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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 09/28/05 r r- (',~ \ \J ~0 -<1 '~J"._ ".: (~+ 'Uff \Cf Planning Board Minutes " ,"" "" .. . 35 September 28, 2005 UJ OCT -1 tin 8. Present: Fred Armstrong, Clerk; Douglas Annino, Ken Torman, John BeM,as~i, :?tf~ Holmes ., I ~ iC: ~\8;? H USE T T S Shaun P. Burke, Director ofPlanmn and Develo ment t' , ...J., , \ . 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. Motion: To appoint Mr. Annino Acting Chair (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES )Mr. DeMassi arrived at this time] ~ Correspondence 1. September 14, 2005 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Torman-DeMassi) Four in favor. Holmes abstained. PASSES 2. September 23, 2005 letter from Jasen Crozier re: extension of Cobb Street completion date. Mr. Burke suggested granting the extension and said he thought the work would be done before bad weather. Motion: To grant a 3 I-day extension to October 31, 2005 contingent upon the receipt of the new surety (Armstrong-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES 3. September IS, 2005 letter from John Bayley, 165 Gilbert Street re: relocation and change in species of trees for buffer at the Village at Gilbert Street. Mr. Burke said this existing house on Gilbert Street will become a comer lot with the construction of Chessman Road. The developer will be planting trees to screen this house from the drainage area, and will be conveying a portion of the subdivision land to the Bayleys. Mr. DeMassi asked if the new trees along the street would be out of character with the rest of the properties on the street. Mr. Burke said the changes would be on the abutting lot, not to the street trees. Motion: To allow the change (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES 4. New England Planning newsletter 5. September 23, 2005 letter from Timothy Ditchman withdrawing the special permit application for 75 Chauncy Street. Mr. Burke said Mr. Ditchman has indicated his willingness to work with the town on the TOO development; he said the ZBA has denied Mr. Ditchman's application for variances. In addition, the Board of Selectmen has instituted a moratorium on new parking until after January 1, 2006. Motion: To accept the letter withdrawing the special permit without prejudice (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES I 3. Di)cussion about North Main Street Redevelopment - Karl Clemmey William Clemmey, representing Clemmey Development Co., Dan Clemmey, Benjamin Clemmey Dr. Torman said he is a former owner of property of North Main Street property and a current owner on Rumford Avenue, and asked if the applicant would like him to excuse himself Mr. Bill Clemmey said Dr. Torman was welcome to stay. Lou Allevato, Allevato Architects, presented a plan for a mixed-use development on two ,,-- parcels on North Main Street. The applicant owns one and is negotiating with the owners of the other. Mr. DeMassi asked if there is an intention to incorporate any additional r buildings. Mr. Allevato said there is not. Mr. Allevato said the ground floor would be 4,600 square feet with retail/professional tenants. The building will be three stories above grade with 20-22 residential units. There will be 39 parking spaces on site for the retail and residential uses, and they may be seeking relief for employee parking. Each residential unit will have 1.5 parking spaces, with open air parking and parking under the building. There will be some three-bedroom units, which may have more than one parking space each. The area to the west, along the side of the residential properties, will have earthen berms and vegetation to minimize headlights and noise. Mr. DeMassi asked if the surrounding properties are residential. Mr. Allevato said they are. Mr. DeMassi asked about the vegetation; Mr. Allevato said they would use shrubs and arbor vitae, a berm and possibly a fence. Mr. Bill Clemmey said there is nothing there now. Mr. Allevato said his plan shows a five-foot buffer. The traffic pattern shown is one-way from West Church Street and two-way from High Street. The plan shows 9' x la8.S' parking spaces, 28% of which would be for compact parking and two handicapped parking spaces. r- Mr. Allevato said he tried to consider the surrounding neighborhood in his design. He said he used a mansard roof in an attempt to minimize the four-story building. He said they would use real brick and simulated slate roofing material. The first floor streetscape has features like planters and bay windows, and the front of the building is broken up with windows and has turrets on the High Street side and dormers along the front. Mr. Allevato said the roofis slightly stepped back; the top of the flat roofis 45 feet, with the mansard roof and hvac equipment at 48 feet. Mr. Allevato said there is a location near the dumpster that can be used for off-site loading. He said they may need relief for that, but said he thinks the site can accommodate it. Mr. Allevato said snow would be removed from the site, not stored there. He said they may use the basement for mechanical equipment and storage. He said 10% of the units will be affordable. Mr. Allevato said they may be seeking waivers on: the distance from the West Church Street intersection to their curb cut, parking