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HomeMy WebLinkAboutplanningbrdmin04132011 Planning Board Minutes . iI' RECE'KVsE~FF'CE April 13, 2011 ro~~ h CLER Present: Tom French, Chair; Beth Ashman-Collins, Clerk, Mi.l ~'fCl{\ll~ 3~ Anthony Jodice, Shawn MacDonald, Don Cleary, Ralph Penne~~Alternate Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development MANSFtELD MASSACHUSETTS 11. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. I 2. Correspondence 1. Minutes February 16,2011 Motion: To approve as submitted (Cleary-Collins) Four in favor. MacDonald, Penney abstained. PASSES 2. Minutes March 16,2011 Motion: To approve as submitted (Penney-Cleary) Five in favor. Collins abstained. PASSES 3. March 23, 2011 letter from SRPEDD re: 2011-12 SRPEDD Commission appointee Motion: To reappoint Leonard Flynn as the board's representative to SRPEDD (Collins-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES 4. SPREDD Annual Awards Request for Nominations 5. The Beacon 6. Public Hearing notices Attleboro, Easton, Sharon Mr. Burke said Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, May 26; if a second night is necessary, it will be the next Tuesday, May 31. Mr. Burke said the board's zoning articles are the last ones on the warrant. Mr. Burke said the Capital Improvements Committee has voted its priorities and sent the recommendations to Finance Committee. He said Finance Committee will be talking about funding those items at its April 15 meeting. CIP discussed the fact that some debt will be coming off the books soon and it may be possible to use those funds for other capital items. CIP's first priority is the ambulance, followed by the field and track. [Mr. McClanahan arrived at this time] I 3. Form A (ANR) Plans 4. Special Permit Public Hearing - Commercial Parking Lot -905 South Main Street The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. Attorney Edward Valanzola explained the property has been transferred to Richard Brothers, LLC. Planning Board 4/14/2011 ,. AttorneY:YAlanz0la said their original plan had been to use the more of the property for parking for Comcast events, but the plan has been revised and the number of parking spaces redu.cedtcf.70, -The southernmost entrance will have an attendant to ensure only 70 vehicles are parked on the 'site. The cars will be directed to the back of the site to a second attendant who will collect the money, then to a third attendant who will ensure the cars are only parking in the spaces intended for Comcast events. At least one attendant will remain on site until the cars have left. The north border of the property will have a gate; the applicant is working with Comcast to use that gate as an access point to allow pedestrians direct access into the facility. There is a police detail now, which will continue. He said the parking area has to remain accessible to the business tenants on the site, some of which are open at night. Attorney Valanzola said concertgoers have been parking there now and jumping the fence to get into Comcast; there have been incidents of tailgating and vandalism. This would allow the landowner more control over the site. Attorney Valanzola said there isn't much parking south of the Comcast entrance, so this site will be able to accommodate the traffic coming from Norton. He said they would be willing to direct existing traffic to take a right only. He said they would also be willing to install a floodlight so drivers can see the detail officer. Board Comment The clerk read memos from Police, Fire and Conservation. Public Comment The clerk read a letter from Mrs. Helen Bielan, 900 South Main Street. Attorney Valanzola showed the board a photograph of a commercial parking area at Mrs. Bielan's daughter's lot, which he said is closer to Mrs. Bielan's house than Mr. Richard's lot. Attorney Valanzola said they would not be creating pedestrian traffic because the vehicles would be brought to the back of the lot and the pedestrian directed into Comcast rather than having to walk along South Main Street. He said currently, there are limos waiting and parents dropping off children in the XtraMart parking lot, so having the site designated as a parking area will allow his client more control over his property. Board Comment Mr. McClanahan asked if there is an agreement with Comcast for the gate access. Attorney Valanzola said they are close to an agreement and suggested it could be made a condition of the special permit. Mr. Cleary asked if the attendants would check concert tickets. Attorney Valanzola said they would only sell 70 parking tickets. Members of the board said they were concerned about the attendants checking concert tickets to avoid tailgating. Mr. Cleary asked about access to the businesses that are open in the evening. Attorney Valanzola said they would only have weeknight event parking after 5 p.m. If people are coming to Mockingbird Music, which gives evening lessons, the attendants will direct Planning Board 2 4/14/2011 11'11I them to that building. He said they could install a sign warning people their cars may be towed if they park in unauthorized areas. Mr. Cleary