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Home My WebLink Aboutplanningbrdmin10272010 Planning Board Minutes October 27, 2010 Present: Tom French, Chair; Beth Ashman-Collins, Clerk; Michael McClanahan, Anthony Jodice, Don Cleary, Shawn MacDonald Alternates: Ralph Penney Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development 11. Meeting called to order .(7:30 p.m. 12. Co..respcj"aeD,ce 1. September 29,2010 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (McClanahan-Jodice) All in favor. PASSES 2. October 19, 2010 request for partial release of surety - Autumn Park Phase 1/ October 25,2010 memorandum from Mike Ahem recommending the release of $18,571.05 Motion: To release $18,571.05 from Autumn Park Phase I (McClanahan-MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 3. October 19, 20 I 0 request for partial release of surety - Autumn Park Phase II / October 25,2010 memorandum from Mike Ahem recommending the release of $21,235.87 Motion: To release $21,235.87 from Autumn Park Phase II (McClanahan-MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 4.Public Hearing notices Attleboro, Norton, North Attleboro The board discussed appointing two representatives to the Capital Improvements Committee. Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Ragazzo volunteered to serve. Motion: To appoint Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Ragazzo to the Capital Improvements Committee (Penney-Collins) All in favor. PASSES I 3. Form A (ANR) Plans 4. .SpecialPennitPu"dicHea.rin.gc~lltb1ued-l\fixed-Use DeveloPDlent - 315,321, 333, 33' School Street-l\UnsfieldComlllons Attorney Edward Valanzola said his client plans to change the name of the development, but does not have a new name at this point. He suggested the decision refer to the property address, rather than a name. Board Comment Mr. Cleary asked if condition # 15 should require the applicant to pay for the traffic consultant if it becomes necessary. Mr. Valanzola agreed to that change. Mr. Penney asked if there is an agreement in place regarding the sidewalk on the Border's side of School Street. Mr. Burke said there is, and he has reviewed it. Mr. Valanzola said while he cannot make it public, there is a signed agreement with the Planning Board I 10/28/2010 .' - .....-. --..-.---.--- -------.------ I 111 Mansfield Crossing landowner for the design and installation of the sidewalk. Mr. Penney said he appreciates the effort put in by both parties to work out the agreement. Mr. French suggested adding "this will be connected to a sidewalk to be constructed on the Mansfield Crossing side of School Street" to condition #13. Mr. Valanzola said that would be a problem for his client. He said they have gone as far as they can go by putting the sidewalk and landing on their site, but adding a condition to this special permit to require them to do work on another property would be overreaching. He said he is confident the sidewalk will be installed as represented to the board. Mr. Penney said he is concerned about condition #13 not being strong enough. Mr. Valanzola said he is confident about Weiner's commitment to the project, but his concern is about what might happen if Mansfield Crossing is owned by another party in the future. Ms. Collins said she would be uncomfortable adding a condition to this applicant's permit regarding off-site improvements. She said she thinks this applicant has gone as far as possible. Mr. Valanzola said his client does not want to install a crosswalk with nowhere to land on the other side because of liability issues. He said there is a signed agreement between his client and Weiner, which Mr. Burke has seen, but which cannot be made part of the special permit. Mr. Valanzola suggested there could be a condition in this special permit requiring this applicant to connect the crosswalk to a sidewalk, either on the Weiner property or on School Street. Mr. MacDonald asked why a sidewalk wasn't constructed on the Weiner side of School Street when Mansfield Crossing was permitted. Mr. Burke said there are wetland issues in that area, and public safety did not want a sidewalk that could connect pedestrians to Route 140 or Route 495. The board discussed deleting the last sentence of condition # 13 and replacing it with ''the applicant will connect to a sidewalk on the opposite side of School Street to the SR Weiner property or along the side of School Street." Motion: To approve the special permit as drafted and amended (Penney-McClanahan) Jodice - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments in terms of health, safety, convenience, general welfare and amenities. There will be no negative impacts on adjoining premises, neighborhood character and social structure, vehicular or pedestrian traffic, municipal services and the natural environment. There will be a positive fiscal impact. Penney - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments in terms of health, safety, convenience, general welfare and amenities. There will be no negative impacts on adjoining premises, neighborhood character and social structure, vehicular or pedestrian traffic, municipal services and the natural environment. There will be a positive fiscal impact. I appreciate the efforts of counsel during this process. Planning Board 2 10/28/2010 . -"~_._.