for retail uses, off-street loading, comer lot setbacks and ground floor parking under the building. Mr. Annino asked about planting street trees along the sidewalk rather than putting planting beds against the building. Mr. Allevato said he wouldn't have a problem with that. He said they might be able to add benches along that sidewalk, as well. r Mr. Burke asked about the materials to be used on the back of the building. Mr. Allevato r said it would be the same material as the front. Mr. Burke asked about the lintels; Mr. Allevato said they hadn't thought that far, but they could be limestone. Mr. Annino said the black and white rendering appears to provide a wonderful streetscape and is a good example of the types of the things the board has been encouraging. Mr. Armstrong said the plan appears to show many of the elements the downtown group has been discussing. Mr. Allevato said he had a chance to meet with Mr. Burke before coming to the board about they types of things the plan should include, and said he and his client understand those issues. Mr. Burke said he is impressed with the plans, and likes the way the building is oriented. Mr. Annino said the different materials help to make the fa~de look like separate buildings. Mr. Burke asked if the roofline would change; Allevato said it would not, but would be broken up with things like dormers. Mr. Burke asked about what appears to be a balcony on the second floor; Mr. Allevato explained some of the second floor doors would open onto balconies. Mr. Burke asked if the residential units would be rented or owned; Mr. Bill Clemmey said they would likely be condo units. r Mr. Burke asked about the roofing material; Mr. Allevato said there are a few options for slate-like synthetic materials, and as the plans develop, he would present actual materials. Mr. Holmes asked about the buffer requirement; Mr. Burke said there is no requirement in BI, so he is pleased to see some buffer being proposed at the back of the building. He said he would be concerned about how the back of the building appears from the residential homes behind it. Mr. Holmes said with only five feet of area, it might not be possible to build a berm high enough to screen those houses from headlights. He said a fence may be a better solution. Mr. DeMassi said evergreen trees or hedges on top of a berm may be dense enough. Mr. DeMassi said the dumpster appears to be in the best possible location and asked about its location in relation to the abutting house. Mr. Allevato said the front of that house is on West Church Street. Mr. Bill Clemmey said the dumpster would be near that house's driveway. Mr. Holmes asked about double stall parking. Mr. Bill Clemmey said the residential unit layout isn't definite yet, but the three bedroom units would have two spaces each. Mr. Allevato said the site would max out at 22 residential units. r Mr. Annino asked about the waivers. Mr. Burke said he hasn't seen the sight lines at an intersection issue applied to downtown parcels, and said Mr. Allevato noted traffic there is flowing in the other direction and can make a free right onto West Church and High Streets. He said he didn't know how the Building Inspector will interpret that issue. He 11 said the Planning Board can make a finding on the off-street loading, but the other issues r would require relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Burke said the way the parking lot is laid out, it appears loading could be done there without impacting North Main Street. He said with the size of the retai1lcommercial spaces, the delivery vehicles would not be very large or take very long to unload. Mr. Holmes said he would like to see whether the turning movements for a tractor-trailer truck can be accommodated on site. Dr. Torman asked if there is a way to require the trucks to load and unload in the parking lot and not on North Main Street. Mr. Burke said that could be incorporated into the recommendation to the Building Inspector, but said it is an enforcement issue. Mr. Armstrong suggested it cold be made a condition of the finding that if no separate loading space is required, all deliveries have to be made at the rear of the building. Mr. DeMassi asked the timeframe; Mr. Bill Clemmey said it would be at least a year. Mr. Burke asked about the property on the comer of West Church Street; Mr. Bill Clemmey said the project can move forward without it, but they are working on acquiring it. Mr. Annino said it would make sense to incorporate that into the design. Dr. Torman asked the square footage of the existing first floor retail space; Mr. Bill Clemmey said it is about 3,600 square feet. Mr. Burke asked about the lobby entrance; Mr. Bill Clemmey said it is on North Main Street. There will also be a walkway from the back of the site out to the front. r- Mr. Annino asked about the variances; Mr. Bill Clemmey said they have the applications but wanted to incorporate the board's comments into the plans first. Mr. DeMassi asked if the light poles shown are existing; Mr. Bill Clemmey said they are the town's poles. Mr. Burke asked about lighting on the building; Mr. Allevato said he anticipates adding lighting and signage. Mr. Armstrong asked about lighting at the back; Mr. Bill Clemmey sadi there is one existing town pole; Mr. Allevato said they would do low-level lighting along the residential buffer. Mr. Holmes asked about parking along the front of the building; Mr. Bill Clemmey said there is existing on-street parking. [Mr. Holmes left the table at this time] I 4.. SiteP.....R.eview -- Domino'. J.