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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 08/17/05 ti! r". f.' C.'I V '."1\ ;" t-.. \ ; r, 1 t. ~:,: . - "c :{ (, () J: F let i \l'H,) UI I Planning Board Minutes August 17,2005 05 MJG 26 AM 8: 43 Present: Tom French, Cha~; Fred ~ong, Clerk; Frank Holn\SS~ f~~ ';rQ.I1J:Jall, Doug Annino John DeMassl, Waher Jenkms Ill" j "',) , i i:.llJ . , H" ec;.~ CHUC'ETTS Shaun P. Burke, Director of PI . and Develo ment 1"'1 ;).) l:l; V i);_;..;_~~~,!....'; ~i~;......~IAitI' ...~........."'..;..~~~...~...... "..Itit' ......\V~!~t Lou Masiello, WS Development, explained the changes to the plans and additions to the community benefits package. r Mr. Masiello explained the Order of Conditions is still open and they will meet with the Conservation Commission next week, and the final MEP A Environmental Impact Report has been approved, so that process is complete. There are also DEP and Army Corps of Engineer permits to be issued. Mr. Masiello explained there was a meeting with Mass Highway, state economic development officials and town officials, and Mass Highway has said it will consent to a Right-In turning movement into the site from Route 140, but not a Right-Out from the site because of concerns about merging with Route 495. He said the design of School Street will remain the same, as will the mitigation package, and the Route 140 access will be an additional mitigation the developer will fund. He said his traffic consultant would r be working with Mass Highway on the details. Mr. Masiello said there had been a question at the last meeting about the overall leasing efforts for the site. He said he has met with his leasing representatives and has a list of tenants who have either signed or are in the late stages of lease negotiations. These include Kohl's, Linens & Things, Michael's Crafts, TGIFriday's, Kodoba, Coldstone Creamery, Elizabeth Grady Day Spa, Yankee Candle, Learning Express, Panera Bread, Coldwater Creek, Joseph A Bank, J. Jill, Chico'~ American Eagle, Border'~ and LL Bean. Mr. Masiello said the LL Bean would not be an outlet store, but the second ful1-- service store in New England. David White, ESS Group, explained there had been questions about sight line distances with regard to the ''way finding" signage, the intent of which is to identify tenants at the back portion of the site. A sight visibility study was done for a driver sitting at the sign and turning into the main driveway, and Mr. White said there is 335 feet of visibility in either direction. Mr. Annino asked if the sign will be lit; Mr. White said it would not be an illuminated sign, but would be lit from below, in the landscaping. Mr. White explained the second issue was ahernatives for dumpster enclosures. He presented the board with photos of the original dumpster enclosure, wooden picket fences, and an alternative, a white pvc, six-foot high solid fencing system. Dr. Torman asked if it would be painted; Mr. White said it is not. Dr. Torman asked about length of r- life; Mr. White said it is hard to say because of the frequency of traffic, but it would last Planning Board 1 Aug 17,2005 r T r longer than a wooden system. Mr. Armstrong noted the pvc fence would still have to be maintained, and would need :frequent power washing. Mr. Annino asked about gates; Mr. White said the gates would be reinforced with galvanized steed. Mr. Annino said that is a better option than wooden fencing. Mr. Holmes said the board had discussed the ''way finding" sign being lit from the inside; Mr. Masiello said it could be lit either internally or from below, and said internally illuminated signs are easier for drivers to see. Mr. Holmes said a light from below might cause glare for drivers. Mr. Annino said with an internally illuminated sign, there wouldn't be concerns about snow covering the light. Mr. Masiello said they could change it to an internal light. Ron Mueller, GPI, said there has been discussion about the problems at the North Main StreetIRoute 106 intersection. He said right now, Route 106 Eastbound traffic gets a lead phase, with no other approach moving, giving left-turning traffic the ability to turn. Then the main line of Route 106 Westbound traffic moves, giving Westbound left turning traffic the chance to go left only during a break in traffic. Then the same thing happens on North Main Street. He said they can provide a Westbound lag phase, with the same Eastbound lead phase for left hand turns, and at the end of that phase, Eastbound traffic would stop and Westbound traffic would have a protected turn. Mr. Armstrong asked if this work could be done without Mass Highway approval; Mr. Mueller explained that is not a state intersection, so they would only have to work with DPW. r- , Mr. Burke said the town has always been told that this could not be done. Mr. Mueller said to the best of his knowledge, that is not a state-controlled intersection, so it would require only local approval. He said the physical changes would be in the controllers for the lights. Mr. Burke asked what would become of the queue lengths... Mr. Mueller said it wouldn't change anything Eastbound, but could change lines on North Main Street, so there would be a somewhat negative effect from that direction. He said he has not done a complete analysis of the intersection. Mr. Burke asked why there isn't a protected left band turn going Westbound. Mr. Mueller said to get a left turn lane there, the existing lanes would have to be pushed over and there isn't enough