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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Brd Min_91319954l PLANNING BOARD MINUTES September 13, 1995 PRESENT: Chairman French, Clerk Sullivan PLANNERS: Bonda, Dolan, Flynn, McShane, Trombetta 1. Meeting called to order at 7:00 P.M. Motion: To appoint Planner Bonda Acting Chairman and Planner Flynn Acting Clerk (Dolan- Trornbetta) All in favor. PASSES 2. Correspondence 1. Letter fi•om Paul Folkman to Weaver Lane residents RE: road work 2. Letter from RIM Engineering to Ron Bonvie RE: Massapoag drainage area Motion: To send Mr. Bonvie a letter asking him to complete the remaining - work in the drainage area (Dolan- Flynn) All in favor: PASSES 3. Memo from William Williams RE: Special Town Meeting 4. Copy of letter from Martha Flint to Bert Cook RE: Winslow Estates Chairman French arrived at this point, 7:10 P.M. 5. Release request Stearns Hill Estates 6. Memo from Dan Clifford RE: Stearns Hill release Motion: To release the recommended amount (Flynn- Bonda) All in favor. PASSES 7. Letter from Rick Bodio RE: Jameson Farm sidewalk Motion: To allow Mr. Bodio to construct the first 180 feet of sidewalk now (Dolan- Bonda) Four in favor. One abstention. PASSES 8. Memo from Board of Health RE: Master Plan Advisory Committee appointee 9. Applications for citizens at large positions on the Master Plan Committee 10. Letter from Attorney Mangiaratti RE: Garden Street Clerk Sullivan and Planner McShane arrived at this point, 7:25 P.M. 11. ZBA application for variance - 31 Perkins Avenue Mr. Burke explained the applicant could build the deck off the back of the house without encroaching on the setback. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation because the application does not include enough information, Also let them know the deck could be built off the back of the house without needing a variance. (Flynn- Bonda) All in favor. PASSES 12. ZBA application for variance - lot 34 adjacent to 234 Williams Street Mr. Burke explained the lot had 20 feet of frontage and goes back 150 feet, and therefore has a lot width problem. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation because a lot such as this substantially derogates from the intent of the Zoning By -Law for lot width and frontage requirements. (Sullivan- Bonda) All in favor. PASSES 13. ZBA application for variance - Parcels 6, 49, 59 Bird Road Mr. Burke explained the variance would create two lots with sufficient frontage and area but with lot width problems. He added one lot could be done without needing a variance. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation because of the lot width deficiencies. Advise the ZBA one lot could be done without the need for a variance. (Dolan- McShane) All in favor. PASSES 14. Minutes August 30, 1995 Clerk Sullivan suggested two changes. Motion: To approve the minutes as amended (Sullivan - Bonda) Five in favor. Two abstentions. PASSES 3. Discussion with Leonard Flynn and Paul Sidowski, Conservation Commission Chairman, on Great Woods Lard Acquisition Mr. Sidowski explained the town has been interested in Great Woods properties and has been concerned about access and the best use for the land. They are currently looking at the former Scott/Goya farm, a 91 acre parcel with 600 feet of frontage on Oak Street. The parcel had been approved by the Planning Board as a preliminary subdivision of 50 -75 lots. The parcel, which has been under Chapter 61A, has direct access to the Great Woods, would increase the town's holdings in the Great Woods, increase access for public use, increase the type of habitat not usually found in the Great Woods, and reduce development pressure in town by removing this parcel from development. Mr. Sidwoski added the Conservation Commission is wholly supportive of the acquisition. Mr. Flynn explained the Natural Resources Trust and the Trust for Public Land were in support, with the Trust for Public Land willing to put up the initial funds and the land owned and maintained by the Conservation Cormnission as passive recreation and wildlife protection land. Mr. Flynn said this would be the most significant and most expensive Conservation Commission land acquisition, and there is a commitment from the state for $500,000, from the Natural Resource Trust for $50,000, and the Conservation Commission for $60,000, all of which would go to repay the Trust for Public Land. This would leave approximately $500,000 to be raised by the town, which would require a town meeting vote. Mr. Flynn said the investment in the land would pay for itself within two years, considering the school system spends $5,000 per year per child, and if the land were developed for residential use, there would be 45 -70 houses. In order to receive funds from the state, the Natural Resource Trust had to submit a management plan including plans for a small parking facility and trail markers. 