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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 07/27/05 ,.. w.",.....- r eNl, 1._1.~ <:: nr.c 1('[ Planning Board Minutes.! '" t I 1.J Present: Tom French, Fred Armstro~~~l:;k~:~ Holmes, rtb~l~o,FieeJ: 34 Torman, John DeMassi, Walter Jenkins I [L 0 Shaun P. Burke, Director of P and Develo ment l~i.Jt_'~~iit.ij..:..,;~p.~ Motion: To appoint Mr. Annino Acting Chair (T?~:~~t.1assi) All in favor. PASSES Iz.c~ 1. July 20, 2005 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES 2. Meeting notices - Norton 3. New England Planning newsletter 4. Journal of the American Planning Association r;~~::;.thistime] Mr. Armstrong said he had attended a meeting of the Downtown Design Standards Committee, at which a draft design standards brochure was distributed. The group hopes to get comment on the brochure and bring the brochure to the Selectmen and other boards to build support. Mr. Annino asked about the role of the downtown committee now; Mr. Burke said he hoped that group would do the preliminary work on new downtown proposals, with the Planning Board conducting site plan review or special permit public hearings. f'" Mr. Burke said the design guidelines would simply be guidelines, and not regulations. He said he hopes to be able to get some grant funding for downtown improvements, and would like to tie the grant money for downtown into the Transit Oriented Development work around the train station. Mr. Annino said having a downtown group and design standards already in place should help with grant funding. Mr. Burke said the kick-off meeting for the Transit Oriented Development study will be August 15 at the train station. He explained the commonwealth has been encouraging cities and towns to look at development adjacent to transportation nodes, and Mansfield has been looking at Hatheway-Patterson, the train station, Clemmey Tank and Cleveland Twist. He said there are 70 acres ofunderutilized or vacant land in this area, which will provide a unique opportunity for the town to look at development options. He said he hopes to be able to do a Zoning By-Law amendment public hearing in September. Dr. Torman asked who would be involved; Mr. Burke encouraged everyone with an interest to become involved. Dr. Torman asked about the TOD grant; Mr. Burke explained the town has received $50,000 from the Commonwealth to fund a study of development in public transportation areas. He said the Cecil Group will be the town's consuhant for this grant project. Dr. Torman asked about future assistance; Mr. Burke said there could be additional funding once a plan is in place. Mr DeMassi asked if CSX would be involved; Mr. Burke said he would like them to be, but they weren't involved in the Hatheway- Patterson work. r- July 27, 2005 1 Planning Board I ! Mr. DeMassi asked about major upcoming projects. Mr. Burke said the final Hatheway- r--.. Patterson documents should be coming from the Cecil Group and the EPA, and there may be a residential subdivision coming in soon in West Mansfield. Dr. Torman asked about the trees at Erin's Centre. Mr. Burke said he has spoken with the Building Inspector, who has a list of unresolved site issues. The Building Inspector has spoken with the general contractor, who has said he is aware of the issue and will be addressing it. Mr. Burke said the buildings all have temporary certificates of occupancy, and they will not be granted full certificates until all the outstanding items have been completed. He said there would likely be some pressure from the tenants, who will not want to operate with temporary occupancies, and from the contractors, who will want to close out their contracts and be paid. He said if the board is concerned, it should advise the Building Inspector and suggest a drop dead date for the completion of the site work. Mr. Annino said the Building Inspector could deny to reissue the temporary certificates of occupancy. Mr. French said the trees would have to be planted early in the fall. Motion: To ask the Building Inspector to establish a completion date in the near future so all the outstanding items are addressed. The board is very concerned about trees being allowed time to root before the cold weather (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES 1.....3.<(~....~. ~t-~)H......~...~..~................i.~.(....i~-. >.~..........i--!JJ'...".... .~............. ....... ...... . '" ... .' ,'c:.. r The clerk read the public hearing notice. 