right-of-way to widen the intersection. Mr. Armstrong said this proposal would improve the situation significantly, and would make the downtown merchants happy. Mr. Muller said protected phasing should reduce accidents. Dr. Torman said he thinks this will improve the flow of traffic. Mr. Masiello presented the board with a revised community benefIts package, including the economic benefits of the project: real estate revenue, personal property tax revenue, income for municipal services and jobs. In addition, Mr. Masiello presented details about the preservation and relocatiQn of the Stearns- White house, traffic mitigation at various intersections and emergency signal preemption equipment at Plymouth Street, $200,000 surety for post-construction traffic mitigation, $30,000 to the Downtown Business Association, $2,500 to the Jordan-Jackson playground renovation, signs along Route 140 to identify Downtown Business District, funding of a portion of the town's sewer improvement master plan, traffic signal upgrades at Route 106/North Main Street, r Planning Board 2 Aug 17,2005 r $10,000 to the School Department for the arts program and the right turn into the site from Route 140. Mr. DeMassi asked about the $650,000 per year "maintenance to local vendors" and asked about requiring that Mansfield companies be used for maintenance work. Mr. Masiello said they would encourage hiring Mansfield businesses, but didn't think they could require it. He said they focus very heavily on local frrms in all their projects. Mr. Masiello said the Chamber of Commerce would be funding the renovation and relocation of the Steams-White House, but his company would be doing the site work, foundatio~ driveway, sidewalk, landscaping and utility connections. He said they have not worked out the leasing with the Chamber at this point, but said the house would be free to the Chamber in perpetuity. Mr. DeMassi asked about the utilities; Mr. Masiello said all the tenan~ including the Chamber, would pay their own utility costs. Mr. Masiello said they have worked out the details of the emergency signal preemption equipment with public safety. r Mr. Masiello said the $200,000 post-construction traffic mitigation will be used for post- construction traffic studies to prove the applicant's assertions about the number and direction of traffic. If the original numbers prove to be correct, at which point they would get their surety back. If the numbers prove incorrect, the surety will fund additional studies to determine how to fix the problems. Mr. Holmes asked if that would be tied to level of service and delays. Mr. Masiello said the first part would be number and direction of cars, the second would be level of service and delays. Mr. DeMassi said if this project is permitted and the cars are coming from where the developer anticipates, and the intersections don't wQrk, the developer would have to fix that. Mr. Masiello said if that happened, it would be because of something other than his facility. He said there would have to be something in the surety to ensure the traffic issues are or are not being caused by this development. Mr. DeMassi said he has a problem with the argument, in that the traffic could be coming from where they assume, but the volume could be much larger than anticipated, and the developer would have to address that Mr. Masiello said if that were the case, he would address that problem. Mr. Holmes said the function of the intersection is based on calculations done by the traffic engineer, and said he could see a scenario where the numbers and distribution might be correct, and the intersections could still not work. Mr. DeMassi said the models can't give information for impacts on intersections a certain distance away. Mr. Mueller said there are two primary factors in traffic studies that can be off a little bit; trip generation and traffic distribution. He said generation rates are based on other shopping centers, so it could be offby some. Distribution in close proximity to the site is an accurate estimatio~ but the further away from the site, the more tenuous the numbers can be. He said they try to use as conservative an estimate as possible when doing the study. He said the analysis of the volumes are accurate based on the trip generation and distribution numbers, so if those two can be determined, the analysis will be accurate. However, he said new developments or events at Tweeter can impact these numbers. Mr. r Planning Board 3 Aug 17,2005 r Annino said there are a number of similar developments in surrounding towns that have traffic problems, even though their traffic engineers were also sure of their numbers. Mr. Masiello said there could be issues with traffic distribution or incorrect improvements. Mr. Annino said if a post-construction fix is necessary, it could be more detrimental to the neighborhood than the original development. Mr. Masiello said their traffic study was reviewed by the town's traffic consuhant. Mr. Masiello said he believes the traffic mitigation is overdesigned and conservative. He said the traffic study found that the improvements will more than handle the impact of this development, and in addition they are offering an additional $200,000 for future issues. He said that extra surety is very unusual. Mr. Annino said he sees a significant impact on the neighborhood and on West Mansfield Dr. Torman said Mr. Masiello had mentioned that the traffic mitigation has been planned for a 450,000 square foot mall, and the development size has been decreased, so