1\,h•. Burke suggested the board support the effort to acquire the land at Town Meeting, if it is a warrant article. Planner McShane asked if there was an agreement with the landowner. Mr. Flynn explained there is an agreement between the landowner and the Trust for Public Land. Planner McShane asked how the land would be maintained. Mr. Sidowski said there is little maintenance planned other than annual mowing, since the area is wild. The Conservation Commission plans to use the help of the Boy Scouts to clean up litter and vandalism. Motion: To express the Planning Board's support of the acquisition of 91 acres for conservation purposes and its willingness to support same at Town Meeting. (Sullivan - Bonda) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen (cc: Finance Committee) a letter stating the board's support because the acquisition is in keeping with the goals and objectives of the Open Space and Recreation Plan as well as the goals and objectives heard at the February charette and the town's long- standing policy. (Sullivan - Bonda) All in favor. PASSES, 4. Site Plan Review - Old Colony Motors Ralph Maloon, RIivl Engineering, explained the plan had been through the ZBA for a variance for a building to be used as a showroom and office space with parking for 18 cars. He explained the site sheds from the northwest to the southeast with two catch basins along a berm to an oil/water separator to a galley system into an overflow to a town drain. There is a six inch ads pipe to handle roof runoff. There will be lawn and shrubs to the right of the lot with a row of six foot arbor vitaes and a chain link fence along the side and back yards. The applicant proposes sewer and water connections, with a 40 foot water easement across the front of the site. The 100 -year flood plain line is just off the rear comer of the lot, and they have filed with the Conservation Commission. The clerk read the department head comments. Mr. Maloon said most of the site will be paved, with display vehicles at the front. The applicant plans to work out the street cut with the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Maloon explained the new contours would be close to the existing ones. The board was concerned about buffering between the cars and the sidewalk, as required in section 4.3, on -site lighting being shielded, parking space size being' shown on the plan, directional arrows being painted on the site, and a cross walk being painted between the existing building and the proposed building. 5. Public Hearing - Williams Street Scenic Road The clerk read the legal advertisement Motion: To continue the public hearing until after the site plan review ((Dolan- Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES 4. Site Plan Review Continued - Old Colony Motors Planner Flynn was concerned there should be a better buffer between the sidewalk and the cars and asked if there was supposed to be a landscaping plan. Mr. Burke said according to Section 4.3, a landscaping plan was required. Planner Flynn asked if employee parking was taken into consideration on the plan. Mr. Maloon said the 17 spaces include employee parking, or one space per 200 feet. Planner Flynn said the unloading of car carriers on West Street is hazardous, and Planner Bonda asked if it could be done in the parking lot of the present building. Mr. Maloon explained there would still be cars displayed there. Planner McShane asked about the slope. Mr. Maloon said it would go from 149 to 140 on the site, with 149 as the existing contour, 148 112 through the middle of the site, and 145 near the river, with a gentle pitch across the site of 1 percent. Planner McShane asked about paving on the site. Mr. Maloon said he had the 50 percent open space requirement. Planner McShane suggested having fewer display vehicles in order to get more open space. Mr. Maloon said the applicant couldn't do fewer. Planner McShane suggested planters and other items to buffer the cars from the sidewalk. One of the applicants, Mr. Porlido, said that would cause problems with snow plowing and moving the cars. Planner Flynn said she thought the applicant should make every effort to make the site fit in with the area by landscaping within the parking areas. Motion: To close public discussion (Sullivan -Dolan) All in favor. PASSES The board was concerned there should be something to separate the sidewalk from the cars, and the zoning by -law requires a landscaping plan, which the applicant did not include. The site plan discussion will be continued to September 27, 1995 at 7:00 P.M. in order to give the applicant time to do a landscaping plan. 6. Public Hearing - Williams Street Scenic Road Chairman French read parts of the Town of Mansfield General By -Law Chapter 20, Scenic Road. Jeff Lewis, P.E., representing Greiner, Inc., the consulting firm hired by Mass Highway, explained the plans to realign a portion of Williams Street and remove and replace trees and stone walls along the existing right -of -way with retaining walls along both sides of the road. Mr. Lewis said most of the