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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 01/21/04 r- Planning Board Minutes January 21, 2004 Present: Tom French, Chair; Bernie Dolan, Clerk; Doug Annino, Walter Jenkins, Ken Tonnan, Fred Armstrong, John DeMassi ,,-- 11. Meetiaae.ued to.onlerat 7:30p.... I Motion:Toappoint Mr. Armstrong Acting Chair (Dolan-Torman) All in favor. PASSES 12. Correspondenee · . I 1. January 7, 2004 Minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Dolan-Torman) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. French arrived at this time] 2. ZBA application - 19 Monahan Lane - sideyard setback of an existing foundation of 24 feet rather than 25 as required. The foundation was installed off a mortgage inspection plan, which was incorrect. The building inspector issued the building permit pending an instrument survey. Mr. Burke said if the foundation had not been poured, he would have suggested a negative recommendation. However, since the foundation for the addition is already in, ahhough it may have been ill-advised, it would be a hardship to move it. Motion: To send the ZBA a positive recommendation (Dolan-French) Four in favor. Two opposed. PASSES 3. December 29, 2003 letter from MassHighway re: Mansfield Airport Improvements. 4. January 15, 2004 letter from Jeff Prince, Dacon Corporation re: modification to lighting plan at Medco, 572 West Street. Mr. Burke said the number of lights will be the same, and nothing will spill off site. The new lighting plan will eliminate a dark spot in the parking lot. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a letter supporting the new plan (Dolan- Torman) All in favor. PASSES 5. January 14, 2004 letter from Mr. Prince re: surplus material removal at 572 West Street. When construction began on the site, the applicant discovered a layer of peat, which must be removed from the area of the foundation. The peat will be donated to the town to be used on the Plymouth Street fields. [Mr. Annino arrived at this time] Motion: To send the Building Inspector a positive recommendation on the surplus material removal and require the applicant to submit a plan and take measures to ensure the roadways are kept clear (Dolan-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES 6. Request for surplus material removal- Erin's Centre. Material will be removed from a berm between the Shaw's and Home Depot buildings and be used elsewhere on the site. Mr. French said that berm was initially intended to screen the abutting residential parcels. Mr. Burke said a 50-foot buffer and 75-foot setback were required, and he said what remains of that hill screens part of the Home Depot building. However, much of that site has already been cleared. He suggested the board could support the removal of the material as long as the 50-foot buffer is in place with a landscaping plan in accordance with the ZBL. Mr. Armstrong asked if this would require a modification to the special permit. Mr. DeMassi asked ifthe issue is the need for fill, why couldn't material have been taken from another location on the site, rather than from the residential buffer. He asked if that buffer ~ ".-- were to be removed, would there be room for the construction of another buiding? Mr. French said that parcel is residential at this time, but Mr. Clemmey has said he would seek to rezone the parcel at Town Meeting. Mr. Burke said rezoning would eliminate the 50-foot buffer and the 75-foot setback requirements. Mr. Annino said he thought this would be a modification to the special permit, and he didn't think the application included enough information. Mr. Burke said one of the conditions of the special permit was that a 5 percent change to the Home Depot landscaping triggered the need to modify the special permit; however, the application does not provide that calculation. Mr. DeMassi asked what effect the removal of part of the berm and the installation of the fence and the trees on what remains would have for the residential abutters; Mr. Burke said there are residential abutters on West Street, who would be screened. Mr. Armstrong suggested the berm not be flattened, but be graded in a relative manner to the rest of the site, with the trees and a fence on it. Motion: To request a more comprehensive site plan showing the Home Depot site and a detailed grading plan of the remaining berm. The board is concerned the remaining berm be graded appropriately relative to the rest of the site. Emphasize the need to conform to the landscaping requirements for the 50-foot buffer between the Industrial and Residential zones. Request the calculations be presented demonstrating whether this surplus material removal will result in a 5 percent change. If it will be a 5 percent change, the special permit must be modified. (Dolan-Annino) All in favor. PASSES r- 7. ZBA decisions on variance and special permit applications - Erin's Centre. The variance was granted for the concrete loading pads; the ZBA decision said they are flush with the ground so there would be no impact. The second variance for the dumpster location was denied. The special permit to reduce the landscape buffer (for parking within the buffer) was granted for safety reasons. Mr. Annino asked if these decisions could be appealed; Mr. Burke said they board could request permission to use town counsel. Mr. Burke explained these items are on the Shaw's site, which was permitted as a use by right, so the 5 percent change in landscaping does not apply. Mr. Annino said he was concerned about projects being permitted, only to be changed by the grant of variances, and about the precedent this sort of decision could set. Mr. Burke recommended asking the Board of Selectmen for funds to appeal the ZBA's decision because the grant of the variances and the special permit does not meet any of the statutory requirements. Motion: To request permission from the Board of Selectmen for the use of town counsel for an appeal of the ZBA decisions (Annino-Armstrong) Mr. Dolan asked if the board wanted to go to the Selectmen in person. Mr. Armstrong said he would write a short memo regarding the board's position. All in favor. PASSES 7. December Building Permit Summary 8. Meeting notices Attleboro, Easton, North Attleboro, Sharon, JTPG, SRPEDD, Canoe River Aquifer Advisory Committee 9. New England Planning magazine 10. The Beacon ,.- ".-- I 3. . Pnll-.....,s.iJdivision .B,eview -.<.flI_rt Park - Six Lltts O<<Gilbert$treet - Mana T..... Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, presented the plan, which had previously come before the board as a 30-lot subdivision. The plan has been reduced to six lots in the southeast comer of the site; 14 acres will be used, with 93 acres of remaining land. There will be two Form A lots on Gilbert Street submitted at a later date, and there will be 150 feet of frontage left on Gilbert Street to the remaining land. Mr. Annino asked about the offset of the new road and Otis Street; Mr. Maloon said it is about 150 feet. Mr. French asked about site distance; Mr. Maloon said he isn't aware of any sight issues because the road is so straight. Mr. Burke said there is a huge tree looking south on Gilbert Street from Otis Street, making it hard to see from that intersection, but that wouldn't effect the new roadway. Mr. Maloon explained the road is curve linear and is less than 650 feet long. He said the developer would like to put all the new homes on the new roadway, and most of the lots will be quite large. Mr. Maloon said the soil on the site is bad at the front, and toward the back it turns to gravel. He said he would like to start testing for drainage. Mr. Maloon said he would likely ask for a waiver from the width of pavement, from 26 feet to 20, and possibly from the sidewalk on both sides requirement. He said there are no existing sidewalks on Gilbert Street. ,.- Mr. Maloon said there is high groundwater at the front of the site, only about four feet down at Gilbert Street. He said in order to make drainage work, the road will have to be filled up to four feet. He said the road will begin at 3% and go to a high point, and will shed back toward the circle. He said the detention will be installed toward the rear of the site. Mr. Burke said there would have to be a leveling area at the intersection with Gilbert Street. Mr. Maloon said if the testing goes well and he can lower the road two feet, he would be able to save some trees. Mr. DeMassi asked about the location of the detention area. Mr. Maloon said that would change based on Mr. Lewis's comments. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from the Fire Department with no comments; Mr. Ga:ffuey has to conform to water connection policy; Lance no obvious traffic safety hazards with exception of existing site distance restrictions at the Otis/Gilbert intersection. The clerk read lengthy memos from both Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Lewis. Mr. Lewis's memo included significant environmental issues. Mr. French asked if Mr. Lewis's memo means the lots are within the buffer zones for the vernal pools. Mr. Maloon said that is what it appears to mean, but he would have to speak with Mr. Lewis about that. Mr. Burke showed the board a marked up plan of this site showing the venal pools, the 100- foot buffer around the vernal pools, and the 100-foot wetland buffers. Mr. Maloon said there would still be enough room for house construction, even with those limitations. ,- r- r- r- Mr. Burke asked about the existing barn. Mr. Maloon said it is an existing structure, but he doesn't know what it was used for. Mr. Burke said there are clearly environmental issues that will have to be dealt with, and this is a very different plan than the one originally presented. He asked about the 150 feet of frontage left on