__.__._,-----_.- T 111 Cleary - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments, there will be a positive impact on the tax base, and the public safety concerns have been addressed. Collins - In favor. The development is appropriate and will have a beneficial fiscal impact with new retail and office uses. I appreciate the care that has been put into the design of the buildings and the site. MacDonald - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments. There will be positive impacts to town and a benefit to public safety with the removal of the existing buildings. McClanahan - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments, and the public safety issues have been addressed. French - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments with improvements to the tax base, removal of the existing buildings will improve the character of the area, the architecture is appropriate to the abutting retail projects, this will complete the build-out of an area started with the other two retail projects, and the public safety issues have been addressed with the crosswalk/sidewalk and signage. All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (McClanahan-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To sign the special permit (McClanahan-MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 5.Specialf~l"JJ)itModificatio.PublicH~ring ....Kohl's Hours ofQperati()n- Matl$ft~ldCrossing The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. Attorney Peter Tamm, Goulston & Storrs, introduced Jeff Love, Kohl's Regional Manager and Brian Bissel, Conley and Associates. Attorney Tamm explained Kohl's application for a permanent change in hours. He said the board approved a temporary change in hours for the 2009 holiday season, which he believes was a success. Attorney Tamm said Mansfield Crossing is the only large retail use in town with restricted hours of operation, which he believes was intended to test the development's impacts on the community. He said Kohl's wants to increase convenience for its customers by having extended hours, especially during the holidays. Under the original special permit, all of the tenants in Mansfield Crossing have the opportunity to increase their hours with the permission of the Police Chief. Atttorney Tamm presented a traffic summary of the additional 2009 holiday hours, which concludes that there is a traffic impact, but the extension of hours during a busy holiday season will shift some of the traffic to later in the evening. Planning Board 3 10/28/2010 ill Attorney Tamm said the extended holiday hours in 2009 also brought an increase in employment opportunities; he said making this permanent change would bring approximately 1,500 new employee hours over a year. Attorney Tamm said this change would help to maintain the store's viability in a difficult economic time. Department Head Comments The clerk read memoranda from the Police and Fire Departments. Board Comment Mr. Jodice asked about language to prevent the transfer of this modification to another retailer. Mr. Tamm said the modification would only be for Kohl's; if another tenant moves in, the amended hours would not apply to them. Mr. Jodice asked about Kohrs community involvement. Mr. Love explained the company is involved in children's hospital efforts, community cleanups and school reading programs. He said community involvement is one of Kohl's "core values." Mr. Penney asked if there have been problems with the current operating hours. Mr. Tamm said is not aware of any issues raised during Mansfield Crossing's regular hours of operation or during the extended hours in 2009. Mr. Love said they have not had any public safety issues since they opened. Mr. Penney asked if Mr. Tamm's statement that no other retailer has restricted hours is true. Mr. Tamm said retailers of similar size in Mansfield do not have restricted hours. He said he understood why the board limited the hours of operation when Mansfield Crossing was permitted, because it did not know what the impact of such a large retail development would be. Mr. Burke said the board has not restricted hours of operation for other retailers, but did on Mansfield Crossing because of the scale of the project. Mr. Penney said the request is for 6 am to 12 pm during November and December, plus 12 Fridays and/or Saturdays throughout the year, with notice given to the Police Chief and Planning Director. Mr. Tamm said the request is consistent with the temporary 2009 holiday hours. He said ideally, Kohl's would have liked its national hours for this store, so this request is a compromise. He said Kohl's has received positive input about the extended hours from the community. Mr. Love said the store wouldn't necessarily be open 6 am to 12 am through the whole holiday season, but those hours would give them more flexibility as the season gets busy. Mr. Penney asked who enforces this type of restriction. Mr. Burke said the building inspector enforces the conditions of special permits. Planning Board 4 10/28/2010 !II Mr. Penney said he doesn't see a problem with the extended hours, but asked about the need to notify the Police Chief and Planning Director for the additional 12 weekends. Mr. Burke said it would be good for the town to have prior notice of those