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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 11/02/05 r' Planning Board Minutes November 2, 2005 Present: Tom Fren~h, Chair; Fred Armstrong, Clerk; WalteiJ~l1., ";K.~'iT~~ John DeMassl, Doug Armino, Frank Holmes - Shaun P. Burke, Director ofPlannin and Develo ment 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. SF T T S Motion: To appoint Mr. Holmes acting clerk (Torman-Annino) All in favor. PASSES F c; ~,~- I 3. Site Plan Review continued - Domino's Pizza - 235 Chauncy Street Mouli Doundegowda, Geller De Vellis, explained there were two outstanding issues; the photometric plan showing light cutoffs at the property lines and the building elevations. The photometric plan shows the poles reduced to 15 feet from 25 feet high with additional footcandles to provide the minimum lighting at the property line. The fixtures are low cutoff with shoebox style lights; the color will coordinate with the building. [Mr. Armstrong arrived at this time] Mr. Dutlicy explained the proposed elevations. Mr. Annino made some suggestions for the roofline, sign band and a canopy on the building. He suggested the roof could be kept relatively flat with overhangs. ,,-. Mr. Dutlicy said he would prefer not to commit to a specific building, but said he would have his architect look at the plans. Mr. French said the board would like to see the business succeed, but said the board is concerned about the building at that prominent comer. Mr. Dutlicy said he is happy with the way the plans have evolved and thinks it will be a better building. Dr. Torman asked how the left side of the building would be treated; Mr. Dutlicy said it would be a mirror image of the right side. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a positive recommendation on the photometric plan and with the applicant making the decision about what design concept to use (Armstrong-Annino) All in favor. PASSES 4. Municipal Clearinghouse - West Mansfield Common - Adam Boy - Eagle Scout Project Adam Hoy explained his proposal to refurbish the West Mansfield Common, in front of the Old Country Store, which serves as a memorial for West Mansfield World War II veterans. The flagpole is deteriorated and a 50-foot tree in the center is dying, with bushes growing into the street, and the monument is dirty. Mr. Hoy's plan is to remove the bushes, take out the flagpole and replace it with two new poles, install benches and patio areas with brick pavers, and replace the bushes. There --- will be three raised planting beds and a new light post. The large tree will be replaced . , r' with a fir or spruce tree. Mr. Roy said the work would be done before Thanksgiving so the plants have time to root before the weather turns cold. Mr. Hoy explained this is not a change in use of the common, but a way to create a more respectful memorial and beautify the common. Mr. Hoy asked for the board's support and approval. Mr. Jenkins said this sounds like a great project. Mr. DeMassi agreed. Mr. French asked about the flagpoles; Mr. Hoy said there would be two new white fiberglass flagpoles, one will be 25 feet and one will be 30 feet. One will fly the American and POW flags, the other will fly the state flag. Mr. Annino asked who would be taking down the flagpole; Mr. Roy said he will be working with a landscaper. Mr. Annino said he commends Mr. Hoy for the work this will involve. Dr. Torman asked about the electrical wires; Mr. Hoy said he is working with the Light Department to determine if it will be feasible to relocate the wires. He has asked Electric Department to relocate the wires and the pole across the street. The owners of the Old Country Store has volunteered to supply the flagpoles; donations for the project are being taken through the North Easton Savings Bank. Mr. Burke suggested making a positive recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. r' Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen a positive recommendation (DeMassi-Torman) All in favor. PASSES I 5. Discussion about Site Plan Review with Building Inspector and Town Manager John D' Agostino, Town Manager and Nick Riccio, Building Inspector, joined the board. Mr. Burke explained the amendments made to the proposed article since the last meeting. He said as originally drafted, the site plan meeting would be held by the Planning Director; that has been changed back to Building Inspector, as it currently is done. An appeal process has been added. Mr. French asked if this would be a public hearing process; Mr. Burke said it would not. Mr. D' Agostino said he is concerned with by-right uses in the Zoning By-Law being protected. He said he would not want the town to be exposed to a lawsuit. Mr. Annino said the board would not be able to disapprove an allowed use; Mr. Burke agreed. Mr. Jenkins said with this by-law, if a plan meets all the regulations of the Zoning By-Law, the board would have more ability to ask for details about things like building design. ,r" Mr. DeMassi said it is not the board's intent to deny a use that is allowed by the Zoning By-Law. Mr. Riccio said there might be issues with the board requiring things that are not included in the Zoning By-Law, like landscaping where none is required. Mr. French said the board has been frustrated in the past with developers being uncooperative .. ,,-. because they know the board will only be making a recommendation. He said this would give the board the ability to work with the developer, without taking anything away