>>izza... 135 Chauncy Street Atty Stephen McLaughlin; Jim DeVellis, Geller DeVellis, engineer; Jim Dufficy, Domino's Mr. McLaughlin said they had been before the board in 2004 with a two. story building, which the board was not in favor of The proposal is now for a one-story building, but they still had to go to the ZBA for front and sideyard setback variances and a parking r r , finding. The ZBA granted the variances and determined the site needs 12 parking spaces. r There was litigation with the abutter, Brooks Pharmacy, which has been resolved. Mr. McLaughlin explained the large curb cut on Chauncy Street will be eliminated and replaced with a smaller one on Copeland Drive. The property onthe comer is owned by the town, and Mr. Dufficy has offered to maintain it. However, there is some question about whether changes to that parcel would effect turning movements at the intersection. Mr. DeVellis said soil testing has been done and they have a letter from the Engineering Department indicating their concerns have been addressed. Turning radii for emergency vehicles are shown, there will be front and rear entrance to the building and as much landscaping as possible. There will be an enclosed dumpster pad. Mr. Burke asked if the Mass Highway curb cut application has been filed. Mr. Devellis said they have met with Mass Highway, which requested some changes, and he said he thinks a decision will be made soon. He said the changes requested by Mass Highway have been incorporated into these plans. Mr. DeMassi asked how the dumpster will be picked up. Mr. Devellis said a truck would either back in and out, or a font-loading truck would be used. Mr. Dufficy said they spent some time talking with Mass Highway about that issue. Mr. DeMassi asked about the sidewalk; Mr. Devellis said the sidewalk is on the right-of-way. r- Department Bead Comments The clerk read memos from Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Grenier, Ptlm. Lawson, Water Department and Mr. Burke. Board Comment Mr. DeMassi asked about a grease trap; Mr. Devellis said it would be internal. Mr. DeMassi asked about signage. Mr. Devellis said the sign would be five feet off the comer of the property. Mr. Dufficy said there would not be a sign like the one at the shop on County Street in Attleboro. He presented photographs showing how the front of the building would look. Mr. DeMassi said he doesn't have a problem with the sign on the building, but is more concerned about how the pylon sign would look. Mr. Dufficy said the pylon sign shown in the photographs is a retrofit of an existing sign in Pawtucket. Mr. DeMassi said it would help to know how high the sign will be in reference to the size of the building. Dr. Tonnan said a lower pylon sign could work at this site if it is far enough back from the intersection. Mr. DeMassi asked about signage on the side of the building facing Chauncy Street; Mr. Dufficy said he has no plans to put signage there. He said the pylon sign would provide visibility for traffic on Chauncy Street. Mr. Burke said there would only be one building sign allowed. Mr. Burke said the pylon sign maximum height would be 16 feet, with a maximum square foot of 16 feet. ,"-- Mr. Annino asked about the facade on Chauncy Street. Mr. Dufficy said there would be r no detail on that wall other than false windows. Mr. Annino said that is a major intersection and the building should have some detail. Mr. McLaughlin said there would be a clapboard side with false windows. Mr. Annino said there should be more glass and a storefront appearance. Mr. Dufficy said it isn't feasible for him to do that. He said he has tried to address the site, and if he puts the storefront in the front, customers would have to park in the back and walk to the front. Mr. Annino said there are a number of architectural features that could be added to the building, which would be good advertising for the business and also be good for the town. He suggested varying rooflines and adding more glass to the storefront. Mr. DeMassi said it doesn't appear that much planning went into this building, which is at a major intersection. Mr, McLaughlin said this is a subjective issue, and the applicant has hired an architect to design the building. Mr. Devellis said at the last meeting, there was a two-story building and this plan has changed significantly. Mr. Armstrong said the board is sensitive to the difficulty of the site, but said the applicant should be sensitive to the fact that because of the shape of the lot, the back of the building is actually another front. Mr. DeMassi said there are a number of design features that could be added to make this building look more appropriate for this intersection. Mr. McLaughlin said if the applicant hadn't been concerned about this side of the building, he wouldn't have had an architect design the building, so he felt the issue is being addressed. Mr. Dufficy said there are limited options on this site because of the setbacks and sidewalk. r- Dr. Torman said he would like to see that comer dressed up and if the applicant goes back to