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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_4112012Planning Board Minutes ECEIVED April 11, 2012 1''''' f'r ` " �,`FFICE Present: Tom French, Chair, Michael McClanahan, Tony Jodice, Don Cleary, Shawn "E "� MacDonald Zff ?2 .:UN 20 P Alternates: Ralph Penney, Rod Oreste 2 So Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Admin)nstiati�,e.r ' = Secretary Motion: To appoint Mr. McClanahan Acting Chairman and Mr. Cleary Acting Clerk (Jodice - MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES Article 41 - DiMascio Drive and Shea Circle Mr. Burke said the punch lists are substantially complete and recommended a positive recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. There are a number of minor issues to be completed, and the town will retain sufficient surety to insure their completion. Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen a positive recommendation on the acceptance of DiMascio Drive and Shea Circle as a public way (Jodice- MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES 3, Correspondence 1. March 28, 2012 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Cleary- Penney) Mr. Penney noted the Board of Selectmen did not vote to support the Planning Board's train station access study article, but rather voted to amend the article's wording based on town counsel's recommendation. Four in favor. One abstention. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, Easton, Norton, Sharon 3. The Beacon [Mr. Oreste arrived at this time] Article 23 — Planning Board article to allow a one -time transfer of $200,000 from the Commuter Parking Enterprise Account to establish a Commuter Rail Access Improvement Account. Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 23 to Annual Town Meeting (Penney- Jodice) All in favor. PASSES Article 41— Citizens' Petitions for Street Acceptance — DiMascio Drive and Shea Circle Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 41 to Annual Town Meeting (Jodice - Penney) All in favor. PASSES Planning Board 1 6!712012 Article 46 — Citizens' Petition to authorize the Board of Selectmen to auction to the highest bidder an approximately 12.7 -acre parcel of vacant land on Essex Street (Map 47, Lot 26). Mr. Burke explained the town typically sells land for no less than the appraised value plus the cost of appraisal. Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 46 to Aimual Town Meeting (Jodice - Penney) All in favor. PASSES Mr. MacDonald told the board he will be resigning due to family and work obligations. The board members wished him well. Mr. Penney asked about progress on the train station; Mr. Burke said he will be attending a CEDS meeting later this week, which will be the first step in getting on the funding list. [Mr. French arrived at this time] Mr. Burke said the regional wastewater treatment plant will be added to the CEDS funding list. He explained DEP has added new requirements to qualify for a zero interest loan, including a build -out study to ensure the capacity of the plant will not be exceeded. He said Mansfield, Norton and Foxboro will work with SRPEDD and MAPC to work on those requirements. He said the difference in interest between a 0% loan and the 2% SRF loan would be between $9 -11 million. Mr. Cleary said he attended a TIF meeting this evening. There are no new TIFs; two have expired and the town is beginning to see significant gains on the older TIFs. The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, explained the plan for the removal and relocation of 21 feet of stone wall for a driveway on the west side of Gilbert Street (Lot 3 on the "Plan of Proposed 3 Lot Construction on Gilbert Street" dated November 23, 2011 and revised March 13, 2012.) Mr. Maloon said there are existing breaks in the stone wall for Lots 1 and 2 that will be used for driveways, so stone wall will only be removed for Lot 3. Mr. French noted there is a 40 -foot oak tree near the proposed driveway for Lot 1 and suggested relocating the driveway to avoid sight distance issues. Mr. Marcheselli said they could move the driveway and remove and repair the wall as necessary. Mr. Maloon said the driveway could move about 20 feet to the northwest. Mr. Jodice said he doesn't think the board should require scenic road applicants to wrap the stone wall into the driveway. He said he wouldn't want the town to have to maintain Planning Board 2 6/7/2012 the wall on someone's property. Mr. Maloon said on a road like Gilbert Street, the stone wall is very often the property line, so the homeowners would own the wall. Motion: To approve the removal of 21 feet of stone wall on Gilbert Street for the driveway of proposed Lot 3 and the removal approximately 20 feet of stone wall for the driveway of proposed Lot 1, using the stones to replace the gaps in the wall as described on the "Plan of Proposed 3 Lot Construction on Gilbert Street" dated November 23, 2011 and revised March 13, 2012, prepared by RIM Engineering Co, Inc. (McClanahan - Penney) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Cleary- MacDonald) All in favor. PASSES S.