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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 7/29/1998PLANN>tN BOARD 11�1�Y jTyES July�9; X99$' Present: H. Thomas French, Jr., Chairmari, Johm Dy y 6%a , Jr., Clerk; Bernie J. Dolan; Marydee Flynn; Scott A. Frank; and KeWth k. Torman. Also present was Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. I Ridueview Continued Public Hearing I Michael Trowbridge, engineer for the applicant, reported he had little additional information since the last meeting. He stated pert tests had just been done, with two more to complete. He said he also just received letters from the Conservation Commission and DPW regarding their interest in the open space land; therefore, has not done a revised plan. James Noyes, of Highway and Traffic Signal Design, was present with Mr. Trowbridge to discuss the intersection offset with Brian Lane. He offered his opinion that in this situation, the less than required intersection offset would not be a problem based on traffic counts in the area. Mr. Sullivan read correspondence received since the last meeting as follows: ( ■ Letter dated July 27, 1998 from Lorilee Fish of Parks and Recreation ■ Letter dated July 29, 1998 from Robert Morrison, Water Department Mr. Trowbridge asked for a continuation of the public hearing in order to allow him to complete revisions to the plan based upon recent information. Mr. French reminded Mr. Trowbridge that there is no guarantee the board is going to approve the plan because he has done additional work. Mr. Trowbridge acknowledged his awareness of the fact he is requesting a Special Permit and understands the situation. Motion: To continue the public hearing to August 26, 1998 at 9:00 p.m. (Dolan- Frank) 6 -0 PASSES Street Acceptance Public Hearing I The public hearing for the acceptance of streets was opened at 8:00 p.m. with Mr. Sullivan reading the notice of public hearing which appeared in the Mansfield News on July 10'h and July 17`h. The reading of the list of streets was waived. Mr. Burke explained that the situation came about as the result of correspondence received from MassHighway with a list of streets they consider ineligible for Chapter 90 funds. Street acceptance is usually a nine -step process; however, through the enactment I Minutes of July 29, 1998 of special legislation, the process is being reduced to three steps for the purpose of accepting these older streets that were never formally accepted. ( Mr. Sullivan read correspondence received from: • Francene Bragga, Executive Director of the Mansfield Housing Authority, regarding Bicentennial Court • Residents of Liberty Street John Rau of 130 Shavnnut Avenue addressed the board regarding flooding in his area. It was determined that his residence is on Shawmut Avenue Extension, which was postponed for street acceptance due to a drainage problem that is the responsibility of the developer. Patrick Burns of 67 Creeden Street presented a petition from sixteen residents who are opposed to the acceptance of the street if it means it will no longer be a dead -end street. He was given assurance that this was not the intent of the acceptance of the street. Mr. Burns also noted that one street sign says " Creeden Street" and the other says " Creedon Street." Mr. Burke advised him to check with the Department of Public Works and noted the Town Clerk would have the official spelling. Mr. Burns asked if the board has any estimate of what the Town would get in reimbursements if these streets are accepted. Mr. Burke said the Commonwealth uses a complex formula in figuring Chapter 90 reimbursement and he is not sure what the amount would be. He suggested an estimate could be calculated based on the number of road miles divided into the most recent reimbursement to determine how much we receive per mile. Marc Marcussen of Keefe Lane said his street has never been used as a public way. He said his family's home is the only house that has been on the street for 130 years and the roadway is unpaved. Mr. Sullivan noted people are concerned that once money for improvements is received, their roads may be expanded or connected to others. Mr. Burke stated he does not believe Chapter 90 funds can be used to construct a way, but only for repaving and sidewalks. Heidi Eckhart of 13 James Street was concerned with her street being widened and sidewalks put in. David Riley, also of James Street, agreed— noting they would like the hole in the street fixed, but expressing concern that if Chapter 90 funds were used, unwanted sidewalks would have to be put in. Mr. Burke reiterated that the Town is not looking to do that and that the sole purpose is to become eligible for the reimbursement if they do. Motion: To close the public hearing. (Dolan- Sullivan) 6 -0 PASSES Motion: To forward a recommendation to the Town Manager for the Board of 2 Minutes of July 29, 1999 Selectmen's consideration of the acceptance of the streets as listed by the Commonwealth with the exception of Keefe Sreet, Bicentennial Court, the portion of ( Shawmut Avenue known as Shawmut Avenue Extension, the unpaved portion of Liberty Street, and Maryalice Way —and to further note it is not the board's intent to recommend any streets for acceptance which are unpaved roadways. (Torman- Dolan) 6 -0 PASSES 147 Chauncy Street