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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 12/16/04 j'-"" I'Ve;,) I ~ L..?) '/ (: nr:r.ICE ~...: ..... II I ~:' C' ~.\ I""', _Pf;wnJ: ~orard Minutes I L t t, rJ~,c" _ ' FEB D~eemb~r16,2004 ,', ' ,,-, OPFle Present: Tom French, Cha\t;~ rr~ ArmQirong, Clerk; WMteflf~~'c1Sen Tornt, John DeMassi, Fr~ HqW~S\I~CHUS{iTS. , I 11 I: 4 , Shaun P. Burke, D]fectof~tpt ana Develo ment J',i'.. I' I ) '. t. Meetiag eaIIed to order at 7:00p.m. ' vA CNU Motion: To appoint Mr. Jenkins Acting Chair DeMassi-Armstron All in favor. PASSES Corrapo_"'<< Memo from Mike Ahem re: partial release of surety - South Meadow Estates Motion: To release $2,500.00 (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES 2. Memo from Mike Ahem re: Surety Amount for Patriot's Way (Gourdin Circle) Motion: To set the surety amount at $290,925.66 (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. French arrived at this time] r r 12. Fona A (ANa) PIaas Foundry Street - Karl Clemmey. Mr. Burke explained the plan is for a parcel of land at the old Clemmey Tank site off of River/Howe Streets. The plan will create three lots along River Street with the minimum required frontage and lot area Parcels A and B are shown as nonconforming lots. He said River Street is a public way, the lots have the required frontage and area and suggested the plan warrants endorsement. Motion: To sign the Form A plan (Armstrong-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke informed the board that Mr. Annino has been traveling today and will be late for the meeting. He said he has spoken with Mr. Masiello, who said he is comfortable starting the School Street public hearing with six members. Mr. French explained Mr. Annino would be late for the meeting. Mr. Masiello said he would like to go ahead with the hearing with only six members present. Dr. Torman asked if Mr. Annino would be unable to participate in further meetings if does not make the meeting at all. Mr. Burke said he thought Mr. Annino would be unable to vote, but would still be able to participate. ~ Mr. French introduced Keith Bloomer, Pare Associates, who has prepared a peer review of the applicant's traffic study, and who said he concurs with the methodology used in the study. Mr. French asked ifhe agreed with the areas that were studied. Mr. Bloomer explained the applicant has looked at locations using a quantitative criteria; traffic levels and volume of service pre and post development; as well as qualitatively using concepts such as safety, roadway geometry and issues identified by the police or MassHighway. He said the quantitative numbers are for the intersections the applicant believes will experience greater than 10% increases in traffic. He said increases in traffic volume less than 10% may not have a significant impact on capacity at an intersection. He said the board can request additional intersections be reviewed, but said the applicant has ,'- included the same intersections he would have studied. Mr. French said #16 in Mr. Bloomer's letter lists the intersections that will experience significant delays, including School Street at Spring Street. Mr. Bloomer said that intersection, during the afternoon and Saturday peak times, will experience significant increases in delay. He said the applicant has proposed to narrow the approach from School Street onto Spring Street, which will increase the existing delay; he said there should be mitigation for that increase. However, he said when delays become significant, motorists tend to find other routes and explained the software has limitations with such significant delays. He said this location has been identified by the police as a dangerous intersection. Mr. Bloomer said based on the proposed improvements to that intersection, the applicant's calculations indicate the delay will decrease. Mr. Bloomer said he did not believe the intersection would meet any of the standard signal warrants because there would not be enough additional traffic volume. Mr. Burke said he wasn't sure a signal would work there because of the short approach to the existing signal at SchooJ/Route 140. He said the applicant's proposed narrowing of the approach to Spring Street from School Street is an attempt to slow traffic making that turn. Mr. Armstrong asked if a stop sign on School Street at Spring Street would help. Mr. Bloomer said stopping the traffic on School Street coming off Route 140 would create a backup on School Street. /--- Mr. French said Mr. Bloomer's review noted the left from Plymouth Street onto School Street is a problem now and the delay would increase by 57 seconds per vehicle. He said there are warrants for stop signs, just as there are warrants for traffic lights, and suggested the applicant could investigate the possibility of a stop sign. He said with the School Street bridge now open again, that delay may be even more significant. Mr. Burke said he wasn't sure there would be enough traffic at Plymouth Street to meet signalization warrants. He said an Opticon system at Plymouth Street should be considered, which would help emergency