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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_11282012Planning Board Minutes UIED November 28,2012 (h i ti ]1i.1_iyk% f!6' F ECG Present: Tom French, Chair, Beth Ashman - Collins, Clerk, Michael McCI Mffl ny o Don Cleary, Ralph Penney, Cheryl Collins 2 Alternates: Rod Oreste i Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development, Jennifer Davis, Admit nsY Secretary 2. Corresponlenee 1. November 7, 2012 minutes Motion: To approve as amended (Cleary- Penney) All in favor. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, North Attleboro, Norton, Sharon 3. Rolling Fields subdivision plan. Mr. Burke explained the board approved the plan earlier in the fall, but the fourth member who voted on the decision resigned right after the decision before signing the plan. One more signature is needed for the plans to be recordable. Mr. French noted this is an administrative process and does not necessarily mean the member who signs supported the proposal. Ms. Collins said she would sign the plans. 3. corm A (ANR) an 4., Plannin`g73oard WoilcshoP Mr. French said the board has discussed a number of possible zoning issues it may want to bring to 2013 Annual Town Meeting. He suggested taking them one at a time rather than attempting to discuss everything at once. Mr. Burke suggested the TOD discussion will take a whole meeting. L Cabot Business Park (PBD) Zoning By -Law Amendments A. Linkage B. Floor Area Ratio in PBD and I1 C. Density Bonus D. Subcompact Parking Spaces Mr. Burke said there was a lot of discussion about the business park during the Strategic Planning process. He presented the board with draft Zoning By -Law amendments focusing on adding density without losing the character of the business park. He said he is not proposing changes to the open space requirement, but is proposing density increases for by -right uses like research and development to maximize height, reduce parking requirements and allow greater use of compact parking spaces. He said the changes are encouraged to allow businesses to go vertical and encourage the reuse of existing space for offices. [Mr. Oreste arrived at this time] Planning Board November 28, 2012 Mr. French said a change to the FAR would allow larger buildings, and without a change to the open space, that will be accomplished by building up. Mr. Burke explained the Floor Area Ratio in the Planned Business District is .60 for Office uses and .40 for Other Non - Residential uses; the proposal is to increase Office FAR to .75 and Other Non - Residential to .60. Mr. Burke said the proposal also adds FAR for several new uses, including Research and Development, Biotechnology, Light Manufacturing and General Manufacturing. He explained he included General Manufacturing because that use is currently allowed in the PBD by right, but he pointed out many of those businesses are water intensive. Mr. Penney suggested narrowing the definition of General Manufacturing. Mr. Burke suggested the FAR could be left at .40. Mr. Jodice asked if the amount of water use could be restricted. Mr. Penney said a water- intensive use would be assessed a large tie -in fee. Mr. Burke said DEP regulations would require certain uses to clean their water before discharging it to the system. Mr. Penney asked if there are use restrictions on the business park properties; Mr. Burke said there may be some from the park's original covenants. Mr. Penney said in the 1990s, when the park was actively managed, they met with the Board of Selectmen a couple of times a year; however, now that the management group is gone, the park is no longer managed by one company. Mr. Burke said there are a couple of companies that own multiple properties. Mr. Penney asked if the town has discussed the maintenance issue with the business park owners. Mr. Burke said there was an article on the 2012 Special Town Meeting warrant to establish a business improvement district for the business park, but there was no quorum at STM. I-Ie said the Board of Selectmen would have to decide whether to include the same article on the 2013 Annual Town Meeting warrant. Mr. Penney asked about the proposed building height; Mr. Burke said 75 feet, about five stories, is currently allowed in the PBD. He said before setting that height, there had been discussion about allowing 90 feet along the highways, but the board decided that would be too high. Mr. Burke said he would not recommend increasing the FAR for General Manufacturing to .75. Mr. Burke said parking is currently 3.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross building area, which he said is a lot for an office use, and suggested 2 spaces per 1,000 square feet. The Zoning By- Law currently requires 30% subcompact parking spaces, so the standard 19 -foot long parking space may be larger than necessary. He suggesting increasing the subcompact spaces or giving businesses density bonuses for things like charging stations and rooftop gardens. Mr. Burke used the Chrysler building at 550 Forbes Boulevard as an example of increasing density and decreasing parking requirements. The building is one story, about 228,000 square feet, with warehouse and office uses. The site is almost 20 acres, so the existing FAR is about .28; the allowed FAR is .40. There is parking all around the building, mostly for tractor - trailers, and the site has a rail siding and several drainage basins. The existing building is about 4.5 acres and covers about one quarter of the site, and the rest is parking and undeveloped. Because of the Planning Board November 28, 2012 shape it has been difficult to utilize the back of the site. Mr. Burke said if the warehouse use were eliminated and the building removed, a 75 -foot height and .75 FAR would result in a five - story building with a 300'x350'footprint, a reduction of about half of the existing footprint. A green roof would further reduce that footprint. With two spaces per 1,000 square feet, there would be about 1,200 parking spaces; increasing the allowed subcompact spaces would result in 48 additional spaces on the same