asked about lighting. Attorney Valanzola said there is sufficient lighting now for the office buildings, and they may have to add lighting at the gate/path area. . Attorney Valanzola said if there are tenants parked in the spaces intended for Comcast parking after 5 p.m., they will not be asked to move. The applicant will simply sell fewer event parking spaces. Ms. Collins asked who pays for the current police detail; Attorney Valanzola said XtraMart pays for that now. Ms. Collins asked if the floodlight would be permanent or temporary; Mr. Richard said it would be permanent. Ms. Collins asked about turning movements of vehicles leaving the site. Attorney Valanzola said they would direct traffic leaving the site during events to turn right. Attorney Valanzola said there have been problems with parents parking for hours at XtraMart waiting for their children to come out of Comcast. He said his client has been working with XtraMart and the police details to try to keep those people moving, and having the designated parking lot will help control that. Mr. Jodice said he is concerned about enforcement on this lot if there are people trespassing and vandalizing the landowner's property. However, he said that may not be a good reason to grant a special permit, and the board is required to look at a number of issues when deciding the permit. Mr. Valanzola said as far as pedestrian traffic, this lot would be one of the safest because of its location right next to Comcast. Mr. MacDonald asked if the north access to XtraMart stays open during Comcast events; Mr. Valanzola said it does because it is the primary access to that business. Mr. MacDonald said there may still be traffic problems coming off South Main Street. Attorney Valanzola said the floodlight, police detail and attendant should help that. Mr. MacDonald asked if a traffic study has been done for this site. Attorney Valanzola said it has not. Mr. French noted the other satellite parking lots were done before the zoning change and were permitted by the Board of Selectmen, not the Planning Board. Mr. MacDonald asked if the other satellite lots have multiple businesses associated with them; Mr. Burke said only the lot across the street has a business. Mr. Penney asked why this is a special permit. Mr. Burke explained commercial parking facilities are a special permit use. He said if the Planning Board grants a special permit to conduct the use, the applicant also needs an annual permit from the Board of Selectmen. Planning Board 3 4/14/2011 "11- Mr. Penney asked why this hearing has been continued so many times. Attorney Valanzola said the plan was revised, and the board was short-handed for several months. Mr. Penney asked why the entrances can't simply be blocked off at night; Attorney Valanzola said the business tenants have to be able to access the site, especially Mockingbird Music, which gives lessons at night. Mr. Penney asked how the southbound Route 495 ramp will affect traffic flow. Attorney Valanzola said he thought it would help. Mr. Penney asked how they would enforce the right turn out; Attorney Valanzola said the attendant would direct traffic toward Norton. Mr. Penney asked about hours of operation. Attorney Valanzola said they would not open for weekday parking until 5 p.m. to avoid conflicting with the tenants' parking needs. He said they will not park vehicles before 5 p.m. during the all-day events. He said on the weekends, they would conform with the Comcast parking lot hours. Mr. Penney asked how the no tailgating would be enforced; Attorney Valanzola said the attendants would enforce that, and they may install temporary signage. Mr. Penney asked how many concert events are held each summer at Comcast; Mr. Burke said around 30. Mr. Penney asked about the deal with Comcast for access through the gate; Attorney Valanzola said they are working on that with Comcast's attorney, and suggested making it a condition of the special permit. Mr. Penney asked if this is an attempt to curtail illegal parking or to create a new business. Mr. Valanzola said it is both. He added that this lot would not create more vehicle traffic; there would still only be a certain number of tickets sold at Comcast. Motion: To open and continue the scenic road public hearings for 155 Steams Avenue and 153 Stearns Avenue until the end of this hearing (McClanahan-Jodice) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To open and continue the Zoning By-Law amendments public hearing until after the scenic road public hearings (McClanahan-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke asked if cones would be enough for traffic control; Mr. Richard said they plan to use barrels. Mr. Burke asked if one attendant at closing time will be enough; Mr. Richard said that would be adjusted depending on the number of cars in the lot at closing time. Mr. Burke suggested signage to advise people there will be no tailgating or open fires and that illegally parked cars will be towed. Mr. French asked if the Board of Selectmen permit is granted annually; Mr. Burke said it is. He said he thinks the fee is based on the number of