the traffic plan should work better. Mr. Masiello said they are willing to put up the surety because they are confident their traffic mitigation will work. He noted the beneficial effects ofa Right-In ramp from Route 140 have not been figured into the mitigation plan. Mr. Holmes asked when the two-year period for the surety would begin. Mr. Masiello said when there is 75% occupancy. r Mr. Masiello said the $30,000 contribution to the Downtown Business Association will be an unrestricted gift to downtown businesses. Mr. DeMassi asked who the Downtown Business Association actually is; Mr. Burke said there isn't an official corporation, so something may have to be created. Mr. Masiello said he envisions that being for the downtown community, not for individual businesses. Mr. Burke said the gift may go to the Board of Selectmen but spent by another entity. In addition, Mr. Masiello said they would donate $2,500 for signage along Route 140 to identify downtown businesses. He said there would probably be two signs, at the northern and southern ends of the corridor. Mr. Masiello said they would contribute $10,000 to fund an endowment for the MHS arts program. Mr. Jenkins asked what a typical number is for community benefits packages and noted many large businesses donate annually to town projects. Mr. Masiello said in other communities, they are active in programs like DARE and memorial golftoumaments, and usually donate $10,000-$25,000 per year to local agencies. He said there are usually three to five entities per town to which they donate regularly. Mr. Jenkins noted the ongoing financial support should be included in the community benefits package. Mr. Masiello said they are very proactive in their communities and noted the individual stores will also have some level of community involvement effort. Mr. Burke said he has received an email from Mansfield resident Alex Rothchild with some photographs of different types of architectural details on stores. He presented the r Planning Board 4 Aug 17,2005 board with articles about open air shopping center security and a draft of the design r review process. Board Comment Regarding the draft design review, Mr. Annino said he is still concerned about architectural themes presented by the developer during the public hearing process. He said he is especially concerned about the design of the Kohl's store and does not want to see that remain a typical "big box" store. Mr. French said the board is concerned the bigger stores will have big blank walls, and would like to see the walls broken up. Mr. Masiello said he believes he has successfully incorporated the larger stores with a motif that carries over from the smaller stores, including vertical and horizontal relief. He said the project has to be anchored with large stores and he believes they can be made to fit in will with the rest of the center. Mr. Annino said he feels the bigger stores detract from the rest of the center; he said there are many different features that can be used to break down the large stores, and said it is incorrect to say the big retailers will not be willing to do something like that. Mr. Annino said this project will have a significant impact on the community, and to have a big box on this site would be a detriment. He said this development is at a prominent location and will set the standard for future development, and he doesn't want to be locked into a traditional big box structure. r Mr. DeMassi said he doesn't think the Kohl's as proposed will look as nice as the other, smaller stores proposed for the facility. Mr. Burke said under the draft ~ade review process, if the board doesn't feel the store is consistent with the rest of the site, it can be denied. He said he has added a 21-day review period, which is consistent with the site plan time frame. Mr. Masiello said the process for review presumes the elevation images as presented are acceptable concepts, and the review is to make sure the developer meets them with each building. Mr. DeMassi asked if the lease signed with Kohl's prevents changes to the fa~e. Mr. Masiello said he cannot make those changes unilaterally, and if Kohl's doesn't like the proposal, it can break its lease. Mr. Burke said he would like to think Kohl's has some flexibility, because patrons going to the Chamber of Commerce building would be going by a big blank wall He said the board is concerned about those views, and architectural detail would need to be added. Mr. Annino said he would be concerned about approving something, then approving later changes and ending up with a vastly different concept than was originally proposed. He suggested asking for actual material samples with the f~ review. Mr. DeMassi asked if21 days would be time enough for the board to conduct the design process and suggested defining what "substantial" and "major" changes would be, which would trigger the need for a new special permit. Mr. Burke said those items should be defined in the special permit. r Planning Board 5 Aug 17,2005 r Mr. French asked if the board members would be happy with the plan if the Kohl's was taken out of the equation. Mr. Annino said without the Kohl's and the other long building, he would be happy with the smaller buildings. Mr. French suggested Mr. Masiello go back to Kohl's to work on the building design. Mr. Armstrong said the long building at the back would be a muhi-tenant building, each of which will want their own identity. Mr. Masiello said it would be easy to maintain the theme of the shopping center along the