weekends, in case of complaints. Mr. Tamm said currently, retailers can be open extended hours with the permission of the Police Chief, and this proposal would simply provide the Chief and the Planning Director with advance notice. Mr. Tamm noted this change would not impact any other condition of the original special permit. Mr. Penney asked if the 12 weekends would be planned for the whole year, or if they would be spontaneous. Mr. Love said they probably wouldn't have all the dates scheduled at the beginning of the year, but would provide the town with advance notice. Mr. Cleary asked how many employees Kohl's has; Mr. Love said they have 120, with plans to add another 30-40 in the next few weeks for both the holiday season and the proposed extended hours. Mr. Cleary asked what the "holiday season" would be. Mr. Love said their plan is for extended hours during November and December. He said for additional dates outside those months, such as New Year's Day, they would talk to the Police Chief. Mr. Cleary asked if this amendment would eliminate the need for the Chief's approval; Mr. Tamm explained that if the extended hours are approved, they would not need the Chief s approval for the times specified. If they want to be open late on a 13th weekend or on days outside the "holiday season;' they would have to get the Chief s permission. Mr. Cleary suggested adding specific dates to the modification, such as November I through January 3, to clarify the "holiday season." Mr. Cleary asked if this would be setting a precedent. Mr. Burke explained condition #6 of the draft decision says this amendment does not obligate the board to grant similar requests from other retailers. He said the board may see requests from other large retailers asking for extended hours. Mr. Cleary suggested the applicant contact the Beautification Committee about getting involved in local projects. Mr. Love said he would like to talk about that. Ms. Collins said the change in hours is a reasonable request. Mr. MacDonald said one of the issues in the original permit was the residential abutters, most of whom are gone now, and asked if there were other issues that were considered when the board set the hours of operation. Mr. French said part of that decision was made because of the unknown impact ofa project of Mansfield Crossing's scale. Mr. McClanahan said he thinks the location of Kohl's, at the back of the site, will help with any additional traffic issues. Planning Board 5 10/28/2010 . ..~._._------_."--_. 1 111 Mr. Burke said he is comfortable with the proposed changes and recommended amending the special permit. Mr. Love said they would give the town at least one week's notice for the 12 extended hours weekends. Motion: To approve the special permit as drafted and amended (McClanahan-Penney) Jodice - In favor. This change will have no negative impact, which was proven during the trial period, and will have a positive fiscal impact. Penney - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments, and the change will help business during difficult economic times. Cleary - In favor. There are no negative impacts and will increases convenience. Collins - In favor. I am comfortable with the performance during the 2009 holiday trial period, the impacts will be negligible, and there will be a positive impact on jobs and on the viability of the site. MacDonald - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments with positive financial impacts and increased convenience, although I am concerned about setting a precedent. McClanahan - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments, and the 2009 trial worked out well. French - In favor. The trial provided the board with the information to make this decision, the change will provide additional employment opportunities and added convenience for shoppers. All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Cleary-Penney) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To sign the special permit (Collins-MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 1.6. . Public Comment 17./Aroundthe Table The board discussed issues regarding the Hatheway-Patterson site, and possible uses now that the cleanup is nearly complete, and issues regarding the train station and Route 106. Is. Discussion oflJaUof.Question #2-Ch.pter40B Mr. McClanahan said the question deals with the repeal of Chapter 40B. Mr. Burke said this was originally the "anti-snob zoning act" which set a goal of 10% affordable housing for each town in Massachusetts. If a town has 10%, it can deny affordable housing Planning Board 6 10/28/20 I 0 !11 applications and the developer would lose the right to go to Housing Appeals Court. He said many affluent communities had very small percentages of affordable housing, with large percentages in less affluent communities. Mr. Burke said the law was well- intentioned and has created a lot of affordable units, but he has seen it misused by some developers. He said there has been no objective study showing that affordable housing units harms other property values. Motion: To adjourn at 9:45 p.m. (McClanahan-Collins) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: November 10,2010 at 7:30 p.m. 13(JL AL (!d{ Signature of Clerk AJ 0 \J If ::/ 0 I 0 I Date of Approval Planning Board 7 10/28/20 I 0 111