- 47 and 48 - Citizens' Petition Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles Public Hearing — 3.7.1 Older Building Reuse and 3.3.4, Multiple Residence --Joe, Mulkern s The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. Article 47 — Citizens' Petition to change the Schedule of Principal Use Regulations (pages 24 and 25 of the Zoning By -Law) to allow Multiple Residence in the Industrial 2 (I2) Zone as a special permit use in accordance with Section 3.7.1, Older Building Reuse; and to amend Section 3.7.1, Older Building Reuse as follows: 3.7.1 Older Building Reuse: The Planning Board may grant a special permit to convert (i) any building containing more than two thousand (2,000) square feet of floor area and built prior to February, 1953, (ii) a public school building, (iii) or other municipal building in its entirety for uses (A) allowed in the district in which it is located or (B) allowed by Special Permit in conformance with this section, regardless of development density provided (1) there is sufficient parking in accordance with Section 4.4 of this by -law, (2) the Planning Board finds that the site, architectural and landscape plans and conditions of approval are sufficiently advantageous to the Town to grant a special permit, and 3) no additions to the building are allowed, except for minimal additions necessary to comply with building, safety and health codes, or for the reasonable use of the building. Article 48 — Citizens' Petition to change the Schedule of Principal Use Regulations (pages 24 and 25 of the Zoning By -Law) to allow Multiple Residence in the Industrial 2 (I2) Zone as a special permit use in accordance with Section 3.7.1, Older Building Reuse; and to amend Section 3.7.1, Older Building Reuse as follows: 3.7.1 Older Building Reuse: The Planning Board may grant a special permit to convert (i) any building containing more than two thousand (2,000) square feet of floor area and built prior to February, 1953, (ii) a public school building, (iii) or other municipal building in its entirety for uses (A) allowed in the district in which it is located regardless of development density provided (1) there is sufficient parking in accordance with Section 4.4 of this by -law, (2) the Planning Board finds that the site, architectural and landscape plans and conditions of approval are sufficiently advantageous to the Town to grant a special permit, and 3) no additions to the building are allowed, except for minimal additions necessary to comply with building, safety and health codes, or for the reasonable use of the building or (B) Planning Board 3 6/7/2012 allowed by special permit in conformance with the provisions of Section 5.5 of this by -law and the density criteria outlined in this Section 3.7.1. Attorney Edward Valanzola, 121 North Main Street, explained the two versions of the amendment, Article 47 and 48; Article 47 provides for a Planning Board special permit through Sections 3.7.1 and 5.5. Article 48 provides for a special permit through Section 3.7.1. Attorney Valanzola said he would be comfortable with the board sending a positive recommendation to town meeting on either version of the article. Mr. French said this amendment is not particular to any project, but is a by -law change that would address any building that complies with the new by -law. Mr. Valanzola agreed, but said there has been a lot of misinformation about the property his client is involved with and asked the Planning Board to keep an open mind. Mr. French asked which version of the by -law works the best. Mr. Valanzola said both versions work, but the second is clearer because it requires a Planning Board special permit. Mr. Burke said he has discussed both articles with Mr. Valanzola, and said if the by -law were to be amended, he would be more comfortable if it references Section 5.5, which is the way Article 47 reads. Mr. Cleary said this by -law would be another tool for the board to use. Mr. Jodice asked what other properties would be effected by this by -law. Mr. Valanzola said there are a few municipal buildings, the chocolate factory on Oakland Street and Richardson Manufacturing on Otis Street that could be affected. Mr. Jodice asked if there are any other buildings on Oakland Street that would be affected by the by -law. Mr. Burke said lie does not believe there would be. Mr. Jodice asked the reasons for zoning different areas I2 and I3. Mr. Burke said the intent was to encourage and variety of uses in I3. The I2 zones are more scattered, including West Mansfield and the Ryan- Elliot Industrial Park on Maple Street. Mr. Burke said the 1989 Master Plan Committee also decided to make some industrial properties residential, which is how Tracy Circle off Branch Street was permitted. Mr. Valanzola noted this is not a rezoning article, so whatever buildings this article might apply to would retain their current zoning. The parcels would remain whatever they are currently zoned, and this by -law would allow landowners to apply for a special permit for the use. He said even if that special permit were granted, the land would remain industrial. He said the special permit application would apply only to the existing building footprint and would not impact the underlying land. Mr. Oreste said this would allow the board would take the special permit applications on a case -by -case basis and apply all the standards of Section 5.5. Mr. French noted the public hearing is not specific to a parcel of land, but will impact a number of properties in town. Mr. Penney said the applicant has proposed the by -law with a specific project in mind. Mr. Valanzola said some of the department head Planning Board 4 6/7/2012 comments address a specific project, and the Finance Committee's memo says there will be 100 new children in the schools. Mr. Valanzola said he thinks that number is based on misinformation. He said the Oakland Street proposal would have 30 two - bedroom units, which would not have that many