150 Mill Street: Mark Cook, Highway Operations Manager, explained the oak tree is partially dead and is losing limbs, and will be replaced with a subdivision-sized tree or larger. He said the tree will have to remain within the public way. Rene Chevallier, 150 Mill Street, said the tree is ill and has dropped large branches. He said replacing it with an oak would be fine with him. Mr. Cook said he would use a three-inch caliper red oak:. Mr. DeMassi said the tree appears to be very close to the road and asked if it could be trimmed and saved. Mr. Chevallier said the tree has visible insect damage. Dr. Torman asked how far the tree is from the edge of the asphalt; Mr. Chevallier said it is about 3-4 inches. Mr. Chevallier said he would prefer the tree be placed between the location of the existing tree and his mailbox, within the right-of-way. Motion: To allow the removal of the tree and replace it with three-inch oak: (Armstrong-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 298 Gilbert Street: Mr. Cook explained that truck mirrors and a door have been lost to this tree because it is so close to the road He said the tree is rotted, is right up against the pavement and has insect damage. r-- July 27, 2005 2 Planning Board r T Jeff Healy, 298 Gilbert Street, said several large limbs have fallen off the tree into his (' yard, and the tree blocks sight distance from his driveway. Mr. Cook said this is a difficuh area, and there are only 30 inches between the stone wall and the pavement, and said a replacement would have to go on private property. Mr. Healy said he would not like to have an additional tree on his property. Mr. French suggested finding an alternate location on Gilbert Street for a replacement. Motion: To allow the removal of the tree at 298 Gilbert Street and replace it with a three-inch red oak on East Street in front of the Highway Garage (Torman-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES 995 West Street: Mr. Cook explained there is a sight distance problem with dead tree limbs over the roadway, which is very close to the roadway. Mrs. Chan, 991 West Street, said the tree is actually in front of her property, said she bought her house particularly because of the trees, and many have been removed over the past few yers. She said the removal of this tree would reduce her privacy, and said the tree is still alive. She said she does not have any sight distance problems leaving her driveway and does not believe her neighbors have any problems. She said she thought the wrong tree has been marked. Mr. Azinheira said the tree they received the complaint about is in front of 995 West Street, and is within the right-of-way. r- Mr. French said the neighbors believe some pruning would relieve the situation and asked if that is possible. Mr. Cook said it could be trimmed. Mr. Azinheira said the tree is close to the pavement and there are some dead limbs; he said trimming might help the tree. However, he said there have been problems with apparently healthy trees in similar situations falling down after trimming. He said he didn't see the same signs of disease on the base of this trees that were apparent on the previous two trees. Mr. DeMassi suggested taking the tree down and replacing it with two trees. Mr. Annino said a pine tree in this kind of shape wouldn't be worth saving. Mr. Cook said he could have an arborist report on the condition of the tree. Mr. French asked what type of replacement tree the residents would like; Mrs. Chan said she would like a leafy tree, preferably a pine. Mr. Azinheira said they could use two three-inch trees. Mr. Burke said street trees are typically not pine. Motion: To approve the removal of the tree and replacement with two three-inch caliper red oak (Annino-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Torman-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES r July 27, 2005 3 Planning Board 16....~s..~..,................~.J~.._W..~ ,I r Glenn Ofcarcik, Tilton & Associates, said there had been discussion at the last meeting about waiver requests, specifically whether Webb Place is a dead-end street. He said there is a Dead End sign at the end of Webb Place, but there is a private way through the apartments to access East Street. He said the proposal is for an oversized turnaround at the end of Webb Place; he said currently, a car would have to turn around on private property to get back to South Main Street. He said there are currently 65 residences on Webb Place, and this development would be an increase of six residences. He said he does not feel this would not be setting a precedent for number of units on a dead-end street. Mr. French said he doesn't remember the board granting a waiver for the number of units on a dead-end street. Mr. Burke said a waiver was granted for the maximum street lengths on Bay Brook Farm off Branch Street because of environmental issues. Mr. Ofcarcik said the definition of a dead-end street describes it as a street with one access, but that does not specify a public way. r-' Mr. Annino asked for an explanation of the private way. Mr. Ofcarcik said there is a condo development fronting on East Street and Webb Place, and a car can drive to the end of Webb Place, through the parking lot for the condos, and out to East Street. Mr. Annino said that condo parking lot is a private area that could be restricted, so the contention that that is a second means of egress for this project is untrue because it could be eliminated. Mr. Annino said the definition in the Zoning By-Law does not include private areas, and that area is not a roadway, but only a parking lot. Mr. French said putting a cul-de-sac at the end of Webb Place would create a way to turn around that doesn't currently exist. Mr. Annino said he would be opposed to this development because it would be setting a dangerous precedent with no benefit, and said he doesn't think it is in the town's