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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_282012Planning Board Minutes (' _,a RFc", �D February 8, 2012 �'r 0( q Present: Tom French, Chair, Shaun MacDonald, Don Cleary jell Alternate Ralph Penney 2 Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development Motion: To appoint Mr. Cleary Acting Clerk (MacDonald- Penney) All in favor. PASSES 2, Correspondence 1. Dolan Estates mylar to be signed Motion: To sign the Dolan Estates mylar (MacDonald - Cleary) Three in favor. Pemrey abstained. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, Easton, Sharon 13. Form A (ANR) Plans 585, 581, "Lot 3" Elm Street — ANR Realty Trust, Gregory Abbott, Trustee The application seeks to create three lots where two currently exist. There are existing houses on 585 and 581 Elm Street. The newly created third lot lacks frontage, area and lot width and is labeled non - conforming. That land may become part of the Rolling Fields Village subdivision at a later date. Motion: To endorse the ANR Plan (Cleary- MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 109 -111 Chauncy Street/Highland Avenue — Christian & Feck Development Corp. The application seeks to create two lots where one currently exists. A Form A was endorsed in February 2011, but the developer has reconfigured the lots because of a Land Court issue. The lots are now more regularly shaped and the driveways placed on Highland Avenue. Variances were granted in August, 2011 for lot width, frontage and front yard setback. Mr. French noted the note on the plan says the variances have been "requested" and asked if it should be amended to indicate the variances have been "granted." Consensus of the board was to table the plan until it is revised. Mr. Penney asked about meeting with the Parking and Circulation Committee about the use of the parking enterprise finds. He said he would like to discuss the Planning Board's zoning articles with that board prior to Town Meeting. Mr. Crugnale showed the board a plan for the redevelopment of 2 -4 North Main Street. This site is in the B2 zone, which allows rowhouse /townhouse. He applied for a floor area ratio variance in September 2011; however, the ZBA was not in favor of that plan and it was withdrawn in November 2011. He plans to refile this plan for three three -story buildings, which will also require a floor area ratio variance. He said there is little on- street parking available, which will make retail difficult. Planning Board 1 3/1/2012 Mr. French asked about a potential tenant for the 900 square foot retail space. Mr. Crugnale said he has spoken to possible tenants, but the parking will be difficult. Mr. MacDonald asked about the on -site parking. Mr. Crugnale said the parking will be in the back of the buildings, with two garage spots tinder the townhouse units. He said fire trucks will be able to access three sides of the building. Mr. Cleary asked if any of the downtown overlay density incentives could help Mr. Crugnale with this project. Mr. Burke said it might be possible and suggested Mr. Crugnale look at that section of the by -law. Mr. French said he likes the look of the building, the retail component is good thing, and the mixed -use building is desirable in the long -term. He said he understands the parking issues in the area. Mr. Burke asked if the arch on the North Main Street elevation is a window; Mr. Crugnale said it is not. Mr. Burke asked if this plan includes rooftop decks; Mr. Crugnale said it does. He added each unit will have a balcony and rooftop access. The apartments in the building with retail space will be flats. Mr. Penney said he would love to see something done on this site. He asked if there has been an environmental assessment, since there used to be a dry cleaner on this site. Mr. Crugnale said he is looking into that. Mr. Penney asked about the potential for commercial on all three floors of one building. Mr. Crugnale said he would like to do that if he could find tenants, but there would be a parking issue. Mr. Penney said the residential and commercial uses would happen at different times of the day, so perhaps parking could be shared. Mr. Cleary said he likes the design and understands how difficult the parking will be for retail uses. Mr. MacDonald asked about facades. Mr. Crugnale said the buildings will have a variety of facades and details. Mr. Crugnale said he has spoken with the church across North Main Street, and has their support. [Mr. Cleary left the meeting at this time. At this time, three members remain and the board will continue the informal discussion and not take any votes.] 5. Discussion.with!Joe Mulkern re: Possible Citizens' Petition for Annual Town Meeting Attornev Ed ValanzoIn introduced Joe Mulkern. who is nr000sine to renovate the former chocolate factory on Oakland Street into 108 rental units. Planning Board 2 2/9/2012 Mr. Valanzola explained the building is in the Industrial 2 zone, which does not allow multi- family residential uses. However, Section 3.7.1, Older Building Reuse, allows an older building to be converted for uses which are allowed in the underlying zone. Mr. Valanzola presented the board with possible zoning by -law amendments to allow this residential use in the industrial zone. In the first, the Planning Board would be the special permit granting authority for uses not allowed in the underlying zoning district. The second would require a Zoning Board of Appeals finding. Mr. Mulkern said the existing building is 227,000 square feet on 14.9 acres, and his plan is to bring it back to its original size of 180,000 square feet. He explained he is putting a package together for the town's review, and plans to apply for federal tax credits under a historic renovation program, and that application has to be filed by April 1. Mr. Mulkern said it is unlikely the building will ever go back to an industrial use. Mr. Valanzola said he thinks this is exactly the type of redevelopment the Older Building Reuse by -law was intended for. He said he thinks this residential use would be less intrusive than the industrial use. Mr. Mulkern said he has teamed with Winn Development, which specializes in historic renovations. Mr. Burke