trees to be removed are outside the right -of -way. Joe Cormier, P.E., explained there were four large ehn and one large maple outside the right -of -way that would be removed because the overhang the road, an 8 -10 inch ehn and a one inch crabapple near a driveway which would be removed, and five spruce 8 -12 inches in diameter inside the stone wall within the right -of -way. He said a large sycamore would be saved with a retaining wall. The clerk read the correspondence. Chairman French asked if the trees identified on the plan were the only ones to be cut down. Mr. Cormier said they were the only ones to be cut down within the right -of -way, however, there were some outside the right -of -way which would be cut down. Public Comment Walter Meehan, 292 Williams Street, said he found it hard to believe so few trees would really be cut clown. Chairman French said there would be others, but not within the right -of -way, and the statute requires the trees to be removed within the right -of -way be identified. Iv1r. Meehan said the land was deeded to the Conservation Commission and an easement runs along the edge of the proposed road. He also said this was the site of an old knife factory. Mr. Lewis said there was a water easement intended for the future realignment of Williams Street prior to it being deeded conservation land, but there may be a question about that because it was not recorded in Land Court. Jay Goldman, 231 Williams Street, said people bought homes on Williams Street because it is a scenic road. He said the bridge was not maintained and the town doesn't want to pay to repair it, so is bringing in the state, whose bridge will ruin the scenic nature of the street. Mr. Goldman said the additional truck traffic the new bridge would allow will change the character of the neighborhood. Chairman French asked why the alignment of the street was changed. Mr. Lewis explained it was for safety purposes, to get rid of the sharp curves. Chairman French asked if that was a state standard or the town's regulations. Mr. Lewis said there had been a desire by the town to realign the street because the width and curves were substandard. Frank Freido, 250 Williams Street, said the Planning Board had been in favor of a footprint repair, but the state would not fund that and is proposing a highway bridge. He said the Board of Selectmen is looking for the path of least resistance to get the bridge built. Mr. Goldman said if the state would replace the bridge as it exists, the Board of Selectmen would agree, but the state won't do that. He said other towns have gone through similar situations and rebuilt their bridges themselves, adding the scenic road should not be changed to save money. Leonard Flynn, 102 Jewell Street, had attended several design hearings and questioned the process. He said the scenic road public hearing should have been held before the design hearings so the scenic road could be considered during the layout and the residents could have been able to speak. Ivlr. Flynn noted there is a large stand of mature trees outside the right -of -way which should have been identified. He said he did not know why there wasn't a way of making the bridge structurally sound, as he had never seen statistics to support it being hazardous. He asked if a request at the design hearing to change the curvature had been considered. Mr. Lewis said the radius of the curve had been changed in order to impact the abutters less. Mr. Flynn said he had Senator Bill Keating and the local highway department check, and the 30 m.p.h. speed limit is not a federal regulation. He said the current design gave no consideration to the scenic road, adding the project is approaching 75 percent design and there should be plans available. Mr. Lewis said plans were available at the design hearings. Board Comment Planner Trombetta asked what would happen to the existing road. Mr. Cormier said it would revert back to the town, which would probably barrier either end. Planner Flynn said she had been on the board when the land became conservation land, which took years of negotiations, and she did not like the idea the state can build a road over conservation land. She asked what the retaining walls would look like. Mr. Lewis explained they would be concrete panels with facing extending along the length of the ends of the new road. Planner Flynn asked if the Planning Board had any jurisdiction over the road building. Mr. Burke said the project was referred to the board as a municipal project, so the Planning Board sent its recommendation, which the Board of Selectmen did not go with. Planner Bonda asked if the board could require trees be replaced. Mr. Burke said it could. Clerk Sullivan asked about the pavement width of the proposed reconstructed area. Mr. Lewis said the pavement is currently 21 feet and the proposed road will be 24 feet. Clerk Sullivan said if that if that part if the scenic road and should be kept as such, the proposed tree removal does not accomplish