majority of the front wall, and the individual stores would be more concerned about their vestibules and signage designs. Mr. Annino said the site has high visibility, and asked why towers aren't being used to bring attention to the site. Mr. Masiello said he has shown the board artists' renderings of smaller stores with varying canopies and rooflines. Mr. Annino noted the photographs of the Hingham shopping center, which show the types of elements he would like to see. Mr. Masiello said they have added those types offeatures to the artist's renderings for this site. Mr. Annino said he would be very concerned about approving a special permit with large stores with long blank walls, which he feels would be a detriment. Mr. Masiello said he would continue to work with Kohl's. He said the question of the mid-sized store designs would be difficult to answer at this time. Mr. Armstrong said if the developer cannot provide the board with any image~ the board cannot be expected to agree with the conceptual designs. Mr. Masiello said the mid-sized sto~ while not definitely identified, are much closer to the center's theme. Mr. Annino said he would want to see some more architectural features on the large stores before the board votes. r Mr. Jenkins said he has seen many of the stores Mr. Masiello has mentioned, and doesn't think most of them will have a problem fitting into the design. He said he is very concerned about the design of Kohl's. Mr. French said he thinks the developer's site in Canton, Connecticut looks nice, and ifa similar project were to be built here, the board would likely be supportive of that. Mr. Annino agreed. Mr. Masiello said he thinks this center will look like that project. Dr. Torman suggested a "courtyard" element into the long building in the back. Mr. Masiello said that wouldn't work with that building, but said they have tried to use that type of element in the pond area. Mr. Jenkins suggested recessing the center stores in the long building in the back to break up the long front wall. Mr. Masiello said there are 8- 10 feet of variation along the front wall, with a varying width sidewalk in front. Mr. DeMassi asked if the recessed area along that building would have seating areas; Mr. Masiello said there will be seating areas, bike racks and planting areas. Mr. French said the board should try to look at the issues, identify any problems and get the answers from the developer so it can get to the point where it can vote on the application. r Mr. French asked if there are additional traffic questions. Dr. Torman asked about the chances for a Right Out. Mr. Masiello said he thought there might be a 10% chance of getting that turning movement. Mr. Burke said Mass Highway has said it would consider it, but he didn't think it was likely. Dr. Torman said a few months ago, Mass Highway Planning Board 6 Aug 17,2005 r was saying the Right In was never going to happen, and suddenly it was granted. Mr. Masiello said he and the town had been lobbying Mass Highway for access between the last Planning Board meeting and the most recent Mass Highway meeting. Mr. Jenkins noted Mass Highway has also said it will allow a U-Turn on Route 140 northbound, which would have an additional impact on School Street traffic. Mr. French said signage on Route 140 directing traffic to not use School Street would be a significant mitigation factor. Mr. Masiello said he would not be allowed to use the large, green Mass Highway sign directing traffic to "Mansfield Crossing," and is working on other options. Mr. Jenkins asked how the Route 140 entrance would impact traffic within the center itself, and said he wouldn't want to see a traffic backup entering the site. He asked how much traffic could stack up inside the site before it backs up onto Route 140. Mr. Mueller said there is a lot of queue storage in the site, but he said a queue would not back up because traffic would be able to travel unimpeded inside the site. Mr. Jenkins asked how people would be prevented from using the Right In as a Right Out. Mr. Mueller said they would use signage and curbing to prevent traffic from going out that way. Mr. Mueller said they are working on a report with the details of the Route 140 access for Mass Highway, which he will also send to the town. Mr. Holmes asked how wide the entrance would be; Mr. Mueller said it is 20 feet wide. He noted the design has been done to accommodate the Right Out, if it is ever allowed. "..- Mr. DeMassi asked how close the traffic coming in the Route 140 entrance will be to pedestrian areas. Mr. White explained the comer of the nearest building has been pulled back from the intersection and they are proposing a five-foot planting strip along the side of the building. There will be no sidewalk at the back of that building; there will be employee parking spaces, but those people will be able to access the store through a back entrance. Mr. DeMassi said if there is a potential for pedestrian use of this area, there should be a crosswalk or a stop sign. Mr. Burke agreed and suggested a raised crosswalk to make it very obvious there is a travel Jane there. Mr. White suggested relocating the sidewalk to the other side of the driveway and moving the crosswalk closer to the restaurant building to the south. The board agreed that would work. Mr. Annino said he has some concerns about the sizes of some parking spaces and travel aisles, no handicapped spaces at the Chamber of Commerce building and the lack of sidewalk connection for the Chamber building with the rest of the site. Mr. Masiello said there are two handicapped spaces at the porch side of the Chamber building. Mr. Annino said he is concerned about the 24-foot drive aisle against the west side ofthe Kohl's building and suggested a curb, as well as along the parking spaces along the wall. Mr. Annino asked for dimensions of the entrance to the Chamber building and on the parking spaces approaching Kohl's, as well as the width of the stamped asphalt crosswalk at Kohl's. Mr. Masiello said many of these things have been done on the revised plans and asked for a copy of Mr. Annino's comments to be sure they are all addressed. 