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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_02262014 �d— Planning Board Minutes February 26,2014 :� r--- Present: Tom French, Chair;Beth Ashman-Collins, Clerk;Michael McClanahan,Doii-dl-iear `tali Penney, Cheryl Collins,Rich LeBlanc;Alternates Rod Oreste and Mike Feck Shaun P.Burke,Director of Planning and Development;Jennifer Crotty Davis,Admiiistrativl'Sec6t ..s r -�g " cYa rOt�o�eaUria et t t 8H g�.,..x,? 'I��+a?Tg:s' + tii% ,¢R4:4F4Y`€*h4E:4 4405., .44 04 ", of%74" ' s x'74 *440,14 `�"74 ee. °S'ti '"r`'tirg ,k" '+`Y ra 1,v 4 ^%s"T +."-,441. .Yr .`�u v;eNR3 ,gr I r,:-i I:�t,q a^z vt3��'wa +�' "ts»' � � `t�����i > 2 r m�rf�.` D``" W' 1. February 12,2014 Minutes Mr. Penney said the board had not reached consensus about not including parking changes in the business zones with the B4-Highway Business article. Mr. Penney said the article he gave the board about medical marijuana was about Attleboro,not Colorado. Mr. Penney asked what the TOD draft was modeled after. Mr. Burke said he looked at TOD by-laws from other communities, including Somerville,the Commonwealth's Smart Growth by-law, and he wrote some of it himself. Mr.Penney said some people in town do not use the train and do not want traffic to increase. Motion: To approve as amended (Collins-LeBlanc) Four in favor. Three abstentions.PASSES Mr. Burke offered the board and the public an apology after becoming animated at the last meeting. 2. ZBA application for Variance—456 Elm Street. The application is for an addition on a corner lot, so front yard setback is required on both sides. The board discussed there being no alternate location to construct the addition. Mr.Burke recommended positive recommendation Motion: To send the ZBA a positive recommendation (McClanahan-Penney) All in favor. PASSES 4. ZBA application for Special Permit- 10 Otis Street. The application is to expand the pre-existing, non-conforming use on the property along the train tracks. Mr. Trowbridge said the existing building will be removed and rebuilt,with the front of the building further from the street. Mr.French said the tree clearing business is a good use for this site. Mr. Burke suggested a positive recommendation. Motion: To send the ZBA a positive recommendation (Penney-Collins) All in favor. PASSES 3. ZBA application for Special Permit— 11-13 Bonney Lane Clubhouse. The application needs both a special permit from the ZBA to expand the pre-existing,non-conforming use and a site plan from the Planning Board. Mr. Trowbridge said the building conforms to zoning setbacks and coverage,and will replace the existing tennis courts. Ms. Ashman-Collins said this would improve the existing use. Motion: To send the ZBA a positive recommendation (McClanahan-Ashman-Collins) All in favor. PASSES 6. Public Hearing notices 7. Citizen Planner Training Collaborative r9-.., Ye,A.7 . '" a +..0 ;#4,,44,4T c e :.. P oon�ey �a tv,f4V6.,.«s uc ?l V tr r ou se* �'3a*f.kC4 e l a x w� d � m'A 9y �1/2 x0 W*A *V,' PA=O 7 r PaSQ „ Q ,. .. v a AM2 ar V:414024.14, ” - Michael Trowbridge,Hutchins-Trowbridge Associates explained the proposal to replace the existing tennis courts with a clubhouse building. 1 2/26/2014 The clerk read comments from Conservation,Engineering,MMED and Mr. Burke. Mr. Trowbridge said he has met with Mr. Alves and will address his comments. He said the plan has been stamped;the sizes and dimensions of the proposed structures are shown on sheet 3;trench drains will be used along the two openings,which are sized for the 25-year storm. Mr. Trowbridge said he is trying to find an outlet to accommodate an eight-inch pipe; he said the six-inch outlet is sized for the 25- year storm,but he would like to use eight-inch pipe; he will add a detail of the filter fabric. Mr. Trowbridge said he will add a note to the plan to address MMED's concerns stating any disturbed area in the 25-foot easement will be replaced with a hard base. Mr. Trowbridge said the clubhouse will only be for residents of Mansfield Meadows. He said there are 11 parking spaces and three drop-off spaces proposed,but he does not expect a lot of residents to drive to the clubhouse. He said there is no parking there now. He will add"No Parking Fire Zone" signs. Mr. Trowbridge said the swale is an emergency overflow;the site was designed for the 100-year flood and the flow is directed to an existing depression. Mr. Trowbridge said they are proposing to build four-foot side sidewalks around the clubhouse with a patio and bike racks. He said the sidewalk meets ADA requirements for passing areas. Mr.McClanahan asked about the easement shown on the plan; Mr. Trowbridge said that is an MMED electrical easement for the overhead wires. Mr.McClanahan said the bike racks