said the Older Building Reuse by -law was adopted in 1989 and was intended to be used for the redevelopment of buildings built before 1953. He said he thinks Mr. Valanzola's proposed change to Section 3.7.1 is helpful because it clarifies the buildings to which the by -law applies. Mr. Burke said he is concerned about the ZBA finding being too low a standard. Mr. Valanzola said the alternative would be to make it a Planning Board special permit. Mr. Burke said he is not certain the Planning Board has the authority to make a finding on the use, and asked if that would be too close to a use variance. Mr. Valanzola said the Zoning By -Law gives the ZBA authority over non- conforming uses, and since the existing use of this building is a conforming use, it may be better being a Planning Board special permit. Mr. Burke said he thinks the Planning Board would be the better permitting authority for this type of development, since it is more familiar with things like lighting, parking, landscaping, etc. Mr. Penney said this is a piece of commercial property that provided jobs and taxes and did not use many town services, and was concerned that redeveloping it as residential would add traffic to an already dense area, as well as add students to the school system. Mr. Mulkern said these will be studio and one - bedroom apartments designed for younger people rather than families, in a location close enough to walk to the train station. Mr. Mulkern said he has had engineers in the building over the last few weeks, and they are concerned that without maintenance, the wooden structure would quickly deteriorate and have to be torn down. Planning Board 3 2!912012 Mr. Mulkern said the outbuildings would be removed and the main building would be brought back to its original condition. Mr. MacDonald asked about the size of the units; Mr. Mulkern said they would be approximately 800 -1,000 square feet each. Mr. MacDonald asked the footprint of the existing building; Mr. Mulkern said it is approximately 160'x80'. He said there will be a lot of open space. Mr. Burke said he likes Mr. Valanzola's draft amendment but wants to make sure the Attorney General will approve the article if it passes at Town Meeting. Mr. Valanzola said lie would work on something more definitive for the next meeting. Mr. Penney asked about the possibility of some type of commercial use. Mr. Mulkern said he does not plan a commercial aspect to this project, and does not think it would be allowed under the historic tax credit program. Mr. French suggested the building would be a good place for artists' lofts. Mr. Mulkern said he would bring some renderings to the February 29 meeting. Mr. French noted the warrant closes on March 1. Mr. Valanzola said he would have an article prepared for the February 29 meeting, make any changes the board suggests and file it the next day. Mr. Burke suggested there are a lot of older buildings, like churches and large Victorian - era houses, which may be more than 2,000 square feet, and suggested raising the building size to 5,000 square feet. Mr. Burke explained the Planning Board's two draft Town Meeting articles: 1) to move $300,000 from the parking enterprise fund to create the 25% design to get the train station area access project on the TIP; 2) and to put some fiords from the parking enterprise fund into that new account each year. Mr. Burke said the Parking and Circulation Committee would also like to expand the use of the parking enterprise fund to be able to use it for downtown parking issues, like the Fales Oil site. Mr. Burke said he thinks a 25% design for access to the train station will easily cost $300,000. He said not increasing traffic density to the neighborhoods may mean looking at something like a flyover or an overpass from the Winthrop Street lot, which would use property the town already owns. Mr. Penney asked about widening Route 106. Mr. French said that would be a huge project involving a lot of property takings. Mr. Penney said lie thinks the town has to begin this project somewhere, since train station traffic is only going to get worse because more people from surrounding communities use it. Planning Board 4 2/9/2012 Mr. Penney asked if the Board of Selectmen has been discussing this issue. Mr. Burke said it has not been, but he has brought the Planning Board's discussions to the Town Manager's attention. Mr. Burke said the Town Manager would like the Planning Board to support the Traffic and Circulation Committee's proposal to use parking enterprise funds for the Fales Oil site project. Mr. Burke explained the first draft Planning Board article is for $300,000 from the parking enterprise account to fund the design plans, and the second is to establish an account with an annual deposit for long -term train station area access improvements. The board discussed possible changes to the draft articles. Mr. Penney asked what the opposition at Town meeting will be. Mr. French said he thinks people understand this has been a problem for years, will only get worse, and the town has to begin working on it. Mr. French said there may be questions at Town Meeting about the need for both the $300,000 and the annual deposits. Mr. Penney suggested making it clear in the second warrant article this is a long -term plan, and while it is a small amount annually, the intention is to create an account to accumulate money to cover the town's portion of construction funding. Mr. Penney asked if this would deal with the acquisition of properties in the area; Mr. French said it would not. Mr. Penney said this project would have to be done in a phases. Mr. Penney suggested adding language to first article that the plan would utilize and build on existing studies. Mr. Penney suggested changing the second article to deposit 20% of the parking enterprise account, rather than 10 %, annually. Public Comment Mr. French said he has attended several Strategic Plan meetings, in which Dr, Mull using the subcommittees to get people to think about what is important to the town. Motion: To adjourn at 9:00 p.m. (Pemiey- in favor. PASSES Next meeting: February 29, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. ignature ofClerk i' Date of Approval Planning Board 5 2/9/2012