1"""'. I Mr. Armstrong asked about security cameras. Mr. Masiello said they have not planned on using cameras. He said during very busy times, they hire police details. He said he Planning Board 7 Aug 17,2005 T T r has looked at security for open air centers, but it is very expensive. He said they own about 70 shopping centers and have had very minor problems with vandalism. Mr. DeMassi asked where an alarm would ring in the event ofa break-in to one of the stores; Mr. Masiello said it would be a police call. He said the major police demand their centers have is for traffic control during Christmas. Mr. DeMassi said he is concerned that there is no security in a facility of this size and suggested something like emergency buttons in outlying parking areas. Mr. Masiello suggested they might have private security for a certain amount of time after approval, followed by a review; he said if there is a need, they will be happy to keep it. Mr. DeMassi said Mansfield has a huge number of children and this could be an unsafe place for them. He said there will be a lot of young people working at this type of center. Mr. Burke said he agrees about the issue of employee security and the parking lot, but said this type of shopping center is not like an enclosed mall, as a place for teenagers to spend time. Mr. Jenkins said if there is security for a period oftime and there are no problems, then security is eliminated and problems start, the developer will likely bring the security back because the tenants will demand it. Mr. Masiello agreed. Mr. DeMassi said he has spoken with the Police Chief in North Smithfield, who said there were over 1,000 calls in the first year from the Weiner project. Mr. Holmes said he would rather see the developer bear the costs for these additional, minor calls than the town. Mr. Masiello said they often have security during construction, paid for by the contractor. He said he would be willing to begin with security in place; Mr. DeMassi said he would be willing to discuss that annually with the Police Chief to determine whether it is needed. r Mr. Holmes said he is concerned about parking at the west end of the site, where there are several restaurants. Mr. Masiello said he bas proposed a cap of 600 restaurant seats in that area. Mr. Holmes said he is still concerned that a lot of the spaces in that area would be taken up by the restaurant patrons and asked about reducing the number to 500. Mr. DeMassi said he thinks that part of the site will be packed and people will have to walk to get to the buildings; he noted that with Borders in that area, there will be a parking problem. Mr. Masiello said that area will have a Kodoba, ice cream parlor, a sit down restaurant, Borders, LL Bean and a few other clothing stores. He said that mix of uses will give some relief to the parking. Mr. Jenkins said ifpatrons cannot find parking, they will park in another parking field or simply leave. Mr. Holmes said people will park in fire lanes, landscaped islands to get close to where they want to be. Mr. Jenkins agreed the west end is the most densely parked area, but the retail and restaurant uses will have different peak ho~ and the different types of restaurants will have different turnover times. Mr. DeMassi said the community will have two big issues - accessing the site and fmding parking once inside. Mr. Masiello said capping the restaurant seats at 500 would make getting tenants difficuh and suggested 550. Mr. Annino asked how many parking spaces.there are in that area. Mr. Masiello said there are around 500 spaces. He said they have shown that area exceeds the parking ratio the board recommended to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He said the parking pods for the area will prevent pedestrians from having to cross travel areas, so there will not be a public safety issue. Consensus was to cap the restaurant seats in that area at 550. r Planning Board 8 Aug 17,2005 ... T r Public Comment Christopher Weinert asked how overdesigned the traffic plan is. Mr. Masiello said the roadway was designed for 450,000 square feet, but they are only building 390,000 square feet. Mr. Mueller said he has done hundreds of successful traffic studies for projects like this. Mr. French said the board had an independent consultant review the applicant's traffic study, who agreed it will work. He said the Right In will make a big difference, and is not included in the analysis. Mr. Mueller said he is having discussions with Mass Highway about the U-Turn design. Mr. Burke asked the board members and the applicant to review the draft design review program and make comments. Motion: To continue the public hearing to September 21,2005 at 7:30 p.rn. (Torrnan-Annino) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 at 7:30 p.rn. ~(l dPAI. (>J- Uj 11A.tl'/71. J A-v?v IN 7{)Dr ignature of Clerk f Date of Appr al r' r Planning Board 9 Aug 17,2005 . .