HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_9262012Planning Board Minutes C"I nj
September 26, 2012p d ry
Present: Michael McClanahan, Acting Chair, Beth Ashman - Collins, Clerk; Don Gleary, Cheryl
Collins ZIJ12 GC+ { nom . 0',
Alternates: Rod Oreste, Michael Peck
Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development, Jennifer Davis, A001 istiative
Secretary
1. September 20, 2012 letter from Patriot Supply re: Chauncy Street rezoning
2. Invitation to gazebo dedication to the Gonsalves family, North Common
3. September 24, 2012 letter from SRPEDD re: public meetings
[Ms. Ashman- Collins arrived at this time]
4. Citizen Planner Collaborative Training Course Schedule
5. Meeting notices Attleboro, Sharon
4.' Discussion =with Joe Mullorn re: Redevelopment of 150 Oaldand,'Street
[Mr. Oreste- arrived at this time]
Mr. Mulkern said he did a walk - through with two members and offered the others a tour. He
showed the board a rendering of the building looked like in 1913; he said he intends to bring the
building back. The proposal is for mixed residential and conuuercial uses on the 14.9 acre site.
Mr. Burke said the residential use is not allowed in the I2 zone, so that would require a zoning
change, but the industrial- connnercial use would be allowed by right. Mr. Mulkern said the first
floor is wood and the rest of the building is concrete; lie said his engineers have examined the
building and there is no settling.
Mr. Burke said the proposal would require a new mixed -use definition to be approved by Town
Meeting. Mr. Mulkern said there are seven acres of frontage and the existing building would be
best used for residential redevelopment, with the currently vacant land used for commercial. He
said there is an existing 20,000 square -foot building he would like to reuse, but he said he isn't
sure whether that will be needed for parking for the residential use. He said he is talking with
medical offices about the commercial space on the vacant land.
Mr. McClanahan said Town Meeting might have an issue with rezoning the whole parcel as
residential, with no guarantee the commercial portion would ever be built.
Mr. Burke said the Planned Commercial /Industrial by -law may apply to this proposal and
suggested Mr. Mulkern look at that option. Mr. McClanahan suggested simply separating the
parcels into one commercial and one residential piece, then proposing the zoning amendment for
the residential parcel.
Ms. Ashman - Collins said the first question is the possible reuse of the historic building and how
the town can support that. Mr. Mulkern said he plans to bring the building back to its original
appearance, a requirement of the historic tax program through which he will be funded.
Mr. Burke said the value of the building has decreased significantly in the past year, and a buyer
who isn't willing to do a historic renovation like this may not be willing to put the money and
care into it Mr. Mulkern describes. At the same time, he said the residential restoration proposed
at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting would have brought a lot of financial burden to the town.
Mr. Mulkern said he has looked at the new residential development at Legacy Place in Dedham,
which is the type of development he would like to do, and said many of those units are owned by
older residents who spend pant of the year elsewhere.
Mr. Mulkern said 80% of the units in this development would be market -rate. He said Winn
Development has a lot of experience renovating historic buildings like this.
Mr. Burke suggested Mr. Mulkern think about the best way to do this rezoning, both practically
and politically. He said DHCD doesn't want to talk to the town about TOD funding without
development agreements in place with train station -area land owners to ensure both the
developer and the town meet certain performance standards, and suggested Mr. Mulkern think
about that issue. He said saving the building is a good idea. Mr. Mulkern said he understands
the need for an agreement to do commercial redevelopment only on one part of the parcel; Mr.
Burke said that can be done by right now, the risk is on the residential portion of the property.
Ms. Aslunan- Collins suggested using the Older Building Reuse by -law; Mr. Mulkern said he
could write the amendment to allow him to only redevelop the existing building as residential.
Mr. Burke said the fourth line of Section 3.7.1 could be an issue because it only allows reuse of
older buildings as allowed in the underlying zone.
Ms. Ashman- Collins suggested Mr. Mulkern consider doing a fiscal impact study showing how
this project would affect the town's finances.
Mr. Burke said the Planning Board would want some type of agreement that what it reviews
during the special permit process is actually constructed. Mr. Mulkern said lie has no problem
with that type of agreement. He said he thinks this redevelopment would be beneficial for the
town and will help to bring redevelopment north of downtown. Mr. McClanahan said the board
has to look at the project's financial impact on the community, among other things, during its
special permit process.
Planning Board Zoning By -Law Amendments for 2012 Special Town Meeting. The warrant
opens Wednesday, October 3 and closes Wednesday, October 10. Mr. Burke explained two of
the drafts came out of the Strategic Plan process, one is TOD and one came as a result of a
citizen's petition at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting, which did not pass. He said the board has
discussed that a Special Town Meeting may not be the most appropriate time for zoning, and that
it might be better to wait for the 2013 Annual Town Meeting.
Mr. Burke explained this B4 draft amendment would rename the outlying B3 areas in East and
West Mansfield the `134, Village Business" district, using the same density, height and uses as
the current B3 zone. The Copeland Drive corridor would stay B3 and the floor area ration would
change from .25 to .60, or more than doubled. This draft does not allow fast food or mixed -use
in B3. Mr. Burke said there are 62 existing structures in the Copeland Drive corridor, and if they
were all built out at the density proposed with the citizens' petition, 1.0, the area would be more
dense than downtown.
Mr. Burke said the Strategic Plan suggested increasing density in the PBD and Il zones by
increasing floor area ratio and by requiring 50% of the parking to be for sub - compact cars.