Special Permit Public Hearing I The Public Hearing for a Special Permit for an auto repair building and a 12 -unit rooming house on a 28,066 square foot parcel located at 47 Chauncy Street in the B -2 Zone was opened at 8:30 p.m. with Mr. Sullivan reading the Notice of Public Hearing as it appeared in the Mansfield News on June 26'h and July 3`a. Applicant Paul Folkman introduced those present with him —his partner, Jay Zola; Rose Zicolella, owner of the property; Bill Vernon, attorney for Mrs. Zicolella; Bob and Carol Luchette, Meineke Muffler franchisees; Allan Leppard of Meineke Muffler; and Ralph Maloon of RIM Engineering. Mr. Maloon showed the parcel of land, bordered by Chauncy, Pratt and Crocker Streets. He showed revisions made to the parking on the plan originally submitted so that cars won't have to back out over the concrete sidewalks. He also reviewed drainage on the site, noting drainage will be improved following construction due to the crushed pipe at ( the site which will be replaced and other improvements made to allow for the storage of water. He showed two dumpsters —one for metal and one for trash. Mr. Sullivan read the following correspondence: • Letter dated July 8, 1998 from Paul J. Folkman requesting a continuation of the scheduled public hearing from July 15°i to July 2901 . • Memorandum from David J. Field, Assistant Town Engineer, dated July 29, 1998 • Letter dated June 2, 1998, submitting the site plan package • Memorandum dated June 15, 1998 with comments of Ptlm. Lance Lawson of the Police Department • Memorandum dated Jun 15, 1998 with comments of Shaun Burke, Planning Director, with margin notes of Ralph Maloon in response to comments • Trip projections by RIM Engineering Joe Vicino asked how far away from his property the closest building would be. Mr. Maloon said the Meineke Muffler building would be 6'h feet away. Mr. Frank noted there is no setback requirement in the B -2 Zone. Mr. Vicino also spoke of flooding problems on the site, noting that during the recent storm there was 4 feet of water on the property and people were using boats on it. He said the lot is loaded with peat and is not going to drain and expressed concern that his lot would get flooded if the proposed ( project is built. 3 Minutes of July 29, 1998 Jay Marshall of 26 Pratt Street also spoke of the water problem and asked how much the land would be raised up by the building. He said the front three houses on Pratt Street have a problem with water now and the additional flooding will create serious foundation problems. Joan McClutchy of 17 Fuller Place said the water stays on the site for days following a storm and it's not just extreme weather that causes that kind of flooding. Mr. French said the Town Engineer will be required to review the drainage calculations and sign off on them. Dennis Vachon asked how many parking spaces are being provided in the proposal. Mr. Maloon said there are 47. Mr. Vachon then asked how many were dedicated to the apartments. Mr. Folkman said zoning requires two for each unit, but the existing units only use one each and he feels there will be more paking on the site than will be used. The plan provides for 24 spaces for the multi - family and 23 spaces for Meineke, although Meineke feels they need only 15 to 18 spaces to run their business. He said the 19 -unit rooming house he currently owns has 20 spaces and he is not experiencing any problems with people parking on Crocker Street. Mr. Folkman said from a business point of view he only needs 36 -37 because the residents are gone from 7:30 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. He stated there will be a cross -use and cross - easement agreements that will provide the right to park vehicles on either side of the property. Meineke projects servicing 2 to 3 vehicles per day in each of the 5 bays, with most people waiting while the work is done and then leaving the site. Allan Leppard, Project Manager for Meineke, stated they have about 900 shops and almost all are owned by independent operators and franchisees. He said the property is bigger and more expensive than what they use for their typical shop and they were not able to use the site until they got together with Mr. Folkman and divided the use. He stated they are an "under -car shop" and the work is done in 30 to 45 minutes. Although he would love to be able to generate 50 trips per day, they typically do 12 to 15 per day and don't anticipate any more than that. Joe Vicino questioned the numbers, noting that 40 man hours of staffing to do 15 repairs doesn't seem very profitable. Mr. Leppard said they don't get 1' /z cars per hour, but take it as it comes in. They are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week and may be open until 8 p.m, on one of those days. David Murray said the area has been a family neighborhood for a long time and sees a conflict in life styles. He said the existing building is isolated from the neighborhood. Mr. Folkman said his clientele is not very transient. People are generally corporate placements who are in the area for training purposes. They are staying a month or two and don't want to stay at hotels. The units were not created to be rented to families. They are efficiency units with separate bathrooms and usually house one person, and at t most