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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 06/23/04 RECEIVED " t'l nfl.lC' OFF i: k..~. r\~) J ICE r- Planning Board Minutes June 23, 2004 04 JUL 2 I PM 12: 11 Present: Tom French, Chair; Fred Armstrong, Clerk; Doug Annino, Ken To~ John DeMassi, Walter Jenkins MAf,~,.IELD Shaun P. Burke, Director ofPlannin and Develo ment MASSACHUSETTS r IJ......~~. 1. Minutes June 2, 2004 Motion: To approve as submitted (Torman-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 2. Meeting notices ITPG, SRPEDD 3. TransReprort 4. The Beacon 5. New England Planning 6. Vision 20/20 Smart Growth Audit 7. Letter from DeJonco Construction requesting to remove 1,000 yards surplus material from Martha's Way in Smithfield Estates. Mr. Burke explained the material is stockpiled behind the houses. Hesuggested approving the request with the standard conditions regarding sweeping the street, hours of operation, watering the street, detail officer, etc. Motion: To approve the request with the standard conditions (Torman-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 8. ZBA decision re: 17 School Street - Cass - Granted (no recommendation) 9. ZBA application for Variances and Special Permit - Proposed retail shopping center - Route 140/School Street/Route 495. Mr. Burke explained the Planning Board had not received the application prior to the opening of the public hearing with the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Burke explained the landscaping special permit is for a reduction in the required 50-foot buffer along Route 495 to a five-foot buffer. Mr. Burke explained the one of the variances is for a reduction in the number of required parking spaces by approximately 600; 2,600 spaces are required, and 1,966 are shown on the plan. The applicant claims the town requires more spaces than they will need, and the application talks about a hardship issue due to the site conditions and wetlands. There are also requests for variances from the size of the signs, the wetland and waterbody setback, and the wetlands by-law. Mr. Burke said if the request is for relief from the local wetlands by-law, the ZBA does not have the ability to grant a variance. r- Mr. Jenkins said for most of the year, the site may be underparked; however, during the holiday season, that additional parking may be necessary. He said without knowing what types of uses will be on this site, it would be very difficult for the board to make a determination on the parking need. r Mr. DeMassi was concerned about the ZBA granting variances prior to the Planning Board seeing the special permit, and whether the Planning Board would be bound by any relief granted by the ZBA. Mr. Burke said he thought it would be, and the board would have to assume the grant of the variances is valid. Mr. French said he thought the board would have discretion over the whole site under its special permit. Mr. Burke said the application claims the special permit from the landscaping requirements, for "five feet or less," should be granted because the nearest residential zone is several hundred feet away from this site across Route 495. Mr. DeMassi said he was concerned the grant of this special permit and the grant of the sign variance could result in this site having an enormous sign visible from Route 495. Mr. Burke said during the Great Waves discussion, the Building Inspector found that despite the fact that the site was separated from a residential zone by Route 495, the buffer requirement still applies. He said the same logic was used on the Shaw's!Home Depot site, where the board required the 50-foot buffer be kept despite Route 140 separating the site from the residences across the state highway. r Mr. Annino said the view and impact from Route 495 should be considered, in addition to the impact on residential uses. He said eliminating the landscaped buffer would make this development worse. Mr. Burke said with a five-foot buffer, the site would likely be clear cut. Mr. Annino said he would like to keep the -existing large trees. Mr. Burke suggested the developer maintain the 50-foot buffer and use the existing vegetation. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation on the landscape buffer special permit and suggest the ZBA require the developer to maintain the 50- foot buffer and use the existing vegetation (Annino- Torman) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Armstrong asked about the sign variance. Mr. Burke said he was concerned about what happened with the Shaw'sIHome Depot site, which received signage variances following the grant of the Planning Board's special permit, resulting in an enormous sign. He said if these variances are granted, the applicant would start the Planning Board public hearing process with the larger signs. There is no detail or description of the proposed signs in the variance application. Mr. Burke said he didn't think any sign could be granted a variance due to a hardship. Mr. Annino said the larger signs would be a hardship to the residents. Mr. Annino suggested stressing to the ZBA that the scale and size of this development should be signage enough. Mr. Jenkins said the applicant claiming a fmancial hardship at this point is difficult to accept. Mr. French suggested sending the ZBA a recommendation saying that because there is no specific request for the size of signage in the application, no variance can be granted. r- r-- Mr. Burke said some towns allow "reserve parking" which requires the space to be kept open unless it is needed for parking in the future; otherwise, it cannot be built. Mr. DeMassi said without knowing specifically what will be going into this development, it would be impossible to recommend the grant of a variance. .. ................ . . A.i~~a<...............\.. ...;..1:.. The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French advised the applicants that the board is short one member and they would need five of six affrrmative votes. The applicants said they understood that and would like to go ahead. Bob Rego, Prime Engineering, said the existing site of George's Cleaners is on two parcels totalling about 19,000 square feet. The site is currently a dry cleaner with pick up and drop off services, as well as a laundrymat. There are currently three curb cuts, two off North Main Street and one off West Street. r Mr. Rego explained the proposed redevelopment is for two buildings, one of which would be constructed while the existing building remains in business, and would house the cleaner's. The second building would have first floor retail and two floors with six two-bedroom apartments. The traffic would be routed around the site to parking areas at the rear of the buildings. Parking along the western portion of the site would be for the residential units. One ofthe curb cuts on North Main Street will be eliminated, with an entrance and exit along West Street. Pedestrian access will be provided from the front and rear of the retail space. Mr. Rego explained the drainage flows by sheet flow toward West and North Main Streets; the proposal is to maintain the natural drainage patterns, collect into three catch basins and infiltrate it into the parking area. Mr. Rego explained the lighting will be building mounted lights on the front of the buildings and existing street lights along North Main Street. Landscaping is shown in general locations on the plan. The site has existing water, sewer and electric. There will be two sewer lines, for which there are already ties. Water will be brought into the same location with a two-inch service for potable water and six-inch service for fire protection. Mr. Rego said they have worked with the Electric Department on the electric delivery. Joe Cabral, architect, explained the building's design. He said the apartments will not be all two-bedroom, but rather four two-bedroom apartments and two one-bedroom apartments. The first floor of that building will have two 1,000^retail spaces on the first " tbO~ floor with three staircases to the apartments above. The first floor has a rear overhang to comply with the parking requirements. The second and third floors are identical with two 2-bedrooms in the front and two I-bedrooms in the rear of each. The one-story building will be 34 feet by 74 feet with a mezzanine area above for the owner's use; there will be no dry cleaning activities in that space. ~ Mr. Cabral said he tried to be sensitive to the neighborhood when designing the building. The cleaner's building will have a two-foot ground face or split face concrete block for ,,-- the first two feet, then 8-9 feet of brick above that. There will be an aluminum storefront. probably white. The trim detail will be raised about one foot from the face of the wall. Mr. Cabral explained the three-story building will be connected to the cleaner's building with a covered walkway. The building will probably be mostly vinyl sided with some brick on the front and a brick-enclosed stair tower to the apartments. Ornamental dormers are proposed. Mr. Cabral explained the lighting plan, showing specifications for the exterior lighting, including wall packs to light the parking lot area. The walkway will have fixtures under the canopy. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from the following department heads: Lt. Towne, Fire Department. Mr. Cabral said the fire protection will be accessed through the front of the buildings. The electrical panels will be housed between the buildings to make them less visible from the street. Mr. Rego said dry cleaning and laundry activities will continue on site. Mr. French asked if dry cleaning fluids are considered hazardous. Mr. Rego said they use a closed system with the remaining fluids caught in a separate container. Mr. Gaffney, Water Department. Mr. Rego explained they have applied for a water r- connection permit, and when they have an idea of the site layout and tenants, they will submit a water impact report. The site plans will be revised to show the existing water main turned off and reconnected and the water service moved to town-owned land. Mr. Lewis, Conservation Agent. Mr. Rego said the parking meets the requirements for the intended uses; he said in terms of actual use, customers using the dry cleaner will not be long-term. He said the residential units all have two parking spaces regardless of the number of bedrooms. Mr. Rego said the landscaping plan will be modified once the site plan is set. He said there will be one dumpster with private collection and it will be adequate to serve the facility. Mr. DeMassi asked ifthe dumpster bay shown might be larger; Mr. Rego said it would be possible. Mr. Annino