Mr. Burke said the third draft is for linkage special permit, which allows increased density with a
portion of the fee going into the Capital Improvements budget, or a by -right increase in density
with the use of certain development strategies. He said when the park was built, it was mostly
warehousing, but has transitioned to office and R &D with higher -paid, more skilled jobs.
Mr. Burke suggested these are important articles the board should have plenty of time to discuss,
both among itself and with the public, and recommended waiting to present them until the 2013
Annual Town Meeting. The board agreed.
5. Special Permit Public Hearing —2-4-North Main Street— Mixed -Use
Residential/Commercial Development— Crugnale Properties
The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. McClanahan explained how the public hearing
would be conducted.
Marco Crugnale, Crugnale Properties, explained the plan for the redevelopment of the site with
nine townhomes, two garden -style condominium units and 1,000 square feet of retail/office
space in three buildings on an approximately 19,715 square foot parcel, which has been vacant
for over eight years.
Parking for the townhouses will be under the buildings, the retail space will have five parking
spaces and the two condos above will have two parking spaces each.
Mr. Crugnale explained the ZBA granted him relief for floor area ratio on this site in April 2012.
Mr. Crugnale said the site currently generates approximately $4,000 annually in taxes, and after
redevelopment will generate approximately $35,000 in taxes. He said the townhome units would
be 2,100 square feet with optional elevators and optional rooftop decks. He noted four stories
would be allowed in this area, but said he thinks his proposal for three -story buildings will soften
this corner in a highly visible location.
Correspondence
The clerk read a memo from Police Chief Arthur O'Neill. Mr. Crugnale said lie has spoken with
DPW Director Lee Azirtheira, who agrees the proposed curb cut is in the best location. He said it
is approximately 170 feet from the North Main/West Street intersection to the driveway. Mr.
Burke said the chief is concerned about cars turning left into this site will back traffic into the
intersection, and cars turning left out of the site will back up traffic in the parking lot. Mr.
McClanahan said this building will be 5 -6 feet back from the sidewalk, which would be further
than the previous building.
The clerk read a memo from the Town Engineer. Mr. Crugnale said his engineer has spoken
with Mr. Alves, and all of his concerns will be met and the plans will be changed.
The clerk read a memo from the Fire Department. Mr. Crugnale said the valves will be
relocated, the water line will be relocated and the addresses will be assigned by the Assessor's
Office.
The clerk read a memo from the Water Department. Mr. Crugnale said he will address each of
Mr. Gaffney's comments. Each unit will be individually metered and have individual shut -offs.
The clerk read a memo from the Electric Department. Mr. Crugnale said he does not think he
will need a transformer pad because he will be able to get power from the street.
The clerk read a memo from the Conservation Department.
The clerk read a September 1, 2012 letter from Mr. Crugnale regarding transferring the
affordable units from this project to the 214 Rumford Avenue project. The board asked about
the lack of windows as originally proposed on the back of the 214 Rumford Avenue project; Mr.
Crugnale said he would install shadow box windows on that side.
Public Comment
Jan Hildreth, I 1 Fairfield Park, asked how many cars each garage would have; Mr. Crugnale said
there would be tandem parking for two cars. He said the flats would have two on -grade parking
spaces each.
Pastor David Ruta, United Methodist Church, said he supports the proposal. He said if that site
is not going to be a permanent parking lot, it should be redeveloped to bring taxes to the town
and to help downtown businesses.
Nancy Wall, 78 West Street, suggested signage or pavement painting advising drivers not to
block the intersection. Mr. Burke said that would be up to the Police Department because it
would be on the public way. Mr. Crugnale said the driveway is in the best possible location to
access this lot. Ms. Wall said she supports the project.
Mr. Ruta said the end towers of the building are similar to the church's tower, which is a nice
design element.
Board Comment
Mr. Feck said traffic issues would be a concern with any development on this site
Ms. Collins said there is on- street parking in front of 8 -9 North Main Street and asked if that
would impede the sight distance for this project's driveway. Mr. McClanahan suggested talking
with the Police Chief about eliminating those two spaces. Ms. Ashman- Collins said it may help
to clearly mark the two on- street parking spaces.
Mr. Oreste said he likes the plan and thinks the area needs a development like this. He said the
driveway appears to be in the best possible location.
Mr. Cleary said he likes the project. He said he wouldn't be opposed to striping or signage; Mr.
Crugnale said he would be willing to do that.
Ms. Ashman- Collins asked how the building will be sited on the lot. Mr. Crugnale said the
building will be set back at least 10 feet; he said the previous building was right at the back of
the sidewalk.
Mr. Crugnale asked the board about the shrubbery in front of the retail space; Mr. Burke said that
will have to conform to the landscaping requirements in the Zoning By -Law.
Mr. Crugnale said he has spoken with potential tenants about the retail space, including someone
interested in using both the retail space and some space above. Mr. Burke said if it is used as
office space, the parking would be required for an office use rather than retail.
Motion: To continue the public hearing to October 10, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.
(Cleary - Oreste) All in favor. PASSES
6. Public Comment
Mr. Cleary said he walked through the 150 Oakland Sheet building and restoring it is a good
idea. Ms. Collins said it is a beautiful building. Mr. Oreste said a medical reuse would be good.
Motion: To appoint Mr. Feck and Ms. Ashman - Collins to the Capital Improvements Committee
(Cleary- Oreste) All in favor. PASSES
Motion: To adjourn at 9:00 p.m. (Cleary- ) All in favor. PASSES
Ne m etin ctober 10 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
Signature of Clerk Date of Approval