vehicles leaving the fire house. Mr. Bloomer said that intersection would not meet signalization warrants based on the traffic study; however, he said that may change with the School Street bridge reopening. He said the Opticon system would help at the SchooV140 intersection and at the proposed site. He said a warning sign has been proposed for the SchoollPlymouth Street intersection, which would flash when emergency vehicles were approaching. Mr. French asked about a flashing light that would always be yellow on School Street and red on Plymouth Street, then change to all red when an emergency vehicle is approaching. ~ Mr. DeMassi asked about pre and post development traffic volumes. Mr. Bloomer said the applicant did traffic counts in 2003, when the School Street bridge was closed. They went back and reviewed the Erin's Centre traffic study, which was done when the bridge was open, and used those counts for the post development conditions, along with a 2% growth rate and adjusted the numbers based on other proposed projects, to arrive at a no- build base traffic volume. Mr. Bloomer said he reviewed how the Erin's Centre numbers compared to this report and he was comfortable with the adjustments made in this report. ,- He said at the last meeting, the opponent's traffic engineer said he didn't agree with the methodology used; Mr. Bloomer said he does agree with the methodology used. Mr. French asked if the values used from the ITE are consistent with the percentage of restaurant space proposed here. Mr. Bloomer said less than 10% of this project is restaurant space. Mr. French said #17 of Mr. Bloomer's letter addressed queues anticipated to be greater than the storage areas provided. Mr. Bloomer said left turn lanes have a storage area, or a length outside the main travel area, and at four intersections, the available length is less than the anticipated queue. Those vehicles will have to either wait in the median if there is one, or may have to wait in a travel lane. He said this would be very difficult to mitigate, but should be addressed. Mr. French asked ifany of the four intersections in question exceed the queue length now; Mr. Mueller said 140/Chauncy, Route 140/School and SchooVSpring currently exceed the queue length on certain turning movements. Mr. Bloomer said there should be more discussion about potential mitigation. Mr. French said #15 of Mr. Bloomer's letter lists four intersections that will experience low levels of delay. Mr. Bloomer said those intersections were analyzed based on build and no build conditions; there were minor increases in delay and levels of service, but ,~ they were not significant enough to require mitigation. He said there would likely be less than 5-10 seconds additional delay at those intersections. Mr. DeMassi said with a project of this size, a certain number of drivers would take alternate routes, which will mean increases in traffic to other parts of town, and asked how the impact of that change could be studied. Mr. Bloomer said the study did not take that into account and there are no models available that could. [Mr. Annino arrived at this time] Mr. French said #27 of Mr. Bloomer's letter notes the applicant has stated Mass Highway should do the mitigation at the Route 140/Forbes Boulevard intersection. Mr. Bloomer said his comments #22 and 27 deal with that intersection, and said although the volumes were not critical at that intersection, the level of service would be increased by this development. He said the applicant's study recommends the mitigation include retiming the intersection and geometry improvements. r Mr. French said Mr. Bloomer's letter addresses the potentially dangerous situation for properties across School Street from this site. Mr. Bloomer said based on the proposed lane configuration for School Street, (two left turn lanes, a single through lane and two lanes leaving the site headed toward Route 140) residents leaving those properties would have to cross several lanes of traffic, particularly during left turn movements. He suggested the applicant propose some mitigation to allow safe access to those properties. He said a potential solution would be to minimize those turning movements, perhaps r- through a U-turn system. Mr. Annino said he was concerned about possible commercial development on the residential properties across the street. Mr. French said the board had asked for Mr. Bloomer's opinion about parking and noted his letter indicates enough parking will be provided for the proposed uses. Mr. Bloomer said the applicant is providing 1,683 spaces and the current edition of the Urban Land Institute recommends 1,688 spaces; the 2004 ITE edition requires 1,924, and they are providing 2,058. He said the applicant has expressed a desire to keep some green space, and said it would benefit the applicant to show those areas as potential future parking. He said those areas should be shown on the plan and would need special soil stabilization, but could be used for parking or snow storage. Mr. French asked ifthe traffic analysis includes any allowances for fast food. Mr. Bloomer said it does not, but