said the applicant would have to prove the dumpster would be large enough. Mr. Rego said he had discussed the two-way traffic pattern on West Street with the owners, who indicated the traffic going east on West Street can be heavy during peak morning and evening hours. One ofthe suggestions is a Right Turn Only onto West Street. Regarding potential use and pushing the buildings back to allow outside seating, Mr. Cabral said that would eliminate parking spaces. He said the site is already quite tight, and they have already pushed the buildings back enough to provide landscaping along the street. Mr. DeMassi asked if this is one lot; Mr. Rego said it is currently two lots and they plan to combine them into one. r ~ Ann Langille, Light Department: Mr. Cabral said the buildings have been engineered for electric and they will present those plans to the Light Department. He said there will have to be some coordination with the Light Department during construction. Mr. Annino asked where the transformer will go; Mr. Cabral said it will probably be at the back of the building. Mr. Rego said he didn't think there would be any impact to the existing light poles on North Main or West Street. Lance Lawson, Police Department: Patrolman Lawson is concerned about the West Street entrance and its proximity to the intersection. Mr. Rego said Ptlm Lawson was concerned about the three parallel parking spaces; he said they could be assigned to the apartments as a way to limit their turning movements, or they could become guest spaces. Mr. Rego said the left turn out of West Street could be eliminated with signage. He said they would add One-Way signage through the site and the North Main Street entrance is 15 feet wide. David Field, Engineering Department: Mr. Rego said he would address Mr. Field's issues with plan changes. Mr. French asked about infiltration tests; Mr. Rego said he did one but would need a second one at the time of construction. He said his firm did the engineering for the abutting site on North Main Street and he anticipates similar results. He said the soils are coarse sands with rapid permeability. There will be no collection or treatment of the storm water; it will all be infiltrated. Mr. Jenkins asked about the IneZ7.l\nine space; Mr. Cabral said it would be about 800 r' square feet of usable space and the clothes conveyor would be run into that space. Mr. Jenkins said he was concerned about the access and would prefer it be on North Main Street. He said the West Street access will be an issue because of the existing traffic patterns. He said the No Left Turn sign at CVS has been removed, but it didn't work when it was up. Mr. Jenkins asked how many people work there; there are seven employees, but the applicant said there are never that many there at the same time. Mr. Jenkins said the board has to plan for what may happen in the future. He said he would like to know which materials and colors to be used on the exterior ofthe building. Mr. Jenkins asked the width of the walkway; Mr. Rego said it is 14 feet. He said he liked the idea of parking in the rear with access to the front of the building through that walkway. Mr. Cabral said he didn't want to create a long, dark alley with that space. Mr. Jenkins said he didn't particularly like the elevation from the West Street side; he said that would be a focal point from the common. Mr. Cabral said they have worked on that ~ade and would explore it further. He said bay windows could be added. Mr. DeMassi said any change to this site would be good. He said he wants to know exactly what materials and colors will be used on the buildings. He said it doesn't appear the back of the lots are sufficiently lit, and he would like to see more landscaping on the site. He said he was concerned about getting a truck in to pick up the dumpster. r r Mr. Annino said he likes the end caps and corners, but said all the details will have to be on the plans before the board votes. He said he thought the cleaner building would have been nicer at two or three stories. He said he was concerned about the walkway not being used and becoming a rubbish collector; he suggested a trellis or pergola in that space. Mr. Annino said the south elevations could have awnings or other features to break it up. He said he was concerned about landscaping; he said a plan should be done by a landscape architect. He suggested the sidewalk be kept as wide as possible with some street trees, rather than a planting bed against the building. He said he would like to see new and existing pavement and sidewalk details; the new sidewalk should go to the property ends. Mr. Annino suggested a sidewalk rather than plantings on the north side of 4 North Main Street. He said a handicapped van accessible parking space would be needed. He said the lighting in the back of the site is inadequate; wall packs will detract from the buildings. He encouraged poles which would not project light onto abutting properties. He said the adequacy of the dumpster would have to be verified. He asked ifthere is curbing around the parking lot; Mr. Rego said it would be cape cod berm. Mr. Annino asked for signage details. Mr. Annino asked for a plan of how a building would be constructed while the existing business is still in operation. Mr. Annino said the HV AC equipment and transformer should be shown on the