will probably be used a lot by the resident children. Mr.Penney asked about screening for the residents across Stearns Avenue; Mr. Trowbridge said he is not proposing additional screening. Mr.Burke said the lighting plan shows no spill off site. Mr.Penney said he is concerned about headlights shining into the abutting houses. Mr. Burke said there is an existing stone wall that will help cut down headlights. Mr. Trowbridge said he would rather not add additional landscaping. Mr.LeBlanc asked whether the residents could use the clubhouse for parties. Mr. Trowbridge said he expects they will do that; he said in addition to the new parking area,there is plenty of parking along Bonney Lane. He said the meeting room will be pretty small. Mr. Cleary asked if cars would be able to pass if there are cars parked along Bonney Lane. Mr.Trowbridge said there would be plenty of room. Motion: To approve the site plan for 11-13 Bonney Lane Clubhouse with the condition that the department head comments fully addressed and included on final plans (Penney-McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES < Mr. Burke explained the Annual Town Meeting warrant closes Monday,March 3,with the final wording due March 12. He suggested the board decide tonight whether to submit the articles,then if it wants to discuss the final wording further,it could meet again March 5. He said Annual Town Meeting has been tentatively scheduled for May 6, so the public hearings for Planning Board articles and citizen's petitions will be held in April. *Residential Compound-The board voted on February 12,2014 to submit an article to delete the entire section. 2 2/26/2014 *Architectural Projections into Setbacks in Residential Districts—New Section 4.1.9 and new Footnote 4 to Schedule 4.2.1, Density and Dimensional Regulations,Residential Districts. Mr. Burke said this would help avoid variance applications for minor things like stairs. Motion: To sponsor the article as written(Penney-Cleary) All in favor. PASSES *Airport Changes—Amend Table of Uses Motion: To sponsor the article as written (Ashman-Collins-McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES *Medical Marijuana-New Definition,New Section 3.4.11,New Line 3.4.11 in Table of Uses. Mr. Burke noted the setbacks have been changed per the board's last discussion Motion: To sponsor the article as written(Penney-Collins) All in favor. PASSES *B4 Gateway Business—New B4 District to 2.1;new B4 column to D&D chart; 20' landscaped buffer strip where B4 abuts residential zone to 4.3.6#2;New B4 column in Table of Uses. Mr. LeBlanc asked about a side yard abutting a residential use. The board decided to amend the article to require a minimum of 20 feet of landscaping at the side and/or rear of the property where it abuts residential. Motion: To sponsor the article as amended(Penney-McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Feck excused himself at this time. Chris Cunningham said he would like some feedback before,he submits a special permit for 12 West Church Street with four residential units and parking under and along the side. He said that would be similar to the development across the street. Mr. French asked what is in the neighborhood;Mr. Cunningham said it is mostly multi-family with one single-family. The site backs up to a six-unit building on High Street, Mr.French asked if this conforms to setbacks and coverage. Mr. Cunningham said it does. Mr.Burke asked where the north end of the building is;Mr. Cunningham said it is right on the back edge of the sidewalk with four feet around the back of the building. He said he has spoken to the Building Inspector and the building code requires four feet at the back of the building. Ms.Ashman-Collins asked about the façade facing the street. Mr. Cunningham said it would be oriented like the one across the street;Ms.Ashman-Collins said this site is oriented differently. She said the façade facing the street should have a friendly face,even though West Church Street is not a main street. Mr. Burke said zoning requires six parking spaces and asked why the plan shows 12. Ms.Ashman- Collins said the plan does not show any green space. Mr. Steve Cunningham said several of the extra spaces could be removed and more green space added. Mr. Burke said this property is in the Business 1 zone. He said if the plan included retail, it could be done by right, but with all residential,a special permit is required. 