two. Mr. Murray stated provided everything is approved, he expects that creating 4 Minutes of July 29, 1999 such a change in a neighborhood would require extensive landscaping and maintenance Mr. Frank, in reviewing the plan, said that counting the 12 tandems he keeps coming up with only 42 spaces and asked how they're getting 47. Mr. Maloon noted they are including parking in front of each of the five bays. Mr. Frank pointed out that a parking space is defined as being usable 24 hours a day. Mr. Luchette said they are considering the five spaces in front of the bays as parking during the day and the five bays inside the building would be used as parking overnight. Mr. Frank said he disagrees, noting there is nothing in the by -law about tandem spaces and he doesn't see where it's allowed. It was also noted that handicapped spaces should be moved from double spaces to a single. Mr. Frank noted it does not appear on the plan that they meet the 15 foot buffer requirement and asked if they would be seeking a landscaping variance. Mr. Maloon said it is not required in a B -2 zone. Dr. Torman said he agrees with Mr. Frank —that bays should not be counted as parking spaces. He also noted the "one -way" sign on the plan from the apartment building into the business and questioned the traffic flow interfering with parking. He asked if the dumpsters are on pads and if they will be used for both the business and apartments. Mr. Folkman said the dumpster for trash would be shared, with the one for metal being for the business. Dr. Torman pointed out the 6 -foot chainlink fence between the apartment building and business with a locked gate and questioned whether people were going to be provided with keys and be expected to go over to the business and unlock the gate to dispose of their trash. Mr. Dolan noted in the applicant's letter to Bertram Cook it's stated that the definition for a rooming house stops at 10 units and this is 12 and to comply it's being called a multi - family, but it's really a rooming house. He asked if all have toilets and kitchens. Mr. Folkman said they do. Mr. Dolan questioned Mr. Folkman, noting he's telling us it's a rooming house but he's going to call it a multi - family, yet he's already told us it's not for families. He said as such it should only be 10 units. He also asked if they believe they can correct the water problem, noting it's hard to do mufflers when the cars are under water. Mr. Maloon said fixing the collapsed pipe will improve the situation to some degree and the storage of water will help. Mr. Dolan also questioned whether curbcut approval is needed from MassHighway. Mr. Sullivan said he would like to see the plan noted as to which spaces are for Memcke, stating he believes some of the tandem spaces are for the multi - family and questioning if the smallest space meets the length and width requirements of a space. He asked if any hazardous waste inspection has been done on the soil on -site. Mr. Folkman said one was done next -door, but not on this site yet. Mr. Sullivan said he would like a copy of that report. Additional drainage concerns were discussed by Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Maloon, with Mr. Sullivan questioning the depth of cover over the pipe running from the re- charge to the catchbasin. He pointed out that according to DEP guidelines, sumps and catchbasins must be a minimum depth of 4 feet. He also noted that if the water is not going into the ground, there's no way to know if this will make it worse or better. 5 Minutes of July 29, 1998 Mrs. Flynn asked how much water the infiltrators would hold. Mr. Maloon calculated it ( would be 1,273 cubic feet. Mrs. Flynn asked that this number be verified by the Town Engineer when he returns from vacation. She also stated rather than green slats screening the dumpster, she would like to see a wooden structure such as was required at Wendy's. It was also her opinion that if the project is being permitted as a rooming house, it should only have the number of units allowed for a rooming house, noting the use cannot be interchanged with a multi - family unless the by -law is amended at Town Meeting. Mr. Burke asked what year storm event equates to 1,273 cubic feet storage of water. Mr. Maloon said he had not figured it on that basis, but has provided for short-term storage. He estimated it would be a 25 -year storm event with a 10 minute peak. Mr. Burke said he is not comfortable with three spaces on Crocker Street and is concerned about cars backing onto the street or making turning movements into traffic. He asked Mr. Maloon to re -visit the drainage system to accommodate a much .larger storm event without anything flowing off -site. He said he would also like to know what happens after the crushed pipe is replaced —where the water will go after it gets across the street and if there is sufficient capacity there to handle it. He asked to see current elevations of the site versus finished elevations. Mr. Maloon responded that existing contours and proposed elevations are shown on the plan. Near the catchbasins it goes from 163 feet to 163.7 feet. Mr. Burke asked if the site was going to have to be surcharged. Mr. Maloon said that would be subject to the structural design of the buildings. He stated they have a problem not only on that