amount of impervious surface. Mr. Cleary asked if a green roof would still be impervious surface; Mr. Burke said it would be, but it would detain and clean the water before it goes into the ground. He said the large detention basins currently in the parking lots could be put underground. He said the leftover stormwater could be used as a grey water system in the building. Mr. Burke said manufacturing uses are decreasing because of the way supply chain methods are changing, so warehousing uses are changing. Mr. Burke showed the board a 2006 aerial photograph of a former Motorola building on West Street, which had too much parking even when the economy was good. Ms. Ashman - Collins asked if there is a landscaping requirement for the business park; Mr. Burke said there is not, but the existing landscaping is a result of the park's original covenants. Ms. Ashman- Collins said the landscaping is one of the things that make the business park so attractive. Mr. Burke said the park was built in the 1960s and 70s, so it is a mature facility that has been well- maintained. Mr. French asked to what uses the two spaces per 1,000 square feet would apply; Mr. Burke said it would be for business uses over 25,000 square feet. Mr. Burke said increasing the amount of horizontal parking doesn't bring much value to a business, but a parking structure would decrease the impervious surface while providing employee parking. Mr. Cleary asked if those parking structures should be restricted to employees to prevent them from becoming commercial parking lots. Mr. Burke said the by -law currently allows a business to use off -site parking within 500 feet of the business. Mr. French said he is not entirely in favor of the proposed 50% subcompact parking spaces. Mr. Burke said he used full -size parking spaces for his area calculations. Mr. Jodice asked about the 2% payment in the Linkage Special Permit section. Mr. Burke said that was adopted 20 years ago based on what cities like Boston and Cambridge have, and has never been used. He said he thinks there are other ways to provide businesses incentives, such as the green building techniques. Planning Board November 28, 2012 At this time, the Planning Board joined the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee at the Board of Selectmen's meeting. Mr. French explained the board has been discussing a number of possible zoning amendments that came out of the Strategic Planning process, including the Cabot Business Park, B 1B2 Downtown, B3 changes, a possible new B4 zone and site plan. Mr. Burke said the Strategic Plan looked at the community's assets and how to best utilize them; and one possible methods is through zoning changes. The board has been discussing changes to density in the business park and how to bring greater value to the park by encouraging the transition from warehouse to office uses in more modern buildings. Mr. Burke used the Chrysler warehouse as an example of a building in the business park whose assessed value has fluctuated, and which has provided high - paying jobs for a number of years. However, he said that is changing because of the way supply chain methods have changed, Mr. Burke said the proposed increase in Floor Area Ratio is intended to provide building owners with more flexibility and provide them with the option to build up. Mr. Burke said the board has looked at the parking ratio in the PBD, which is currently 3.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. He said that is a lot of parking for office uses and suggested two spaces per 1,000 square feet would be more, realistic. Mr. Burke said the board has discussed parking structures in the PBD, which are allowed as commercial facilities in several zones, but not in the PBD. The proposal would allow structured parking in the PBD and not count it toward FAR. Mr. Burke said the proposal also includes an increase in density in the PBD to .75, with a bonus for green building techniques up to .85. He said the density bonus makes more sense than the linkage payment, and the green techniques will make the buildings more sustainable. Mr. Burke said the board has discussed increasing subcompact parking spaces. Currently, 30% is allowed by right, and the proposal is to allow up to 50% subcompact spaces by right. He explained that in a parking lot with 1,000 parking spaces, allowing 50% subcompact spaces would result in an additional 48 spaces with no more impervious surface. Mr. Burke said the proposal includes density changes for Research and Development, Light Manufacturing and General Manufacturing, which are currently allowed uses, to allow a density similar to office uses. Planning Board November 28, 2012 The group discussed business parks and uses in towns like Burlington and Devens. Mr. Burke explained Devens is unique because most of the development is either on vacant land or is town - controlled, and the town determines the uses it wants and pre- permits the site. Mr. Annino said that is more like a Planned Unit Development than a redevelopment of an existing business park. Walter Wilk, Finance Committee, said it is important to make the business park as flexible as possible so it can compete with places like Burlington. Mr. Annino said he thinks Mansfield makes the process very easy. Mr. Wilk asked if the business park owners feel that way, and suggested having this discussion with them. Mr. Aptowitz suggested including staff in that discussion. Mr. Burke said he met with Prologis representatives during the Strategic Plan process, who said they have had a good experience in Mansfield. I-Ie said Prologis is selling their buildings because they are getting out of the northeast. Mr. French said the increased FAR to increase allowed density and the amended parking requirements are ways to allow larger buildings and therefore to increase value in the business park. He added green building techniques like roof gardens and shared parking are also good ways to encourage growth. Mr. Ross said solar arrays should be reviewed with the Light Department because there is a limit to how much solar can be installed. He also