3 2/26/2014 Mr.French encouraged Mr. Cunningham to review the special permit requirements and address them all in his application before submitting. He said the board will have to consider how the benefits outweigh the detriments. Ms.Ashman-Collins said context is important. Ms. Collins said she is concerned about there being no green space on the plan;Mr. Cunningham said several parking spaces could be eliminated. Mr.Feck returned to the meeting. Mr.McClanahan asked the reason the board voted to eliminate Residential Compound. The board discussed the problems caused by this type of development. *Adaptive Reuse of Historic Structures—New Section 3.7.3,New Line 3.7.3 in Table of Uses; if article passes, delete existing Older Building Reuse in text and Table Mr.Burke gave the board a copy of Chapter 40A,Section 9,which discusses allowing a special permit for this type of use. He said there was a question raised at the last meeting about whether this would be a use variance;he said it would not be. Mr.Burke explained he has added a section to the end of the draft by-law to delete the existing Older Building Reuse section of the Zoning By-Law if this by-law passes. Mr.Penney noted the building size is 2,000 square feet;Mr.French said the lot size has been eliminated, which may help because many historic structures are on small lots. Mr.LeBlanc asked if there are structures smaller than 2,000 square feet that might meet the by-law. Mr. Burke said there are several. Mr. LeBlanc asked about including those small buildings; Mr. Burke said it would be difficult to reuse a building that small. Mr.Penney said the board discussed trying to maintain the character of the structure, which has been included in the Purpose section. He said he understands this would impact several properties, but the major one that would benefit is the Chocolate Factory. He said he is not in favor of redeveloping it as a residential use. Ms.Ashman-Collins said the board should have a set of standards it can use to apply evenly to historic properties. Motion: To sponsor the article as submitted (Cleary-Ashman-Collins) Five in favor. One opposed. One abstention. PASSES *Transit-Oriented Development Mr. Burke said he made the changes the board requested regarding increased density and the density bonuses. Mr.Burke said the purpose of a density bonus is to give the developer a benefit,but also for the town to get something back. The bonus section has been amended to include things like business on the first floor and ownership rather than rental,rather than bonuses for things like open space,which may not be appropriate in the train station area. 4 2/26/2014 Mr. McClanahan said he has heard from some Highland Avenue residents who are unhappy about the ideas BETA presented at the February 24 meeting. Mr.Penney said he heard from people who are concerned that redeveloping the areas around the train station would not work without a second means of access. Ms. Collins said she lives near Mansfield Crossing and had to change her driving route during construction,but she got used to it and still uses the alternate route. Mr.McClanahan said the streets in the train station neighborhood are much smaller than School Street. Mr. Cleary said many residents of that neighborhood have been concerned about train traffic,and BETA's plans will try to remove the train station traffic from the neighborhood. Ms.Ashman-Collins said the TOD by-law requires a developer to show they have adequate access to the site. Mr.French said that would require a developer to solve a problem the town cannot solve. Ms. Ashman-Collins asked about including a certain timeframe in which to address concerns about proposals that might come in before the infrastructure being in place. Mr. Burke said he has'talked with MassDOT about getting the zoning in place and being eligible for MassWorks funding. Mr. French said he thinks the Town Manager is going to use BETA's traffic report and work together with the town's representatives to get funding even without the zoning in place. Mr. French asked if the density is where it should be. Mr. Burke said the high densities proposed in a report by Cecil Group a few years ago were not supported by anyone, including the Planning Board. He said during the TOD discussions last year, a density of 50 units an acre was mentioned;Mr. French said he does not recall that number being discussed. Mr. Burke said at 15 units an acre,there would be around 249 units at the train station, and said he was concerned about getting Town Meeting support for more than that. Mr. French said the question is what density would be attractive to a developer. Mr. Penney asked if it would have to be residential or if the site could be all commercial;Mr.Burke said he spoke with someone today who is considering a large commercial development in the area. Mr. Penney said he doesn't want to see all residential around the train station because of the added traffic,but he understands that would be the market for that area. Mr.Burke said TOD can help reduce vehicle trips because there would be more pedestrian