the architect with some changes, it can be done. Mr. DeMassi asked about the sidewalk; Mr. Dufficy said it would be concrete. Mr. DeMassi asked about lighting; Mr. Devellis explained the lighting plan showing stand- alone 25-foot high lights, two at the entrance and one on the building. Mr. DeMassi asked why the poles are so high; Mr. Dufficy said they could be lower. Mr. Devellis said the fixtures would be shielded with cutoffs. Mr. Burke noted that is a small area to be lighted. Mr. Annino asked about the wallpack being shown at 20 feet when the building is only 17 feet high; Mr. Devellis said that would be lowered. Mr. Devellis said the back entrance is only for delivery drivers and to access the dumpster. r- Mr. Burke asked how long the building is; Mr. Dufficy said it is 54'x28', with the glass going back 10 feet. Mr. Burke said about 20% of the Chauncy Street elevation is glass, as is the back, and with all that glass, it would be very brightly illuminated. He asked how that would affect the need for light poles. Mr. Dufficy said there would be some spill outside the windows onto the sidewalk, but said the parking lot wouldn't be lit by the inside of the building. Mr. Burke asked the distance from the entrance to the sidewalk on Copeland; Mr. Devellis said it is a little more than 30 feet. Mr. Burke said the extra lighting probably wouldn't be an issue. r Mr. Dufficy said the building is very small; Mr. Burke said there are other small buildings in the area that incorporate good detail. Mr. Dufficy said his roof has a parapet to hide the mechanical equipment. Mr. Annino suggested the roof could be hipped at the pick up area rather than having a straight face, with awnings over the big glass windows, leaving a flat roof at the back for the mechanical equipment. He said that would give the building some prominence on the comer and a long fa~ade for signage. Mr. Burke said he is satisfied with the applicant's response on the technical details and asked how long it would take for the architect to redraw the elevation plans. Mr. Devellis said he would revisit the lighting and signage. Dr. Torman asked how long it would be before the curb cut is permitted; Mr. Devellis said it would be soon after the site plan is completed. Mr. McLaughlin said they would be happy to come back in with the elevations later, but they would like to keep the process moving. Mr. Dufficy said he plans to be in business in Mansfield for a long time and he has considered a number of options for the building. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a positive recommendation with the following conditions: All department head comments (attached) must be fully and satisfactorily addressed. ,r- A new photometric plan evaluating and reducing the height of the light poles, if possible, must be submitted to the Building Inspector. The light fixtures should be low cutoffwallpacks. A signage plan must be submitted to the Building Inspector. The applicant has agreed to present revise elevation plans to the Planning Board at its meeting of November 2, 2005, prior to the issuance of a full building permit. (Armstrong- Torman) Mr. DeMassi said he is uncomfortable making a recommendation until all the items are done. Mr. Burke said the board very often makes recommendations contingent upon other items being submitted. Dr. Torman said he was concerned that once the site plan recommendation is made, there is nothing to hold the applicant to returning with new plans. Mr. Annino said if the Building Inspector knows there are outstanding items, he would hold off on issuing a building permit. Mr. Armstrong noted this is site plan review, not design review. Mr. Devellis said he could get the photometries done very quickly, but elevations will have to go through the architect. r- Dr. Torman said he thinks the applicant knows what the board wants. Mr. Burke r suggested a positive recommendation including the submission of revised elevations prior to the issuance of the building permit. Motion amended to include the submission of revised elevations prior to the issuance of the building permit (Armstrong-Torman) All in favor. PASSES The applicant will return with building elevations on November 2, 7:00 pm. I 5. Around the Table Mr. DeMassi said there are telephone poles in the middle of the new sidewalk on East Street near Franklin Street. Mr. Burke said the poles may not belong to the town, or there may not be room for poles behind the sidewalk without land takings. He said if they are Light Department poles, they may be relocated later. Mr. DeMassi asked about the process for getting new sidewalks installed. Mr. Burke said it would require a petition to Town Meeting for inclusion in the capital plan. He said the residents would also have to be partially financially involved in the construction. Mr. Burke said he has spoken with Jay Zola about sidewalks in front ofEastfield Estates; Mr. Zola asked if the board wants that sidewalk or the cash in the sidewalk fund. Mr. Annino said his client has bought George's Cleaner's and he would be preparing the new plans. r I '.Public Comment t 7. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 1O:15p.m. (Torman-Armstrong) Allin favor. PASSES Next meeting: Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. m~ Signature of Clerk . 10- 5' "07 Date of Approval r-