best interest to add units in that area. Mr. DeMassi said the owner has the right to develop his land; Mr. Annino said he would be concerned about the precedent being set with this waiver. Mr. French said the landowner could do an ANR Plan, and the number of units on a dead-end street rule wouldn't apply because it wouldn't be a subdivision. Mr. Burke asked if two additional lots could be created with an ANR, for a total ofthree lots and six units. Mr.Ofcarcik said he wasn't sure if the new lots could meet sideyard setback issues. Mr. Armstrong said there might be more benefit of a cul-de-sac than simply constructing Form A lots. Dr. Torman said he agrees with Mr. Annino that this would be a dangerous precedent. ,-. Mr. Armstrong said the end point of the right-of-way is not being extended, but there is simply a loop being created. Mr. Annino said the board has always measured the total length of the roadway. Mr. French said the issue isn't really the length of the roadway, July 27,2005 4 Planning Board ~ ~ (' but the number of dwelling units on the roadway. Mr. Annino said he thinks length is also an issue. Mr. Burke said the length of a dead end street with a cul-de-sac is measured to the center of the island, and said the board could decide whether this is a cuI- de-sac island or a loop road. Mr. French asked how the subdivision regulations require the board to measure this roadway. Mr. Burke said the Subdivision Regulations would say this is a loop road, not a standard cul-de-sac island. Mr. Annino asked why the board would encourage a more dense use of the site. Mr. Burke said one of the questions is: if there is a certain number of units that can be done there by right [with a Form A plan], why would the board grant a waiver at all? Mr. French said the board typically grants waivers from requirements like sidewalk construction, but that does not substantially change the project. He said this waiver would act like a variance because it would allow the creation of additional units. Mr. Jenkins asked if the duplex units would be rented or sold. Mr. Earls said they would be sold. Mr. Jenkins said that type of housing stock may more affordable; Mr. Burke said with six units, one would have to be affordable. Mr. Jenkins said Webb Place isn't the only access for the 65 apartment units; some of that traffic may use East Street. r Mr. Burke said the zone line runs down the centerline of Webb Place, so what is on the other side of Webb Place is zoned differently than this property. This site is R3 and the apartments and condos are in B2, which allows a greater density. Dr. Torman said ZOning By-Law allows a maximum of 10 dwelling units on a dead end street, and there are already 65 units on Webb Place. He said adding another 8 units would make a bad situation worse. Mr. Jenkins said Webb Place is very tight now, and the loop may help that. Mr. Annino said he thinks it would make it worse. Mr. Holmes said this could set a dangerous precedent. Mr. Earls said trash trucks have to use private driveways to get out of Webb Place. Mr. Annino noted they could use the apartment complex parking lot to get to East Street. Mr. Armstrong asked about other, similarly configured land in town. Mr. Burke said there are a number of possible locations, including Cobb Street and King Street. Mr. French said some developers cite waivers the board has granted to others when requesting waivers on new projects. Dr. Torman said the dangerous precedent here would be the waiver from the length of the dead-end street. Mr. Burke said he would be much more comfortable with a Form A and a couple of additional units on the existing way than with the board granting waivers from the Subdivision Regulations. He said the waivers the board tends to grant, for things like r- July 27, 2005 5 Planning Board sidewalks, don't change the project the way this kind of waiver would. He said would r not encourage the board to grant this waiver. Dr. Torman said the applicant has an ahernative, an ANR Plan, that would give him almost the same number of units. Mr. Ofcarcik said if the board would entertain other alternative plans if it votes against the waiver. Mr. French said he thought it would. Mr. DeMassi said he has a problem with the configuration of the lots. Correspondence July 5, 2005 letter from William Rosa, Wynn & Wynn, PC Motion: Not to support the waiver (DeMassi-Annino) Six in favor. One opposed. PASSES l~\;..,'t..\, Mr. Annino said he attended a conference about downtown mixed-use development in California and parking issues that go along with it. The board discussed communities with and without vibrant and successful downtown areas. (' Mr. DeMassi asked about the ahernate Planning Board positions. Mr. Burke said it has been approved by the Attorney General's office and would have to be put on a ballot. Mr. DeMassi said there would have to be a defined set of rules to ensure consistency. The board discussed how that policy would be determined. ta.~ Motion: To adjourn at 9:45 p.rn. (Torman-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: Wednesday, August 10,2005 at 7:30 p.rn. ~& ~ lei ,'" ).AJ- SgnatureofCIerk ~ DateOfA~1 (0 ;;waS- , r July 27, 2005 6 Planning Board