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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 02/11/04 r Planning Board Minutes February 11, 2004 Present: Tom French, Chair; Bernie Dolan, Clerk; Doug Annino, Ken Torman, Fred Armstrong, John DeMassi Shaun P. Burke Director of Planning and Development 11. Meeting called to orderal 7:30 p.m. I 2. Do_towD Workshop Mr. Burke introduced Beth Dahlstrom, an MP A student at Clark University, who would like to work with the board on downtown issues like fac;ade improvements and possible funding options. Town Manager John D' Agostino discussed his downtown priorities, especially fac;ade improvements. He said he would like to define what downtown should look like, and he is willing to commit funding for infrastructure, as well as to establish a 50/50 grant program between the businesses and the town for these improvements. He said the largest issues are parking and access, which could be addressed through part of the bond authorization. He suggested a design standard to go along with the grant funding, which may encourage business owners to improve their building's facades. ~ Mr. Annino said Mr. D' Agostino's ideas are exciting, but had been concerned the business owners may not be willing to fund the fac;ade improvements. He said the grant would go a long way to helping encourage business owners to invest in their buildings. Mrs. Torman said the downtown business owners' biggest issue is parking; she said there isn't enough for their current customers. Mr. D' Agostino said a comprehensive plan would make the downtown area attractive as well as provide adequate parking for additional customers. Mr. Annino said he was concerned about something like a parking garage, which may not be the best solution to the problem. He suggested other possibilities, such as land acquisition and traffic flow changes. Dr. Torman said Selectmen McCarter mentioned leaving the parking spaces on Old Colony Way as commuter parking, which was not supposed to happen following the train station reconstruction. Mr. D' Agostino said that discussion was about making those spaces resident commuter parking and 2-hour weekend parking, and he said he would be willing to leave them open parking spaces. He said the parking utilization on those spaces could be tracked. Mr. Burke said the group had previously discussed using the North Main Street fife station and the Fales Oil property for parking, as well possible directional changes for North Main Street. He said these are all long-term consideration, and the proposal will have to be comprehensive. .....-\ .r-- Mr. Burke presented a sketch plan showing existing parking areas, and a conceptual plan with some potential roadway reconfiguration, parking areas, satellite parking areas, two- way traffic on North Main Street and some open space areas. The parking spaces on the east side of North Main Street would be eliminated from the middle common to Chauncy Street. Mr. Burke said there would have to be signage at ChauncylRoute 106 to direct drivers to the additional parking on Old Colony Way. Mr. Annino said he didn't think the board should make any recommendations at this point, but should discuss the issue further and come up with a comprehensive package, including the ~ade improvement proposals. Mr. French asked if there are any short- term improvements that would improve the situation, such as angled parking on Old Colony Way. Mr. Burke said that would increase the number of spaces on the street. He said Thomas Street has two lanes of traffic, with cars coming off North Main Street and off Chauncy Street, so putting parking on Thomas Street wouldn't work. Mr. DeMassi suggested making the North Main Street traffic stop and forcing the traffic into one lane. The downtown business owners suggested posting two-hour parking all day on North Main Street, which would force the owners and employees to park off the street. Zoning Amendment Discussion Mr. Burke presented some possible zoning amendments, which have come out of site plan proposals and the downtown workshops. ~ *4.2.2, footnote 2. In the Bl and B2 zones, require retail, office, bank or restaurant on the entire first floor, rather than only in the front. Mr. Burke said the current zoning requires retail on the frrst floor, which is limiting. Mr. Annino suggested first floor businesses should be more service-related uses, like retail or restaurant. Mr. DeMassi suggested professional uses, that have fewer customers during the day, might be better placed on the second floor. The board discussed how to define "professional." Mr. DeMassi suggested rather than listing the specific uses, requiring "business" uses on the flfst floor, and use the Zoning By-Law as a guide to define those. *4.4, Off-Street Parking. In the Bl zone, require 1 space per bedroom for residential parking. In the B2 zone, require two per unit. For business parking, require one space per 750 square feet in Bl and one 1 space per 200 square feet in the B2 zone. Mr. Burke explained the residential requirement in B 1 would be less restrictive, and may encourage more one-bedroom apartments. In this proposal, more parking would be required for the business use on the first floor. Mr. Annino said in some communities, developers can contribute to a fund for things like land acquisition or a parking garage in another location. Mr. Dolan said changing the business requirement was a good idea. *4.4.4.11, Bl Parking Exemption. The first two paragraphs of this section would be deleted, and last paragraph retained. *4.4.4.3, Parking Location. Require parking in the rear of the building in B1. ,...- " r- Motion: To reserve five spaces on the Annual Town Meeting warrant for possible zoning amendments (Annino- The board discussed adding a condition to special permits that any change to any provisions of the approved special permit requires a modification to the Planning Board decision. Mr. Dolan said this may encourage developers to submit better plans. Dolan) All in favor. PASSES Mr. French said the members should think about asking the Board of Selectmen to replace the Old Colony Way parking spaces with angled parking spaces. Mr. Burke said the Police Department recommended against angled parking; he said he would discuss the issue with Mr. Sullivan. The board thanked Mr. Annino for the conceptual plans of the downtown area. I 3. Are.ad the Table Motion: To appoint Mr. Dolan and Dr. Torman to the Capital Improvements Committee (French-Annino) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To appoint Mr. Jenkins the board's representative to the TIF Committee (Dolan- Torman) All in favor. PASSES r- Beth will be working on design guidelines for downtown. The next downtown workshop will be March 31. Mr. French suggested holding that meeting at the train station. The next Planning Board meetings will be March 3, 10,31. 1.5. Adj....._t Motion: To adjourn at 10:00 pm (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: February 18,2004, 7:30 p.m. ~9~ gnature of Clerk 2-. - /~- p~ Date of Approva r--