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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Brd Min_461994PLANNING BOARD MINUTES APRIL 6, 1994 FEC`IVED 1 'r' 1 Ci i ".'ti'S, E L 0 94 t R 21 P11 12: 27 PRESENT: Chairman Madan, Clerk McClanahan „,,,,r_,_ PLANNERS: Annino, Bonda, Flynn, French, Sulliyan! "''',I - L_ 0 �. - p i'1i�J.J. -, -i l�1 �i' I iJ Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 P.M. 2. Public Hearing - Citizens' Petition Older Building Reuse Paul Folkman presented the article, which he said would allow flexibility of use for older buildings. He said he was willing to listen to any suggestions, such as increasing the square footage of eligible buildings. Public comment centered on a factory building on Spring Street, owned by Carl Nelson. Public Comment Richard Gordon - 407 West Street said the article didn't seem to deal with the building on Spring Street, which the owner planned to knock down and replace. A resident of Spring Street said as the proposed by -law reads, any building 40 years or older and more than 2,000 square feet can be converted to apartments or a rooming house. He said town -wide, the impact would be tremendous. Mr. Folkman said he was only concerned with the apartment part of the matrix and would be willing to make everything else not allowed. He said the building on Spring Street is currently in poor condition and could be converted back to a Commercial or Industrial use. With the proposed article, he said there would be some controls on the use which would allow the owner to use the building as well as keep the neighbors happy. Steve Garno - 45 James Street said the board should weigh the benefit of the owner being able to use the property against the whole neighborhood. He said a multi - family unit would not be compatible with the neighborhood and multiple units would not increase the value of the existing homes. A resident of James Street asked if the school system could accommodate that many more people and said he was concerned about increased traffic. Mike Colleran - 8 Basin Street asked if there were plans to open Union Street Extension to the Spring Street proposal. Chairman Madan said he did not know of any plans. Planner Annino arrived at the meeting at this point. John Dunn - 395 East Street said the proposal goes against the Master Plan, which did a study of uses. He said the board should give serious consideration to any overlay district changes, as 40 years is not very old for a building in town. ( Judy Daly - 100 Union Street said she had bought her old home with the intention to restore it to its original state and did not want a 30 -unit apartment building that close to her. Steve Calvin - 107 Dean Street said the town would have trouble dealing with that many new residents. Wayne Jaress - 96 Dean Street said the Master Plan had outlined what kind of development the town wanted. Geno Mastro - 37 Riverside Drive asked how long Carl Nelson had owned the building on Spring Street and was told 30 years. He said Mr. Nelson knew what he was buying when he bought it and asked if there had been an Environmental Impact Report done on the site. Chairman Madan said nothing had been filed. Kathleen Nash - South Main Street asked what the factory had done when it was operating and was told it had been a jewelry factory. She expressed concerns about what had been left there after it ceased operation. Ken Eckhard asked how the town would handle services for the proposed Spring Street development. Chairman Madan told him that was a fair concern but the board was not considering just that site, but the townwide impacts of the proposed by -law. Kurt Cinelli - Union Street Extension asked if a building like the chocolate factory could be used as an apartment complex under this proposal. Chairman Madan said he thought the underlying district may allow for apartments there now. Bill Moore - 54 Union Street asked what would happen at Town Meeting with the proposal. Chairman Madan said the board would make a recommendation to Town Meeting. Geno Mastro - 37 Riverside Drive asked how the proposal had been allowed. Chairman Madan said anyone has the right to file a citizens' petition for a change in the zoning by -law. Gary Forget - 163 Tremont Street asked if the proposal did not pass at Town Meeting, would the owner be able to do something else at the site, like affordable housing. He said the property would be used, so the board should work with the owner to do something that would not involve three or four bedroom apartments. Margie Curran - Dean Street asked what alternate plan Mr. Folkman had if the proposal did not pass at Town Meeting. Mr. Folkman said he was open to suggestions. He said he did not want to fight with residents, and if the opposition was strong, his firm would likely withdraw. He told the audience this was a continuing problem and their reluctance to discuss it was removing possible options. Mrs. Curran said she would have liked to have seen plans of the proposal. Mr. Folkman ( said if he had received some positive input, he would have had plans made and invited the neighbors to view them. John Dunn - 395 East Street said the proposal would have town - wide implications. Mr. Folkman asked if it would be more acceptable if he removed the possibility