said that type of land use may generate more traffic than anticipated in this analysis. Mr. Annino asked if Mr. Bloomer looked at the parking distribution. Mr. Bloomer said he looked at how parking is distributed on the site between the front of the site (School Street) and the back, or largest, part of the site. He found the number required for the School Street side is less than what is provided; the bulk of spaces are provided inside the --- site. Mr. DeMassi asked if the uses for each part of the site were considered; Mr. Bloomer said he looked at retail or restaurant uses. Mr. DeMassi asked how the numbers would change if the restaurants were retail uses; Craig Lizotte, ESS Group, said restaurants require significantly more parking. Mr. Holmes asked about trip distribution coming to the site; he said he was concerned about the approach from West Mansfield, which has only one lane to enter the site. He said if the applicant's assumption is true that 10% of the traffic going to the site would come from that direction, School Street going west may be backed up. Mr. Bloomer said the queuing lane in that direction could be extended because the applicant owns property in that area. He said he didn't think: an additional lane should be proposed for that area. Mr. Bloomer said he agrees with the trip distribution numbers but suggested the applicant provide a travel time study to help support those numbers. Mr. DeMassi said without knowing what the tenants will be, it is difficult to tell where the patrons will come from. Mr. Bloomer said the only way to do these studies is to use standard engineering methodology for traffic studies. Mr. French asked for Mr. Bloomer's recommendation. Mr. Bloomer said the applicant should address his comments and investigate his concerns, as well as investigate any other of the board's concerns that he has not brought up. ~ Mr. Holmes said the study was done using the posted speed limit of 40 mph, but noted Mr. Bloomer said the 85th percentile speed should be used. Mr. Bloomer said the primary impact the design speed has is on sight distance. He said at the signalized main ~ entrance, sight distance should not be a problem, but there could be an impact on the secondary access to the site, which is not signalized. Mr. Annino asked if queues would ever go past the light onto Route 140. Mr. Bloomer said based on the study and the 95th percentile, he does not believe traffic would be stacked that far. Mr. Annino said the traffic from the Emerald Square Mall is often backed up onto Route 295, which he does not want to see here. A resident expressed concern about the types of stores and their viability. Mr. French said the applicant has not confirmed tenants other than Kohl's at this time, but said he didn't expect the types of stores that have been built in the Derby Street development in Hingham. Kevin Gartland, 145 School Street, said the largest building shown on the plan should be made into two stores in order to avoid a huge big box store. He said there are malls every 15-20 miles in this area, so the majority of traffic going to the site will probably be local. Because of that, he said he is concerned about the traffic on the secondary roadways. Mr. Masiello said he has brought some information to respond to those two residents' concerns, as well as the traffic and parking questions. Mr. Gartland said he lives on School Street across from Spring Street and asked if there r should be mitigation for the houses in that area. Mr. Bloomer said they looked harder at the impact to the residences across School Street from the site, and one of the findings at the Spring Street intersections is that it functions poorly under existing conditions. He said they did not specifically look at alternatives for improving that area. Mr. Bloomer said he believes the proposed improvements to the School Street/Route 140 intersection are intended to decrease the queuing along School Street. Mr. Gartland said he and his neighbors have problems now turning left out of their driveways. He said he was concerned about the number of rental units that have recently been approved and the increase in traffic they will cause. Mr. Gartland said School Street is one of the major entrances into town and said the traffic study should have considered that. Mr. Bloomer said the study included the intersections individually, but did not look at the town as a whole. Justin Dye, 120 School Street, said the day care center at the corner ofSchooV140 has not been mentioned. Ron Mueller, Greenman-Pedersen, explained he has updated traffic information and said he will be responding to Pare's peer review. Mr. Mueller said it is possible the other side of School Street will be developed, which will have an impact on turning movements. He presented a plan showing a median on Route 140 between School Street and the site driveway, within the wetland constraints. ~ The number of lanes has not changed, but the road has been widened to accommodate the ~ median. Mr. Mueller said there is an existing sidewalk on School Street, and the road has been shifted to add additional sidewalk to