plan. He asked that the downspouts be shown on the plan. r Mr. Annino asked about snow removal; Mr. Rego said it would be piled near the dumpster area, but if it was hindering parking, it would be trucked out. Mr. Cabral said the building was designed to comply with the parking requirements but there are three staircases included in the plan, so all the square footage used to calculate parking is not usable space. Mr. Annino said the by-law is based on gross square footage. Mr. Annino asked about the building height; Mr. Cabral said it is about 40 feet. Mr. Armstrong said he was concerned about the access and egress. He said he liked the design of the buildings and the consideration given to the character of the neighborhood. Mr. Burke said he has met a number of times with the applicant's representatives and said he is pleased at the level of detail shown on the plans. He said he is concerned about egress onto West Street and said a No Left Turn sign would help. He said he liked the idea of a wider sidewalk with street trees rather than a planting bed. He said he is concerned about the lighting, and he would like to see if come off the back of the building and onto poles around the perimeter of the building. He said the front of the buildings could be lit from the band with the store signs. Mr. Cabral said that could be done. He suggested bay windows or larger first-floor windows on the West Street side. r Publie Comment Lynn Washington, 3 Fairfield Park, asked about the walkway between the buildings. She said she was concerned about it collecting rubbish and asked whose responsibility it r' would be to keep that clean. Mr. French said it would be the owner's responsibility; Mr. Burke said that is only enforceable to a degree. Mr. French said this is a positive step for the town and that the board has recently been working with the downtown merchants. He said he was concerned about the West Street access and egress; he said if that is an access, perhaps the spaces between that driveway and the intersection should be eliminated. Mr. Jenkins asked if the applicant was seeking any variances; the applicant said he was not. Mr. Jenkins said the special permit would likely include a condition that if that were to happen, the special permit would have to be amended. Mr. DeMassi asked about removing the walkway between the buildings and using that space to provide access to the back of the buildings. Mr. Cabral said he wouldn't want to make that walkway into an alleyway. Mr. French suggested a trellis with some landscaping; Mr. Cabral said that was possible. Motion: To continue the public hearing to July 14,2004 at 8:45 p.rn. (Torman-Annino) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. Jenkins left the meeting at this time.] r-. ................................. . '-.: . c',.-... ...;..... ".' ,-.:, >:, _'::,....--.""...:"":-,\:,..,....,:,.,:,,',,:5.::':,,.:,:..,:.",.- Kevin Walker explained some changes to the prelimjn~ry plan. The conventional layout shows a turnaround with an easement shown. There are existing trees and low scrub on the site. Mr. Walker said under the conventional layout, he could get three lots. Mr. French said the board had been concerned about the wetland issues and whether three lots would really be possible. Mr. Walker said most of the work would be outside the wetland buffer zone, and they would leave that portion ofthe driveway that is within the buffer zone unpaved. Mr. French asked about the access; Mr. Burke said the bylaw doesn't require access through the frontage. Therefore the question would be lot width; if that were met, the lot would conform. Mr. French said he thought the conventional subdivision shows the three lots would be possible. The board agreed. However, Mr. Walker said he would not like to build the conventional subdivision Mr. Walker said the site does not contain any vernal pools, but he will have the wetlands flagged. He said he would like to keep as much open space as possible. r Mr. DeMassi asked if the driveway from the existing lot on East Street would be moved; Mr. Walker said that would be eliminated and the lot would be accessed off the new road as part of the compound. ,~ Mr. French said the board encourages applicants to donate their open space to the Conservation Commission, the Canoe River Aquifer Committee, or the NRT. Mr. Burke said this site is in the Canoe River Aquifer, and the habitats should be protected. Mr. Walker said he had considered splitting the open space between the town and the homeowner's association. Mr. DeMassi asked about the orientation of the existing house; Mr. Walker said the house would stay and be accessed from the new roadway. Motion: To approve the preHminary subdivision plan and encourage the applicant to file a residential compound special permit plan (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. Jenkins returned to the meeting at this time] 1~~\"""'.'