of using single family homes from the matrix. Robin Kent - 1 Robinson Court said the huge amount of growth in town should be more of a priority than a few buildings. Board Member Comments Planner Annino had no comments. Planner Flynn said she did not think an apartment building would be appropriate in a neighborhood like Spring Street. Planner Honda said she was concerned about changing the Schedule of Principal Uses. She asked Mr. Folkman why, if he was willing to change the matrix to exclude single family houses, he didn't do it in the first place. Planner McClanahan had no comments. Planner Sullivan said he was concerned with changes to the Table of Uses and about apartments on Spring Street. Planner French said brought up the fact that in the proposal, everything was listed with a "Y ", which implies a use allowed by right. Mr. Folkman said he had meant to have everything with a "SP ", for special permit and would change that. Mr. Burke said he understood both the residents and the building owners' concerns, but said he was concerned about all of the things that would be allowed uses by right. He explained that the Master Plan had envisioned some older building reuse, but did not know if this was it. Motion: To close the public hearing. ( Bonda- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. Motion: No to support the article. (Sullivan - Annino) All in favor. PASSES. 3. Public Hearing - Citizens' Petition Peter DeGirolamo Commercial /Industrial Cluster Paul Folkman represented petitioner Peter DeGirolamo on an article to allow separate buildings on one lot, rather than the traditional strip mall. ( Public Discussion There was no public discussion on this issue. Board Discussion Planner Annino had no comments. Planner Flynn asked why the proposal was a draft. Mr. Folkman said he was open to changes. Planner Flynn requested the removal of several ambiguous phrases in order to make the language more specific and remove the potential for argument. Planner Bonda asked why the Business 2 district was included in the proposal, since one and two family homes are allowed in that zone. Mr. DeGirolamo said he thought B2 would be a good place for commercial cluster development. Mr. Folkman told her he had spoken with Mr. Burke and tried to include all applicable zones, though he said there were few undeveloped parcels in the B2 zone. Planner Bonda suggested removing the B2 zone, since there did not seem to be much need for it. Planner McClanahan had no comments. Planner Sullivan said he was concerned about tract size and said he would prefer the proposal require the land to be contiguous, as Planner Flynn had requested, and is of a minimum size. He suggested requiring an applicant to use all the land he owns around the cluster in the cluster. Mr. Folkman said it would be risky to tie up all of an applicant's ( land at once in one project. Mr. Burke suggested having the entire site come in under the cluster, then if the applicant decided to do something else with some of the land, he come in for a different special permit. Planner Annino said the open space requirement should have a specific percentage, especially in the Industrial 1 and Industrial 2 zones. He said he would like to include signage, building height, landscaping, parking and traffic circulation, loading zones, truck traffic routes, outside lighting plan, sewage disposal plan and dumpster screening details. Planner Flynn asked about including the Industrial 2 zone. Mr. Burke said there wasn't much I2 left, but they could include it. He suggested that for open space, the requirement for the underlying district be used. Motion: To continue the public hearing to Wednesday, March 13, 1994 at 7:30 P.M. (Flynn - Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES. 4. Public Hearing - Carlton Estates Definitive Subdivision Plan Wading River Realty Trust Michael Trowbridge, Hutchins- Trowbridge Associates, represented the applicant, Wading River Realty Trust, and said they had addressed most of the department head comments. t Public Comment Harold Downing - 1155 West Street said because West Street is so busy, he was concerned about the location of Douglas Drive and asked if anyone had checked the location out environmentally, as there had been an oil company there. Mr. Trowbridge said the applicant had met and exceeded the minimum sight distance of 200 feet for a 30 m.p.h. street, with approximately 227 feet. He added the applicant had looked at the possibility of increasing the sight distance even more by removing some trees and grading. Mr. Downing said he did not think that would improve the situation. Hamilton Workman - West Street said no one travels the speed limit on West Street. Board Comments Planner Annino asked about the water table at the site. Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. Burke both said it was very dry. Planner Annino had serious concerns about the traffic on West Street and asked how Mr. Trowbridge had come up with his traffic figures. Mr. Trowbridge responded that he had used the numbers from the Forest Park subdivision and .added subsequent developments.. Planner Annino suggested getting more up -to -date traffic figures. Planner Annino also said he thought sac was too long. Denis Baker, or they had originally proposed a roa but decided on the cul -de -sac after Planner Annino asked Mr. Burke abot in the subdivision instead of oil /we responded that given the site's eleN fact that the infiltrators have of seen in the field and comment Department, he thought the infiltrat the subdivision's cul -de- e of the applicants, said 3 through Robinson Court, opposition from residents. t the use of infiltrators ter separators. Mr. Burke ation above the river, the tfall pipes, what he had s from the Engineering or would do the job. Planner Flynn asked where the outfall pipe was located and inquired about the applicant getting a conservation easement. Mr. Trowbridge said from a marketing point of view, that may scare off potential buyers. Planner Benda said she was very concerned about the public safety issues on West Street and suggested the applicant get newer figures than the 1980 Census. Planner McClanahan had no comments. Planner Sullivan asked if the road had been staked and was told it had been. He asked why the road couldn't be relocated to provide better sight distance. Mr. Trowbridge said that was the only opening for a road. Planner French requested sight distances for the rest of West Street. Mr. Trowbridge said he had done that, but did not have room on the plan for all of the information. Mr. Burke said it would be easier for the board to make a decision if it had the information Planner French requested and added the applicant would need a Scenic Road hearing if any trees were to be removed. He suggested the applicants look for a site distance which would reflect the actual speed traveled on West Street, rather than the posted speed. Roberta Williams - 27 Riverwood Drive said she was concerned about the project's impact on the Wading River. Mr. Trowbridge said they had done their best to stay away from the river and wetlands. Mr. Briggs - West Street said the project's designers had done everything possible to make it compatible with the neighborhood and he did not think it would create any more traffic problems on West Street than already exist. Bob Martin - Robinson Court said the applicants had addressed the concerns of Robinson Court residents very well. Motion: To continue the public hearing to May 25, 1994 at 8:30 P.M. (Annino- Flynn) Five in favor. Two opposed. PASSES. 5. Discussion of Finding - 65 old Farm Road Izarl D. Jr. and Megan Clemmey applying for a finding to allow an addition and deck onto the side of their home, which became nonconforming after zoning changed. The board had previously sent a negative recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Motion: To reconsider the original motion of March 16, 1994. (Annino- Flynn) Four in favor, three opposed. PASSES. Motion: To send the ZBA a positive recommendation on the finding as submitted. (McClanahan - Annino) Four in favor, three opposed. PASSES. 6. Correspondence Minutes March 30, 1994. Motion: To approve the (Flynn - Bonda) minutes as written. All in favor. PASSES. 2. Variance application Sharon Credit Union The sign is three -sided now and the applicant wants to put lettering on the third sign. The building inspector had denied the application for the sign because adding a third side exceeded the maximum amount allowed. Planner Annino said he didn't think a third side was necessary. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation on the third side of the sign. (Annino - McClanahan) Four I in favor. Three opposed. PASSES. 3. Memo from Scott Leite, Health Agent RE: The Village at Gilbert Street. Mr. Burke suggested the board consider a modification and let the developer know of the problems. 4. Letter from SRPEDD 7. Public Discussion Roy MacDonald, developer of the Classic Court residential compound, came before the board to request his expired two year special permit be extended and the fee be waived. He said the work had not been completed in the time allotted because the town had been installing sewer in the area. Mr. Burke told him a special permit cannot be extended or modified and that he would have to .go through the process again, under the new by -law. He said only the Board of Selectmen can vote to waive the fee. 8. Form A (ANR) Plans 1. Edward Jameson - Mill Street. The board had endorsed the plan twice before but the applicant had never recorded it. Motion: To sign the plan. (Annino - Bonda) Six in favor. One (McClanahan) abstention. PASSES. 2. Gary Colassi - Avon Street. Chairman Madan left the meeting. Motion: To sign the plan. (McClanahan - Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES. Chairman Madan returned to the meeting. 3. Perry DiMascio - Willow Street. Motion: To sign the plan. (McClanahan- Bonda) Six in favor. One abstention. 4. Beulah Sweet - Essex Street. The board had questions about the wetlands and lot sizes. Motion: To sign the plan. (McClanahan - Annino) Three in favor. Four opposed. FAILS. 5. Fulco, Inc. - Monahan Lane. The board requested the original plans with lot lines and widths. Motion: To table the plan until more information is available. (McClanahan- Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES. 9. Around the Table 10. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 11:45 P.M. (Sullivan - Bonda) All in favor. PASSES. Datylaf rXxt meggqg/N\�ril 13, 1994 at 7:30 P.M Date of Approval