trips. Ms.Ashman-Collins asked about shared residential and commercial parking; Mr. Burke said that would work best with a parking structure. Mr.Penney asked if, based on this location, structured parking would make more sense than on-grade parking. Mr.Burke said it would,but that it would be more expensive to construct and maintain. He said the town would not build or own a parking garage;he said it would be better funded by the state and private developers. Mr. Cleary said there are several landowners in the,area who all may have different development plans and asked if there is a way to encourage those landowners to develop their land according to an overall plan. Mr.Burke said that would be ideal,but the town cannot plan for land other than what it owns. He said the T owns access to the rail on both sides, and he hopes the developer of the first proposal will work closely with the T. He said if there is going to be something like an elevator or a pedestrian overpass,the T would have to build it. 5 2/26/2014 Mr. LeBlanc asked if the access would be a town-owned road; Mr. Burke said it would likely be. Mr. LeBlanc said that would,in part, dictate development. He said with requirements like retail on the first floor,there would be some similarities among developments. Mr. Burke said the intent is to have a certain amount of uniformity. Ms.Collins said she thinks this is important so the town is ready for development,and said it has to go hand-in-hand with the BETA study. She asked what the next step would be in relation to the BETA study if Town Meeting were to adopt the TOD zoning. Mr.Burke said if the town has to buy land, such as for the Highland Avenue widening, it would require a Town Meeting vote. Ms. Collins said the short-term recommendations for things like restriping would not need Town Meeting approval. Mr. Cleary suggested bringing the TOD article to Town Meeting. Mr. McClanahan said the plan wouldn't work without the access issues resolved. Mr.Penney said he doesn't think the timing is right for TOD and doesn't think the town should tell a developer the details of how to build,his building,with requirements for details like windows. He said he doesn't want to see more apartments and more traffic. Motion: To sponsor the article as submitted (Ashman-Collins-Cleary) Bill Clemmey presented Mr.French with a letter and asked copies to be made for the members. Bill Clemmey said some industrial uses have been eliminated in the TOD draft. Mr.French said those uses could still be done in the underlying district;Mr. Clemmey said they could not be done in a mixed- use development. He said the board should do a thorough review of the uses being changed and the definitions being p p ro osed. Mr. Clemmey said he did not suggest 50 units per acre was the density number, but said it may be 20 to 40 units. He said apartments in the B1 zone across the tracks have 35-40 units per acre. Mr. Clemmey said the TOD overlay map includes the B1 zone, which allows higher density, 2.5 FAR with parking in the rear,than the proposed TOD zone. He said the TOD map includes some I3 and some residential properties and suggested the board review the map. Mr. Clemmey said the by-law includes a new set of design standards that should be reviewed. He said the by-law requires parking in the back,but with the BETA plan, some parcels are surrounded by streets, which would make it difficult to define the"back"of the building. Mr. Clemmey said the by-law is cumbersome and involved, and should be reviewed. He said he wants TOD to move forward, but it needs to be better reviewed. He said the Board of Selectmen voted tonight to put aside two liquor licenses for businesses in the train station area. Mr. Karl Clemmey asked what the rush is to get this article to Town Meeting. Ms. Ashman-Collins said the board has worked on this article longer than usual. Mr. French said having the zoning in place would bolster the town's position for roadway funding. Mr.Dan Clemmey said economics drives development and when they built Home Depot,they put up the lights along Route 140. Mr. Penney said he thinks 6 2/26/2014 everyone wants to see this area redeveloped. Mr. Penney said he wished the Planning Board held workshops in the fall to go through this change to the Zoning By-Law. Mr. Dan Clemmey said there have been a number of studies done in the area. Mr.French said the BETA study has prioritized a number of access points. Mr.Karl Clemmey suggested waiting until the BETA study is done. Ms.Ashman-Collins said she would like to have a public hearing on the article. Mr.Penney said he is not comfortable with the article now. Mr.Dan Clemmey said there are a lot of parties involved in this,but it comes down to economics. Mr. Cleary asked if there was a