Dolan) All in favor. PASSES I Around the Table continued Mr. French asked about the access shown in the ENF to the School Street site. The board discussed the October 8 downtown workshop. I 4. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 10:45 p.m. (Dolan-Cook) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: September 24,2003 at 7:30 p.m. ~..0.__~J)~ Signa e of Clerk '/- 21-- tJJ Date of Approval ..-- I r-- I