spaces. Mr. Cleary asked about buses; Mr. Richard said they do not plan to park busses. Planning Board 4 4/14/2011 11'11 Public Comment Bill Clemmey, 175 Essex Street, said there are already multiple uses on this site. He said Section 4.4.4.2 does not allow this because the parking uses will overlap. He showed the board photographs of tenants still parked on the site after 5 p.m. Mr. Clemmey said this project would need MEPA review, a new Waste Management plan and a Mass Highway plan. Mr. Clemmey said the problem with people parking at XtraMart is not going to be solved by this plan. He said that parking lot exit allows both left and right turns. Mr. Clemmey said insurance will not cover cars parked behind the building. Mr. Clemmey said this plan does not appear to address handicapped parking regulations. Karl Clemmey said his parking lot has been there 17 years and is 75 feet off Route 140. He said he does not allow parking without a ticket to the Comcast event for each person in the car. He said he had to provide a lighting plan for his parking lot. Mr. Clemmey said a flatbed tow truck could not get into this site. Mr. Clemmey said he had to do a traffic study for his parking lot, along with a MEP A plan. He said he employs 8-12 people at his lot, as well as one to two police officers. He said they clean their site every night. He said there are 11 businesses at 905 South Main Street and this is getting greedy. He said this will create a problem. Mr. French asked Mr. Clemmey how many spaces he has; Mr. Bill Clemmey said their permit is for 581, but they generally park around 250 cars. He said he doesn't see how three parking attendants could monitor the proposed lot, since some of the parking is on the other side of the building. Mr. Karl Clemmey said he has an attorney, who could not make the meeting, who also represents Mr. Souza across the street. Mr. Clemmey noted Mr. Souza pays detail officers to monitor their parking lot, which is not used as a commercial lot, to make sure there is no illegal parking. Mr. Karl Clemmey said this is a commercial parking lot, so the rules have to be followed. Attorney Valanzola said the photographs Mr. Bill Clemmey presented show the building at the front of the site, not the area where they plan to park. He said it is a commercial parking lot, but it is an incidental use to the buildings that are already there, so he does not believe he has to generate a traffic study, or a Mass Highway or MEP A study. He said they may have to do that if they were creating new parking areas. He noted the applicant could rent a space to a tenant who works at night, which may generate the same amount of traffic. Planning Board 5 4/14/2011 ,. Mr. Penney said the property was designed for commercial use and he is uncomfortable using the special permit process to solve a security issue. He said he is also uncomfortable with the Police Chiefs concerns. Attorney Valanzola said because the Selectmen's commercial parking lot license is annual, the Planning Board would have the opportunity to review the license each year. Mr. MacDonald said he thinks this would be more of a detriment than a benefit because it would cause a negative impact on vehicular circulation, and he is concerned about the opposition of the Police Department. Mr. French noted the board is required to consider a number of issues when deciding whether or not to grant a special permit. Mr. Jodice said he doesn't think this application meets most of those standards. Ms. Collins said she is concerned about the safety issues of adding additional turning movements at this location. Mr. Cleary said he understands the applicant's concerns about his property's security. He asked about sharing the parking spaces. Mr. Burke said the applicant has stated he does not plan to park Comcast events before 5 pm, when most of the tenants are gone. Mr. McClanahan said he understands there is a currently a problem on this site with Comcast parking, and said he doesn't think lot this would have a large impact. Mr. French asked what the fiscal benefit would be to the town. Attorney Valanzola said there would be an annual commercial parking lot fee, and it would have a positive impact on health, safety, convenience and general welfare because it would be taking traffic out of the XtraMart parking lot and taking pedestrian traffic from South Main Street. Mr. Burke said South Main Street can be a mess during Comcast shows, although Comcast and the satellite lots have improved over the years. He said he understands the concerns, but doesn't see the addition of this lot as being terribly detrimental. He said the Police Chief has been consistent in his opposition to satellite parking; the chief s concern is that spreading traffic and pedestrians out among several parking lots makes traffic and pedestrian control more difficult. Mr. Burke said he doesn't think 70 additional spaces will make a tremendous difference, but said he would rather see it as a controlled lot than an unmonitored live parking lot. Attorney Valanzola pointed out they are not creating any more parking spaces than exist currently, they are simply asking