the Route 140 intersection. Mr. Mueller said the secondary driveway has been relocated, and the new plan shows sight lines. He said they will perform a speed study to determine the 85th percentile speed. Mr. Mueller said the new plan includes information about traffic operations at the secondary driveway and what percentage of traffic will use that entrance. He said both entrances will operate at acceptable levels. Mr. Mueller said they analyzed Christmas season conditions at the site driveway and the Route 140 intersection. Under those conditions, he said there will be a 42% increase in traffic, but both locations will be able to handle the additional traffic. Mr. Mueller said his plan provides for U turns at the School Street light for the School Street residences. Mr. DeMassi asked if it would actually be possible for a car to make a U turn safely. Mr. Mueller said it would be. Mr. Mueller said there had been a question about the cost of the Opticon system; he said ~ the transmitters will cost about $2,300 each; the applicant is proposing to provide six transmitters to the town. Mr. Mueller said taking a left out of the School/Spring intersection is difficult. He said they are proposing to widen the approach with two through lanes and one left turn only lane, which will reduce the delay and queue at the approach. He said that would not result in a queue as far back as the intersection. Mr. Mueller said the proposal at School Street/Plymouth Street is to install a flashing warning sign on or near the School Street bridge headed west, which would be activated by the Fire Department when necessary. He said that intersection does not warrant a traffic signal, nor does the Spring Street intersection. He said the Fire Department would like a system that would work automatically rather than requiring someone to remember to push a button. Mr. DeMassi asked what the costs to maintain a system like that would be to the town; Mr. Mueller said the cost would be the maintenance of the transmitters on emergency vehicles and the signal at the site entrance. Mr. Masiello said he would find out about maintenance on that system. Mr. Mueller said there had been a question about how much traffic would be redistributed throughout the rest of town because of this project. He said there shouldn't be any redistribution of traffic because the level of improvements they are proposing will prevent congestion on School Street. ,~ Mr. Mueller said there had been a comment about Forbes Boulevard/Route 140; he said ~ that currently intersection operates at level F at peak hours because of the industrial park traffic. He said based on their calculations, there will be an 8-second delay caused by this development. Mr. Mueller said he had included the West Street 40B project in the traffic study. Mr. Mueller said there had been a concern about the ability of traffic to flow through the School Street corridor; he said this project should not affect that traffic flow. Mr. Masiello presented a revision to the site layout plan and said they have a signed lease with Kohl's. He said there had been a concern about one of the large stores shown on the plan and said that space, which is 150,000-160,000 square feet, had been planned for several large and several small tenants. He said the interior walls are flexible as they lease the space, but said he understood the concern that could result in a big box store. The revised plan shows that space reorganized so drivers will see the front of the stores, which will be 20-30,000 square feet. He said the "flavor" of these stores is Linens & Things, Barnes & Noble and Dick's Sporting Goods. r- Mr. Masiello showed an artist's rendering ofa store with landscaping, variety among the exteriors, different rooflines and different exterior treatments. He said the new plan will connect the independent users to the larger stores and the parking and circulation will work better in this plan. He said the overall massing and the square footage has not significantly changed. Mr. Masiello presented a parking table comparing the town's requirements, what they are proposing and the Urban Land Institute and ITE requirements. He said he had several shopping centers flown between 12-2 pm the day after Thanksgiving, which he said was a significant shopping day. He said the ratios presented relate only to the retail space that was open in each center and that he counted all the cars in the site, whether they were in a space or not. Mr. Masiello presented charts showing the parking ratios of several of the centers, done in July, August and November 2004. Mr. Jenkins asked what the parking requirements were in the towns where the other shopping centers were built. Mr. Masiello said most of the town's regulations are around the ratio of what he is proposing to park in Mansfield. Public Comment Cheryl Grimes, Sean Drive, said there are sidewalks on the other side of School Street from the proposed mall. Mr. Masiello said there are two sidewalks on the other side of the street, and if they installed one on their side, there would have to be two crosswalks. The proposal is to connect the