that. He said the existing scenic road has nothing to do with the proposed new part of the road. Planner McShane said state law says trees cannot be removed without the approval of the Planning Board when reconstructing a scenic road and asked if the individual trees within the new alignment were marked. Mi. Lewis said each tree had not been marked, but there were marks on the pavement indicating the areas of the trees. Planner McShane asked if a wetlands flagging would be possible. Mr. Lewis said that would have to be done by a survey crew. Planner McShane said he thought the law requires that, and understood not being able to mark every tree, but couldn't see a way around a wetlands flagging. Planner McShane asked if there had been police reports on the accidents in the area. Mr. Lewis said the state has the figures, which were presented in the preliminary reports. He estimated 10 or so accidents. Planner McShane asked about using timber for the railings. Mr. Lewis said in order to use federal funds, the materials have to be tested crash worthy, and there aren't any such timber railings. Planner McShane asked what kind of wall treatment was being proposed. Mr. Lewis said they were willing to listen to input and had no definite proposal at this point. Planner McShane asked when the scenic road decision was needed. Mr. Lewis explained that to complete the design, they needed the decision. Planner Dolan was concerned that any of the proposal would alter the scenic road. Mr. Burke said any alteration would require a scenic road public hearing, and added he thought the relocation and reconstruction would alter the street and neighborhood forever. Mr. Burke said the board needed to get an answer to where the Planning Board's authority lies outside the public way. Mr. Goldman said the town could say no to the proposal, and asked if the Planning Board said the abandoned part of the road is still a scenic road, would the town have to maintain it? Ed Jager, 361 Williams Street, said there are two sycamore trees in front of his house and asked how wide the construction area would be, in concern for the root structures. Mr. Lewis said the construction area would follow the dotted line on he plan and the area would be regraded following construction. Mr. Jager asked what the plan is for maintenance of the existing bridge and said with the road straightened, there would still be a safety issue because of increased speed. Mr. Flynn said building such a bridge defies the scenic road by -law and that the issues brought up at this public hearing were brought up at the design hearing and still have not been answered. He suggested there should have been a Mass Highway representative at the public hearing who could have answered the questions, and a written list of questions and a request for additional plans should be sent to Mass Highway. The board will ask Town Counsel what its jurisdiction is outside the right -of -way, find out if the bridge can be rebuilt, if the board has separate jurisdiction under Chapter 40 -15L than under Chapter 20, and if individual trees have to be marked. Motion: To continue the public hearing until October 25, 1995 at 7:30 P.M. (Sullivan-Flynn) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To have the applicant submit data one week before the continued public heating to answer questions regarding: treatment of culvert structure faces, treatment of concrete panels along the roadway, that consideration be given to natural stone treatments, documentation on the-limitations requiring a 30 mph limit, discussion of why the existing bridge cannot be -- reconstructed within the limits of the existing scenic road right -of -way, description of how barricading the existing scenic road is in keeping with the scenic road by-law, alternatives to the concrete tree wells, alternatives to the bridge railings, an estimate of the number of trees to be removed, a copy of the deed showing the easement and Land Court deed, and an estimate of the scope of work to replace the bridge and dam. (Sullivan - Dolan) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen a letter telling then of the Planning Board's direction (Dolan- Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES 7. Around the Table Planner McShane asked if there had been any applicants for the Master Plan Committee citizen- at-large positions. Mr. Burke said there had been and he would include the applications in the next mailing, along with the East Street traffic calming options for the September 27 discussion. Chapman French asked if the board wanted to do all three of the municipal site plans on September 27 in their scheduled 9:00 P.M. time or move them. Consensus on the board was to leave the schedule as is and do the site plans on September 27. 8. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 11:45 P.M. (Dolan - Sullivan) All in favor. PASSES Date of next meeting: September 27, 1995 at 7:00 P.M. (( au— l ��7 �5 Signature of Clerk Date f Approval