_~.11~,_~,,_.., Mr. Whalen, Whalen Engineering, presented a conceptual plan for land at the end of Atwood Street. There is one existing house on the lot and the applicant, Mr. Volpe, would like to build a second house for his son. The street currently ends at the property line, and the only access to the existing lot is 48 feet on Atwood Street. They would like to extend Atwood Street from the property line and provide a turnaround easement with a waiver from the requirement to construct the road. r Mr. French asked how many driveways there are between Fox Street and this site; Mr. Whalen said there are three. He said they would like to make the end of Atwood Street a private way for the two houses; he said if they had to construct the full cul-de-sac, there would be more pavement to maintain and more runoff. The applicant would like to keep as much lawn as possible. There are already two water services to the lot because there had been two buildings on the lot. The lot is on a septic system, which will have to be upgraded to Title V. Mr. French said one option would be to do a subdivision and ask for waivers. Mr. Burke said this could probably be done with waivers from the ZBA unless the original house, with 48 feet of frontage, was previously granted a frontage variance. He said when the ZBA does this, it normally makes it a condition that no further subdivision be allowed. Mr. Volpe said the lot was been granted a variance from the frontage requirement. Mr. Burke said if that variance says no further subdivision of the land is to be allowed, they would have to build the road to bring the existing house into conformance for frontage. r Mr. French asked if the board has done this in the past; Mr. Burke said the extension of Day Avenue was a similar situation. That applicant went through subdivision control law and was required to extend the way the minimum required to comply with the frontage requirements. He said the cul-de-sac and sidewalks were waived. Mr. French said the board could ask for the layout of the cul-de-sac, but not require it to be built. Mr. Whalen said that would force everything closer to the wetland area. He said the hammerhead layout would keep the construction and driveways away from the wetlands. ~ Mr. Burke suggested the applicant research the variance. Mr. Whalen said there is a perennial stream at the back ofthe site, so they don't intend to extend the road further. He said the site is about five acres; the existing home would keep four acres and the new lot would be about 30,000 square feet. Mr. Jenkins said he wouldn't want to have build a cul-de-sac for one house. Mr. French agreed, but said the board has to be concerned about the precedent set with waivers. The board will discuss this further on July 14, 2004 at 7:45 p.m.. Mr. Whalen will supply the board with the variance and Mr. Burke will review previous similar situations. Mr. Armstrong provided the board with Chapter 41, 81P regarding Form A plans. The board had declined to sign a plan a few weeks ago that had received a variance. He noted that endorsement of a plan must not be withheld unless the plan shows a subdivision, which that plan did not. 1.;fJ~~;~i The board continued its discussion ofthe Route 140 Retail Development variances. Mr. Burke said there is nothing in the application that defines what signage is proposed. r Regarding waterbody setback, Mr. Burke said with certain soil types, a greater setback is required. There are isolated pockets of those soil types requiring a setback similar to a what is required from a waterbody or a property line. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation because to provide relief on the nature of the items requested, more information needs to be submitted about what the site plan is going to look like. It is difficult to make a determination without knowing where the structures will be located, what the structures will look like, what the uses will be relative to the parking relief requested, and it is difficult to establish a hardship based on the information presented and what point they are at in the development schedule. If the ZBA considers a parking variance, suggest they consider a condition requiring the reduced area of parking be maintained as landscaped area and reserved only for future parking. (Jenkins-Annino) All in favor. PASSES The board discussed sending a Jetter to the ZBA expressing the board's concern relative to the thoroughness of the application, the plans to date and the premature nature of the variance requests. Mr. Jenkins said he was concerned about the enormous lack of information and hopes the ZBA looks carefully at these vague variance requests and considers the significance ofthose things in terms of the size, scope and aesthetics of this project. ,.-- The board also discussed sending a letter to the applicant expressing concern about the way the process has begun and disappointment they have not been more communicative with the board early in this process. .. , .. , ,-.. Mr. Burke said the Hatheway Patterson Steering Committee had met with the EP A, which hopes to have some recommendations in the fall. He said the town hopes to meet with its consultant, The Cecil Group, in July. The next meeting with the Downtown Design Committee will be June 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Board and Committee Room. I..~'~.l>l*ll;>... East Street - Village Landing. This plan combines the lots for the 55 and Over development the board approved in May into a single lot. Mr. Burke said this plan warrants endorsement. Motion: To endorse the Form A (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To adjourn at 11:15 p.m. (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: July 14,2004 at 7:30 h 7/1 {} tA i., N 2JJDL( t of Apptbva I /' r r