site, but with water that crosses over from Crocker Street onto the lot. In essence, he said, they are draining the entire neighborhood. They could take care of the situation by lifting the site up, but that would make for worse conditions on the street. Mr. Vicino said he is still concerned about water. He stated he has a berm on his property so his water doesn't flow onto their site. If they raise their property, the water is going to go onto his lot. Mr. Maloon noted the drainage is all tipped toward the southwest corner. Mr. Vicino responded that the water flows backward on that street. Mr. Vachon stated he's been in that drain and the water gushes up from the sewer cover. He said the level of the drain on Crocker Street is not compatible with the level of water on Chauncy Street. He stated he had 4 feet of water in one of his houses. He noted there is a tremendous liability when customers are parked there and the lot floods. Mrs. Zicolella asked Mr. Vicino why he wanted to purchase her land if it's a problem, describing at length the history of the property. Mr. Murray said the corner of Pratt Street and Fuller Place has an existing drainage problem that will be compounded by this project. Mr. French noted there have been many issues raised and there is a great deal of concern about water on the property. He cited: 6 Minutes of July 29, 1998 abutters ■ the need to address the number of parking spaces provided ( the need to resolve the "rooming house" versus "multi - family" issue ■ the need to further review the site plan Mr. Leppard stated that Memeke would like very much to be located on that site and remains interested in working with Mr. Folkman and the Town to do whatever is necessary to solve the problems. Mrs. Flynn noted this is a Special Permit application and, as such, the effect on the neighborhood is of major significance. Motion: To continue the public hearing to September 9 °i at 8:00 p.m. (Dolan - Torman) 6 -0 PASSES Mr. French reminded the applicant that the Board would like to have the revised plans and additional information prior to the meeting. He also suggested they re- consider going for a variance if they honestly feel they're being required to have more parking than they need, noting it would be a better plan without the spaces they feel are unnecessary. (, ( ➢ Minutes of July 15, 1998 Motion: To approve. (Flynn - Torman) 6 -0 PASSES ➢ Memorandum from John D'Agostino re: fee waiver for Versacare Dr. Torman said he would like to see a statement of non - profit status. Mr. Frank noted that "non- profit" does not mean they don't generate income. Motion: Not to waive the fee as requested. (Flynn - Torman) 6 -0 PASSES ZBA Decisions • Stephen Pyne — Variance to replace an existing garage at 199 Oak Street in an R -1 Zone: Granted; Planning Board recommendation: negative 7 -0 • Gretchen Elliott — Variance to create a single - family house lot on Richardson Avenue in an R -2 Zone: Denied; Planning Board recommendation: negative 7 -0 • Edward Sliney, Sr. — Variance to allow two existing single- family houses and lots at 97 and 103 Charles Street in the R -2 Zone: Granted; Planning Board recommendation: positive 5 -0 • Town of Mansfield — Variance and Special Permit to expand pre - existing non- conforming structure (air conditioner enclosure) at Town Hall in an R -1 Zone: Granted; Planning Board recommendation: positive 5 -0 • Tropical Realty and Robert O'Donnell (O &D Tool) — Special Permit to expand pre - existing non - conforming use at 150 Gilbert Street in an R -1 Zone: Granted; Planning Board recommendation: positive 5 -1 1 i Letter from Bernard McCourt, District Highway Director, re: 1 -495 /Route 140 7 Minutes of July 29, 1998 Around the Table I r Mr. Dolan once again expressed his frustration with making ZBA recommendations that are ignored. Mr. Flynn, who is a member of the ZBA, noted the recommendations are not being ignored. He pointed out that the facts appear very different when you're just looking at the application as opposed to hearing the face -to -face presentation of the applicant. Dr. Torrnan said he still believes it would be helpful to have a joint meeting with the Zoning Board of Appeals to discuss how they make their decisions. It was decided by consensus to invite the ZBA to the first Planning Board meeting in October. Mr. Frank noted that it annoys him when an applicant tries to create additional parking spaces that don't meet the requirements of parking spaces. Mrs. Flynn asked when Mr. Clemmey's zoning amendment regarding recreation as a use by Special Permit was first advertised and questioned if that is the date used to freeze a use. Mr. Burke replied that it is retroactive to the first notice if it passes and affects a use. Mrs. Flynn said she would be interested in submitting an article to delete "swimming" from recreation. Mr. Burke noted that as it relates to Great Waves, the use is already frozen by their filing of the Form A. Comment Leonard Flynn of Jewell Street suggested the best thing the Planning Board could do would be an amending to delete the words "or similar use" from the Zoning By -law. He stated those words create problems. Adjournment Motion to adjourn 11:00 p.m. (Torman- Frank) 7 -0 PASSES ?gnatlre of Clerk Date of Approval Next Meeting: August 12, 1998 at 9 Minutes of July 29, 1999