children. He said there have been a number of newspaper articles that have provided incorrect information, which he said several of the department head comments appear to be based on. Mr. Penney said he does not believe converting industrial land to residential land is good for the town. Mr. Valanzola said that would be one of the issues the board would have to consider if this by -law were to pass and a special permit were filed. The clerk read memos from the Finance Committee, Assessor's, Fire, Police and School Committee. Mr. Valanzola said the School Committee memo indicates it was unable to get any information on the article, but he said they could have contacted him. He said the information the School Committee appears to have based its memo on is erroneous. Mr. Valanzola said a project with 30 two - bedroom apartments would not result in 100 additional children in the school system. He said the special permit process would allow the board and department heads to address a specific permit application. Board Comment Mr. Oreste said he thinks the question the board should focus on is whether it would be good for the town to give the Planning Board more discretion on special permit projects. Mr. Penney said one of the outcomes of the charrette with Dr. Mullin was the ide the town needs more industrial uses. Mr. Valanzola said lie agrees, but older buildings may not be the best place to address that need. He said any applicant under a new by -law would have to come back to the board; this is simply a mechanism to allow the first step. Mr. Jodice said he would hate for the town to lose the ability for industrial uses. Mr. Valanzola said this article would help to preserve older historical buildings. Mr. Jodice said he would like the ability to do mixed -use development. Mr. Valanzola said he thinks the chocolate factory property, for example, could have a mixed -use component. Larry Curtis, President, Wynn Development, said they are doing a mixed use project in Lowell and wouldn't rule out a mixed -use component on the chocolate factory property, but not necessarily in the building. He said the redevelopment of this building would provide construction jobs. Mr. Penney said those would be short-term jobs, and he would rather see long -term industrial jobs in town. Mr. French asked if the by -law would allow mixed -use in the building. Mr. Burke said Section 3.7.2 describes mixed residential/business use, which would not be allowed under this proposed by -law. He noted that question is beyond the scope of this public hearing and the board should make its recommendation based on what was advertised. Mr. Jodice asked what the board's liability would be if a special permit application came in for the residential redevelopment of an older building and the board denied it because Planning Board 5 6/7/2012 there was no mixed -use component. Mr. Burke said the board could not act arbitrarily and deny an application based on something that is not included in the by -law. Mr. Jodice asked if the by -law could be amended. Mr. Valanzola said they would be willing to add 3.7.2, mixed -use; Mr. Burke said he thinks that would go beyond the scope of the public hearing notice. Mr. Oreste asked if the special permit would only allow older building reuse for a residential use. Mr. Burke said that is what this amendment is proposing. Mr. Mulkern asked if the remainder of the land could be separated from the building and rezoned. Mr. Valanzola said that would have to be done separately at Town Meeting. He noted the remaining land will still be industrial, so one of the surrounding industrial uses may be able to use it in the future. Mr. Cleary said this proposed by -law is a tool to allow the board to listen to future redevelopment proposals. Motion: To close the public hearing (McClanahan - Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Jodice said he is concerned this by -law does not allow mixed -use redevelopment. Mr. Valanzola suggested leaving the second article on the warrant, but amending it on the floor so it includes a mixed -use component. Mr. Burke said he thinks leaving residential in the article and adding a second use would make it less restrictive because there would be more options. However, he said he would be concerned about the moderator accepting the amendment and the attorney general striking the amendment and not the entire by- law. Mr. Valanzola said he thinks the article should stay as written and they can propose mixed -use at another Town Meeting. Mr. Jodice said he is concerned the board will not have the grounds to deny a special permit for residential redevelopment. Motion: To send a negative recommendation on Article 48 to Annual Town Meeting (McClanahan- Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 47 to Annual Town Meeting (Cleary- French) 3 in favor. 