reason not to take the article to Town Meeting this year. He said it could be amended in the future if it turns out something should have been done differently. Mr.Bill Clemmey said there have not been any workshops or reviews of the article. Ms.Ashman-Collins said the board has spent a lot of time on this article. Mr.Bill Clemmey said this is a huge article. Mr. French said it would require a 2/3 vote of Town Meeting to adopt, and another 2/3 vote to change it. Mr. Bill Clemmey said presenting a modified article to Town Meeting is very difficult. Town Manager William Ross said the warrant closes Monday,March 3,at 4 p.m., but the articles do not have to be in final form at that time. He said another option is to submit the draft article and withdraw it before the warrant is printed. He said the Board of Selectmen will have an article on the warrant to petition for additional alcohol licenses. Mr.Ross said any development in the area will have to be a public-private partnership. He said the Commonwealth is very interested in this project, so there may be funding available. He said he has spoken with some developers who told him if the zoning was in place,they would jump on it. He said the town is doing what it needs to do to get this in place, like talking with CSX and the T. He said the Planning Board needs to give Mr. Burke direction about what it wants to be included in the by-law. Ms.Ashman-Collins asked how Mr. Ross feels about not going forward with TOD this year. He said he has some concerns about losing out on funding opportunities,but does not want to go to Town Meeting without a cohesive document. Mr. Penney asked if Mr.Ross could go to the state with the fact that the Planning Board is working on it;Mr.Ross said it could,but waiting a year is a long time in the ,development community. Mr. French said he is willing to meet next week if the other members are, and asked Mr.Burke to go through the uses and look at the densities. Mr.Burke said he has changed the uses and densities based on the board's previous discussions. He said he doesn't think a use like a hospital would be good because of the large amount of parking required. Mr.Ross said hospital uses tend to be tax exempt. Mr. French asked Mr.Burke to look at the article in terms of uses and densities, as well as the comments made during the discussions last year. Six in favor. One opposed. PASSES The Planning Board will meet March 5 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss final wording of Town Meeting articles. 7 2/26/2014 Ms.Ashman-Collins said she liked the slide BETA presented showing concentric circles and walking times around the train station and said a graphic like that would be helpful for a sidewalk discussion of (---", the area around the schools. Mr.Karl Clemmey said there was an article in the Mansfield News saying the Planning Board endorsed rezoning of the chocolate factory. He said the Board of Selectmen voted to support two liquor licenses at the chocolate factory at its meeting tonight,which he said is not an allowed use in the 12 zone. Mr.Bill Clemmey said the Board of Selectmen is proposing eight new liquor licenses, including two in the TOD zone,two downtown and one for the chocolate factory,where restaurants are not allowed. Mr. Feck said he thought the BETA meeting was well done and informative. He said he understands there will be some opposition from neighbors, but thinks it could work. Ms. Collins said Mr. French did a good job helping the audience see the bigger picture and understand the development issues. Mr. Oreste said he will review the draft TOD by-law over the next week. Mr, LeBlanc said he would do the same;he said he would not want to see a four-lane Route 106. Mr.Burke said the problem with widening Route 106 is that it would take so long, it would likely be at capacity by the time it is finished. Mr. French said that would be very expensive and would probably require eminent domain takings;Mr. Burke agreed. Mr. Cleary suggested if the members have questions or comments on TOD before the March 5 meeting,they send them to Mr. Burke. Mr. Burke said he is pleased at the amount of development interest he has seen in town lately. Mr. McClanahan asked about the rumored redevelopment of Willowdale Golf Course;Mr.Burke said he has met informally with the engineer,who would like to come to the board for a discussion in March. Mr. Burke distributed a fiscal impact report from the Chocolate Factory study,the draft SRPEDD buildout study,the town's buildout study and the executive summary of the UMass platform study. Motion: To adjourn at 10:15 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES Next Regular Planning Board Meeting: March 5,2014 at 7:00 p.m. Signature o Clerk Date of A yroval 8 2/26/2014