Gilbert Street, and asked if the intent was to use that frontage to access the remaining land. Mr. Maloon said the owner doesn't know what to do with the remaining land, and has thought perhaps it could be used for a farm. He said there is buildable land in the back, and there are two other landlocked abutters at the back, who may someday find a way to access the land. Public Comment There was no public comment Board Comment Mr. Armstrong said the site is tight, but could work if it can get through the Conservation Commission. Motion: To approve the preliminary plan including the department head comments, and suggest the engineer meet with the Mr. Lewis and the Conservation Commission prior to fIling a definitive plan (Dolan-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES I 4.. Dis~uss.ion Regarding>>-....'. Pizza.-CopeIaIId DrWeJChauney Street Attorney Steven McLaughlin presented a plan for the Woods Real Estate building at the comer of Copeland Drive and Chauncy Street. The plan showed the area that would be buildable by right, with a 1,400 square foot, two-story building requiring variances for setbacks. There is an existing curb cut on Chauncy Street, which they would like to close off and open one on Copeland Drive. That would result in the loss of parking spaces, but they believe it will result in a better design. The new curb cut would be narrower than the existing one, which would result in 12 parking spaces. He said they had a question as to what use Dominos will be classified as, and therefore what the required number of spaces would be. He said they are not fast food, but fall somewhere in the restaurant/retail categories. He has spoken with Mr. Riccio, who agreed they are not fast food, and that they are a restaurant. However, Mr. McLaughlin said Domino's is not primarily a sit-down restaurant, but rather primarily a delivery establishment. He said it is more like a bakery because they bake the product there, and have a retail component because of the high level of delivery. He said the use classification goes to the issue of parking, so because it is unclear what they are, that will need to be addressed. He said if they are strictly a restaurant, they have enough parking; however, they would need 14 parking spaces if they are considered retail. Attorney McLaughlin said section 4.4.1, off street parking schedule, says the board can define the required parking for uses that don't fall within a defmed use classification. He said with the proposed combined uses, the peak parking demands for the two would be at different times. r-- Mr. Dolan asked about the square footage of the building; Mr. McLauhlin said it would be 28x50. Mr. Annino asked if Domino's has anticipated loads for parking. Mr. McLaughlin said there is a similar building on a similar site in Franklin with 11 spaces, 11. He said there has been no difficulties at that site, which has about 1,600 square feet on the first floor and 1,100 on the second floor, which is an office use. Mr. Dolan said he agreed Domino's is different than a sit-down restaurant, but said the second floor office space would need seven spaces. Mr. Dolan asked if there would be extensive landscaping installed. Mr. Duffey, Domino's franchisee, said there would be because he wants the building he constructs to be attractive. Mr. McLaughlin said they would provide a landscaping plan. Mr. Annino said that is a prominent intersection, which is a primary entryway to Mansfield, so it should be attractive. He said he didn't care for the standard Domino's building and encouraged the applicant to work the design. He said the issues of access and traffic flow would have to be carefully considered. Mr. French said even with an office use on the second floor, there could be overlapping times, depending on the type of office. He asked about the variances; Mr. McLaughlin said they would need setbacks and floor area ratio variances. Mr. Armstrong asked about the parcel on the comer; Mr. McLaughlin said it is owned by the town but there may be a taking by the state. However, Mr. Duffey has said he would be willing to maintain it. Mr. McLaughlin said he didn't know how much of that r- intersection is state-owned; Mr. Burke said the intersection is state.owned, but Chauncy Street is not. Mr. French said in that case, they would need a state-issued curb cut pennit. Mr. French suggested a boring be done to see if the types of soils found under CVS and Brooks are present on this site. Mr. McLaughlin said he would put together a more comprehensive proposal about the mixed use and parking space issue. I 6. Aroue" tile. Table Mr. Armstrong distributed an article about a shopping center SR Weiner is opening in Millbury. I 5. . .",p..rDllleDt Motion: To adjourn at 10:00 pm (Torman-Annino) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: February 4,2004, 7:30 p.m. ~~~-- Signature of Cl 2.--) 'f; ~b Y Date of Approval r-