existing two sidewalks and add one crosswalk. Ms. Grimes asked about the state doing the improvements at Forbes and 140; Mr. French said the applicant's contention is that the problems at that intersection are with the industrial park, not with this development. Mr. Masiello said they are in a state review r process with MEP A, which is reviewing their traffic study, and will only issue the permit ,-., if they determine there will be no impact. He said the state also reviews regional impacts. Ms. Grimes asked about the types of stores and said she would like to see upscale stores. Mr. French said the board doesn't have the ability to demand a certain store. Mr. Jenkins said the mall will attract what the market will bear and he believes the applicant wants the center to be successful, and will try to get the highest-level tenants possible because they pay the highest rent. Mr. Masiello said he wants to lease this as a quality center and wants to bring it closer to something like the Derby Street shops in Hingham. Ms. Grimes said she was concerned about the School Street access. Mr. Masiello said they have had a series of meetings with MassHighway and have submitted all the information MassHighway had requested. He said his consuhants have spoken with the state reviewers, who have said their response will be coming soon. He said the location they have proposed for Route 140 access is upland over state-controlled land, which they have aligned with the driveway that ties into the main boulevard. He said if they were to receive permission for the Route 140 access, it could be done. He said there are a series of options, with the preferred option allowing left and right turns in and right turns out. ,-- Leonard Flynn, 102 Jewell Street, said the entrance should be off Route 140 and said the best way to accomplish that is through public input. He said the town and its representatives would be more successful with Mass Highway than the applicant. Mr. Flynn presented a newspaper article from Bellingham indicating Weiner's shopping centers in that town cause traffic tie-ups. He said this development would make it difficult for West Mansfield residents to get into town. Kara Lynch, attorney for Mansfield Citizens to Save the Land, asked when the new site plan will be submitted. Mr. Masiello said it would be submitted within a week and he expects it will be the plan presented here. Ms. Lynch asked about the side and rear setbacks on the property, referring to Sheet LM-1 of the plans. She said the setbacks are required to be 20 feet, and the sideyard is shown as 25 feet and the rear yard setbacks as 81 feet. She said there is a footnote requiring 75 feet between an industrial and a residential zone. Mr. Masiello said they are not within 75 feet ofa residential zone. Bill Schwartz, traffic engineer with Louis Berger, said the size of the project is the same, so the traffic doesn't change. He said the new site plan looks a lot better, but will result in additional widening of School Street. He said the only way to avoid that would be to decrease the size of the project. Mr. Schwartz said regarding the level of service for an intersection, there may be an impact on another location from the approaches to the intersection He said MassHighway has jurisdiction over issuing a permit for Route 140 access and has a policy requiring the reduction of the volume of storm water runoff to zero. r John Walsh, landowner, said he does the plowing at the Emerald Square mall, and after Christmas, some parts of the mall are not even plowed. He said much of the traffic coming off Route 295 is not going to the mall, but is continuing down Route 1. Mr. ,- Flynn said spinoff development in that area is an issue Mansfield should be considering. Board Comment Mr. Annino asked about the pedestrian circulation and treatment of pavement areas and crosswalks, as well as lighting. Mr. Masiello explained they are connecting the existing sidewalks outside the site, building a new sidewalk along School Street and installing a crosswalk to the site. The interior sidewalk winds around the landscaping material to connect the buildings, with crosswalks across the driveway at various points. The sidewalks in front of the buildings and around the pond will be lit with 18-20 foot high, lantern-style light posts. He said by themselves, these lights will not provide enough light for safety, so there are more traditional parking lot lights proposed in the parking fields; the lights will be shielded to avoid glare. Mr. Masiello said he is unsure about the material for the boulevard around the pond, but said it would probably not be asphalt. The plaza areas will be stone or brick pavers. The walkways around the pond may be boardwalk style waIkways. The sidewalks in front of the buildings will be Portland concrete with areas cut out for landscaping. He said the sidewalks that will serve to get across the site may be asphalt. ,,-. Mr. Annino asked if the material would be changed for the crosswalks. Mr. Masiello said he planned to paint the crosswalks; Mr. Annino said changing materials would make a big difference. Mr. Masiello