suggested looking at drainage going off site and working to avoid runoff. Mr. Kozlowski asked how Mansfield's FAR requirements compare to competing business parks. Mr. Burke said the town should help the business park be competitive, but should also hry to maintain the identity of the park. He said business parks in places like Burlington have expanded significantly because of things like proximity to highways and train stations, which Mansfield also has. Mr. Moran said the Northeast is no longer a viable distribution area, and the buildings in the park will require major renovations and rehabilitation. He said he is concerned Mansfield may be behind in terms of supporting and encouraging business. Mr. Kozlowski said lie would like to see action on this in the spring in order to increase the industrial tax base and avoid falling behind on the budget. Mr. McClanahan agreed, but said the changes will not happen overnight. Mr. Jodice said it will be important to educate residents about the proposed changes so they are not seeing them for the first time at Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Aptowitz asked about building height. Mr. Burke explained the maximum height is currently 60 feet where industrial abuts a residential zone or use, and 75 feet elsewhere in the Planning Board November 28, 2012 business park. He said the board has discussed 90 feet in the past, but decided that was too high. Mr. Aptowitz said he wouldn't want to limit business options as buildings are renovated. Mr. Annino said the height will impact the character of the community, so we should be careful to balance aesthetics with economics. Mr. Moran said he agrees residents have to be educated about the proposed changes in advance of Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Wilk said the Budget Subcommittee has discussed trying to increase revenues from the business park, downtown and train station area to help the residential tax base. Mr. Wilk asked about the role of the Conservation Commission. Mr. Kozlowksi said the Board of Selectmen are planning a discussion with the commission, so this can be added. Mr. French said he thinks this discussion will help put the zoning issues on the front burner as something that will help the community's economic situation. Mr. Annino said economics should not be the only consideration when considering and adopting zoning. Mr. Burke said all changes to the town's landscape will impact value, and lie wants those changes to be positive. Ms. Ashman- Collins said she thinks this proposal will help to shift businesses in the park from warehouse to office uses, so it will be positive. Mr. Wilk said he thinks the business park is the appropriate place for larger buildings. Mr. Ross said the town has to recognize the market is changing, there are some empty buildings in the park and these proposals are in line with the Strategic Plan. He suggested meeting again when the Planning Board proposal is at 50% to discuss how to market the changes to Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Penney said he likes that idea, but said the board would welcome any suggestions before that point. He suggested placing the zoning articles earlier on the warrant. At this time, the Planning Board returned to its regular meeting. Mr. French said this is a good opportunity to get the zoning changes done. Mr. McClanahan suggested holding a public event with the Board of Selectmen, similar to the Strategic Plan charrette, in order to get the word out. Mr. Penney suggested getting the Board of Selectmen to work on the outreach efforts; Mr. French said Town Meeting looks to the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee to make recommendations on these issues. I-Ie said zoning amendments are difficult because they require a 2I3 vote to pass. The board discussed ways to get information about the zoning issues out to the public. Mr. French said the zoning changes will help to increase the town's commercial tax base. Mr. Penney suggested sharing the workshop agendas with the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Jodice suggested the board use every opportunity it Planning Board November 28, 2012 gets to talk to people about the connection between the zoning changes and the town's revenues. Mr. Penney asked Mr. Burke to stay in touch with the Town Manager about the zoning changes. Mr. Cleary asked about the Conservation Commission by -laws; Mr. Burke said there are state and local by -laws. He asked about the possibility of waiving conservation requirements in the PBD. Ms. Ashman - Collins said that was unlikely, since the commission is responsible for protecting all the wetland areas in town. Mr. Karl Clemmey suggested a sliding scale for open space asked about tying open space to FAR bonuses. Mr. Penney things that make the business park so attractive. Mr. Frene) roadways and the buildings set back from the road also pi'd AW Clermney said Mansfield Crossing is assessed at $54,millio: been if the board's proposal to change it to PBD had,--;, been s Mr. Karl Clenuney said the likes the idea of contacting it e it Ashman- Collins noted that when the TIFs were coming Uef . a lot of their employees to attend. The 6'' discussed ways owners involved. _.......: on the use. Mr. French ell,space is one of the the which is less ped boulevard Mr. Karl would have ihpark building owners. Ms. n Meeting, the companies got the industrial park building Ms. Collins asked if it would£be appropriate fo>`a hOat d mein, er'to speak to people about things the Planning Board drscusses dgnng meetings Mr. French sard if the member identifies themselves as a resrdent,T ather than s representing the Planning Board, it would be fine. Mr. McClanahan noted`ev'erylkutrg the board discusses `i's, #pall of a public meeting. Idl Mr. Oreste sgq Br Mr, urke arld Mi. French drd a`good job at the Board of Selectmen's meeting. 5 .. B at l0 l 0 p.m. ( MdClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES meeting: December 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. )2,12--1-2 Date of Approval Planning Board November 28, 2012