to use existing spaces at different times of the day. Mr. Penney said he doesn't think the board should issue a special permit to solve a security problem and suggested hiring a detail officer to prevent trespass. Mr. Cleary said he likes the fact that the commercial parking lot license will be reviewed every year. Planning Board 6 4/14/2011 ... Motion: To deny the special permit because it will be more of a detriment than a benefit, will have a negative impact on health, safety, convenience and general welfare; a negative impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic convenience; and will have a negligible fiscal impact (MacDonald-Penney) Penney - In favor of motion to deny. I do not see the benefits. This will be more of a detriment than a benefit, and will have a negative impact on health, safety, convenience and general welfare; will have a negative impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic convenience; and will have a negligible fiscal impact. MacDonald - In favor of motion to deny. This will be more of a detriment than a benefit, and will have a negative impact on health, safety, convenience and general welfare; will have a negative impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic convenience; and will have a negligible fiscal impact. J odice - In favor of motion to deny. There are safety, vehicle and pedestrian traffic concerns in this area, and the project would have a limited fiscal impact. Collins - In favor of motion to deny. While I see there are benefits to allowing commercial activity, in this case, especially with Police Chiefs concerns, I feel the detriments outweigh the benefits. This is a particularly difficult spot for traffic. Cleary - Opposed to motion to deny. I think this would help the pedestrian safety of the people parking there. McClanahan - Opposed to motion to deny. This would help existing safety problems. French - In favor of motion to deny based on the traffic issues and the Police Chief s concerns. I don't think vehicular and pedestrian safety will be adequate, and the project would have no significant fiscal impact. Five in favor. Two opposed. Motion to deny passes. Motion: To close the public hearing (Penney-Collins) All in favor. PASSES 15. Scenic Road Public Hearing -155 (Lot 1) Stearns Avenue - Einis The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. Burke showed the board a recent Form A plan that created this lot and Lot 3, the subject of the next public hearing. Mr. Burke explained the plan to remove 24 feet of stone wall for the installation of the driveway at the new lot. Mr. Einis said utilities will run through the same opening, if possible. He said he would like to leave two access points into the lot. Mr. French asked Mr. Burke if the requirement is to replace the stone wall by wrapping the material into the radius of the driveway. Mr. Burke suggested either blending the material into the radius ofthe driveway or using the material to fill in the gap in the wall further down Stearns Avenue. Planning Board 7 4/14/2011 ..- Mr. Einis said he would blend the 12 feet of material into each side of the radius of the driveway. Mr. Jodice said he would be uncomfortable having the wall material taken off town- owned property and suggested it be used to fill in the gap in the wall further down Steams A venue. Motion: To approve the scenic road application for the removal of 24 feet of stone wall. The stone wall materials shall be reset as a three foot (3') return at the proposed new driveway. The balance of the materials removed for the proposed 24-foot (24') driveway shall be reassembled as a wall in the existing gap in the stone wall along Stearns A venue to the southwest. (Jodice-Collins) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (McClanahan-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES 16.. Scenic Road Public Hearing -153 (Lot 3) Stearns Avenue - Powers The clerk read the public hearing notice. Michael Trowbridge, Hutchins-Trowbridge Associates, explained the proposal to remove 20 feet of wall and wrap the material into the radius of the new driveway. Motion: To approve the scenic road application for the removal of 20 feet of stone wall. A portion of the stone wall will be used to fill in the gap to the west. The balance will be used along the radius of the new driveway. (Penney-McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (McClanahan-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES !7.Public Hearing - Planning Board Zoning By-Law Amendments The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. Burke explained the proposed zoning articles came about after new town counsel reviewed the Zoning By-Law, who said the by-law is very complete, but pointed out a few items that should be cleaned up. Motion: To continue the discussion and vote to May II, 7:00 p.m. (Penney-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES I 8.. Public Comment !9.Ar6undthe Table 1.10. AdjournlIlent Motion: To adjourn at 9:45 p.m. (Penney-) All in favor. PASSES N;;en ~1011 at 7:00 p.m. Sig.l:1e of Clerk Lj-):j -~O II Date of Approval Planning Board 8 4/14/2011 11'.