4 opposed. FAILS Mr. French explained the public hearings for Articles 42, 43, 44, 45 have been closed and the board cannot take any additional public comment. Article 42 — Citizens' Petition to rezone 396 West Street from Residential 2 to Industrial 1. The warrant article indicates this land could support 65 Over 55 apartments 55 and over units by right [sic — 55 and Over is a special permit use in the R2 zone] and the proposal to change to I1 would allow retail uses of up to 38,000 square feet total. Mr. Burke noted the industrial use would require a 50 -foot buffer and a 75 -foot setback to abutting residential uses. Mr. Jodice said there were some direct abutters who were in Planning Board 6 6/7/2012 favor of the proposal. Mr. Burke said he thought some residents were concerned about additional residential traffic on South Walnut Street using the access road between Shaw's and South Walnut Street, and were not necessary supportive of the industrial use. Motion: To send a positive recotnnendation on Article 42 to Annual Town Meeting (McClanahan - Cleary) Mr. Jodice noted that both 55 and Over and retail are special permit uses. Mr. Cleary said this would add land to the town's industrial base and the site has industrial zones on two sides now. All in favor. PASSES Article 43 - Citizens' Petition to rezone 383, 375, 395, 399 West Street from Residential 2 to Industrial 1. Mr. French said some of the residents at the public hearing were concerned about drainage issues. Mr. Oreste asked if the residents have drainage problems now. Mr. McClanahan said the area has high groundwater. Mr. Cleary said an industrial use would fit, but noted the residents did not support additional industrial development. Mr. Burke said the residents have asked the board to respect the integrity of their neighborhood and he asked the board to do that. Mr. Penney agreed and said the existing neighborhood has been there for a long time and he is concerned about residents' back yards becoming parking lots. He asked if there would be a way to require a developer to build a sound attenuating wall if the land were rezoned. Mr. Burke said he didn't think there would be a way to require that. Mr. Oreste said the board has to make its recommendations based on what is in the best interests of the town. Mr. Penney said he would have liked to have seen more accommodation offered to the abutters before this rezoning article was proposed. Motion: To send a negative recommendation on Article 43 to Annual Town Meeting (Jodice - MacDonald) Mr. Jodice said he agrees with Mr. Penney that more of a compromise should have been worked out with the neighbors before the article was proposed. Mr. Cleary noted a retail use would be a special permit use. Four in favor. Three opposed. PASSES Article 44 - Citizens' Petition to create a new Business 4 Zone, Remote Business, for four business areas currently zoned Business 3: Parcels 35 -231, 35 -31 and 35 -48 adjacent to the East Common; Parcels 6 -104, 7 -36, 7 -45 and 7 -44 on the southern side of Otis Street; Parcel 15 -39 on the east side of Elm Street; and Parcels 31 -143, 31 -9, 31 -142, 31 -8, 33 -23, 33 -21, 33 -18, 33 -19 and 33 -119 on Eastman Street. The new Business 4 Zone would use the current Business 3 Schedule of Principal Use Regulations and the current Business 3 Density and Dimensional Regulations. Planning Board 7 6/7/2012 Mr. Jodice said he thinks this article makes sense. Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 44 to Annual Town Meeting (Jodice - McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Article 45 — Citizens' Petition to change 4.2.2, Schedule of Principal Use Regulations, Business and Industrial Districts, to allow Fast Food Restaurant, Auto Service Station, Drive -Up Window, and Mixed Business/Residential Use by special permit in the Business 3 Zone and to increase the Maximum Floor Area Ratio for Retail, Office, and Other non - Residential from 0.25 to 0.75 and to establish the Maximum Floor Area Ratio for Business/Residential at 1.0. Mr. Burke noted the petitioner said at the public hearing and then sent the board a letter indicating the article will be amended to eliminate the fast food, auto service and drive -up window uses. Motion: To send a positive recommendation on Article 45 as amended to Annual Town Meeting (McClanahan - Jodice) Mr. Burke said 0.75 is very dense for residential and 1.0 is very dense for business /residential. He said he agrees the density should be increased in the B3 zone because the current density, 0.25, may not be enough to help redevelopment of the area. Mr. Penney noted the parking regulations will limit development in this area. All in favor. PASSES 7 Form A (ANR) Plans 8i Public Comment' Mr. French asked if the train station access study could qualify for CEDS funding. Mr. Burke said it may because transportation funding is one of the few types of projects being funded lately. Mr. Penney said the train station access study would help more than just the train station area in the future, especially with the east -west roads. He said he appreciates the Board of Selectmen supporting the language change in the Planning Board's funding article. Mr. Cleary showed the board a list of the current TIFs. Mr. French noted Articles I 1 and 12 on the Annual Town Meeting warrant are capital requests for the municipal and school sides, respectively. Mr. Burke explained the articles include all the capital requests and will be amended at Town Meeting. Mr. French said the Capital Improvements Committee voted on a list of requests to support and asked why that list is not included in the warrant. Planning Board 8 6/7/2012 Mr. French said the Planning Board will be asked to make recommendations on a number of articles to Town Meeting. Mr. Penney said he will make the board's recommendation on Article 23, the Planning Board's article. Mr. McClanahan said he would make the board's recommendations on Article 41, street acceptance, and Article 46, the sale of Essex Street land. To adjourn at 10:15 p.m. (McClanahan -) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: May 9, 2012 at 7:00 p.rn. Annual Town Meeting: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Signature of Clerk, i Date of Approval Planning Board 9 6!7!2012