said changing the material creates a lip, which will be damaged by snowplows. Mr. Annino said it would be important to make the crosswalks very visible with a change of materials. He asked how pedestrians would get from the center of parking fields to the stores. Mr. Masiello said pedestrians would walk along the edge ofthe parking rows and cross the drive to enter the stores. Mr. Annino said that is a safety issue. Mr. Annino asked about cart corals; Mr. Masiello said the individual stores will be required to keep their carts in the stores. Mr. Armstrong said the access to the hotel seems to be convoluted. Mr. Masiello said there is a right and a left turn to get to the hotel, with the parking surrounding the building. The aisle widths have been designed to handle customer traffic and 18- wheelers. Mr. Armstrong said he was concerned about only one access road to the back of the center and asked ifthere would be adequate capacity. Mr. Masiello said there are two lanes in each direction, which he believes will be adequate. Dr. Torman asked if the special permit could limit the size of the stores or the percentage of the building that can be occupied by any one lessee. Mr. Jenkins said that would make it difficult to lease the space. Mr. Masiello said the newly configured buildings at the back of the site are about 150-180 feet deep, which, even if two or more ofthose spaces are combined, would not accommodate a big box store. Mr. Jenkins said this reconfiguration will attract a different type oftenant for the space. ~ Mr. DeMassi said the sidewalks should be concrete rather than asphalt. He asked where r- the dumpsters will be located; Mr. Masiello said Kohl's has a screen wall and landscaping to block the dumpster. He said the other buildings will have solid screen walls as well. The buildings at the School Street side of the site will have locked gates. Mr. Annnio said the dumpster areas for the restaurants should be 20'x20'. Mr. Holmes asked if the roadway layout would be changed with the new site plan; Mr. Masiello said it has been changed slightly, but the basic idea remains. He said they have tried to bring in a building and parking design that will attract good tenants. Mr. Holmes asked about the loading docks facing Route 140; Mr. Masiello said they would be enclosed in masonry block walls and landscaped with evergreens. Mr. Holmes asked about evaluating whether the noise would bounce; Mr. Masiello said he has met with one of the Cobbler Road residents, who represents the neighborhood, about an existing fence along Route 140 at the back of those properties, which may be extended across the back of all the abutting lots. He said the major noise issue for those properties is Route 140, and said the fence would help with that. ,- Mr. Burke said the 75-foot setback was something that had been discussed regarding the variance, and said Erin's Centre has a 75-foot setback even through the residences are across Route 140. Mr. Masiello said they are requesting relief from the 50-foot landscape buffer, which would be required across a street from a residential district. They are proposing to maintain that for the entire perimeter except at the area of the hotel, which is the subject of the variance. He said the 75-foot setback is a building setback when the property is 75 feet from a residential property, which he said they meet. Mr. Burke encouraged the applicant to review that footnote. Mr. Burke asked if there is a photometric plan for the site. Mr. Masiello said the photometric plan would be updated in the new site plan. Mr. Burke said Mr. Sullivan's comments should be carefully reviewed. Mr. Burke said there are areas of retaining walls identified as concrete block. Mr. Masiello explained the site retaining walls will be modular block walls, with a curved and textured face. Mr. Burke said there should be a detail of that shown on the plan. Mr. DeMassi asked to have the revised plans at least one week before the next meeting. Mr. French asked if the board would feel comfortable making a recommendation on the variance application. Mr. Masiello said he has continued his Zoning Board of Appeals hearing several times and asked the board to let him know if there is any other information it would like before making that recommendation. Mr. Jenkins said it would be helpful to have the applicant's response to the peer review of the traffic study. Mr. DeMassi asked for the colored parking distribution plan for the next meeting. r- Mr. French said the next meeting would begin with the review of the applicant's response r- to the peer review and the board's recommendation to the ZBA. Mr. Burke suggested the applicant go through the items for which relief is being requested. Motion: To continue the public hearing to January 19,2005 at 7:00 p.rn. (Holmes-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES /7. Adjou.....eDt Motion: To adjourn at 11 :00 p.rn. (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: January 12, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. ..-1 u~c:.""'-- ~ lVJ:\'tLa- d Signature of Clerk t ~V\l--. \'2-, '2 DO ') Date f pproval r ~