from the applicant. He said if the use is allowed, the project cannot be denied; it simply gives the board the ability to work with the developer. He noted that if the developer does not feel the board's requests are reasonable, the decision can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. D' Agostino said he is concerned about the timeline of the permitting process. Mr. French said the town's process is streamlined. Mr. Jenkins said the applicant is informed before he files of what is required, and if everything is included, the review will go quickly. Mr. Burke said the timeline is currently 30 days; the proposal is also for 30 days. Mr. D' Agostino said he would not want it to go beyond 30 days. Mr. Burke said if the issues go on beyond 30 days, it would be in the applicant's best interest to request a continuance or risk the board denying the plan. Mr. Armstrong said most of this process is already in place, so this will not extend the timeline. Mr. Annino said projects are becoming more complicated and take more time to review. Mr. D' Agostino said the town will be trying to attract biotechnology uses and thinks a shorter timeline will help to sell the town to that industry. Mr. Annino said big companies like that are the least of the board's worries because those organizations tend to come in with complete plans that can be approved quickly. He said the small businesses, which make a big difference in the town's environment, tend to come in with incomplete plans and therefore take longer. r Mr. Armstrong said the only way the process would stretch out longer would be ifthere is an appeal and he doesn't think the Planning Board's process will take longer than it does now. He said most towns in the Commonwealth have site plan approval by the Planning Board, and the appeal in many of those towns is directly to the courts. This proposal keeps the appeal in town. Mr. D' Agostino said he understands the board's desire to achieve the best projects for the town, but said he wants to make sure the process is reasonable as well. Mr. Annino said the kinds of things going on in town right now, like downtown redevelopment, are the exciting parts of planning, and said the board always tries to review plans quickly and acts in the best interest of the town. Mr. DeMassi said there are public safety issues that can be addressed with this procedure, such as driveway locations and protecting abutters from nuisances like lights. Mr. D' Agostino said he thought things like that would be caught during the staff meetings. Mr. Burke said the process would not rise to the level of a special permit and would not increase permitting time. He agreed that large organizations are usually easy to deal with and well prepared, but the ditliculty comes with smaller developers. Mr. French said with this, the board would be able to work more with the developer to create a better project. r . . .. r Mr. D' Agostino asked if staff would still have input; Mr. Burke said the staff meeting would still be held before the Planning Board meeting. Mr. French said this would give the board the ability to ask the developer to put some work into the plans. Mr. Armstrong said this would give the building inspector more enforcement power because there would be an actual Planning Board decision. Mr. D' Agostino asked if the board usually accepts staff recommendations; Mr. French said it usually does. Mr. D' Agostino suggested the process in Section 5.3.18 should go through the Planning Director rather than the Building Inspector. Mr. Annino thanked Mr. Riccio and Mr. D' Agostino for their input. Mr. Armstrong asked if the goal would be to send this to the Annual Town Meeting in the spring; Mr. D' Agostino said that would be the appropriate time. I 6. Form A (ANR) Plans Fox Street. The proposal will create one new building lot; both will have sutlicient frontage and area. Motion: To endorse the Form A (Torman-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES I 2. Correspondence 1. October 19,2005 minutes r Motion: To approve as submitted (Armstrong-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES 2. ZBA application for variance - 24 Branch Street - sideyard setback for a deck. Mr. Burke said the deck is 10 feet wide and would encroach by three feet into the IS-foot sideyard setback. The application states the lot is small and oddly shaped; Mr. Burke said the fact that the lot is small doesn't meet the statutory requirement and suggested a negative recommendation to the ZBA. Mr. Annino suggested a patio could be installed without the need for a variance. Mr. DeMassi noted the abutting houses are not shown on the plan. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation (DeMassi-Jenkins) Mr. French said the lot is very narrow and a seven-foot deck would be more of a porch. Mr. DeMassi suggested the addition could be placed on the other side of the house. Six in favor. French opposed. PASSES 3. ZBA application for variance - 10 Heather Lane - sideyard setback for garage addition. Mr. Burke explained the plan does not include all the dimensions for the proposed addition; he said the garage could be placed two feet over and meet the setback exactly. However, he said without dimensions, there is no way to tell how wide the addition is. Motion: To send the ZBA a negative recommendation and suggest if the ZBA does vote to grant the variance, the applicant should supply the dimensions (Armstrong-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES r I 6. Discussion with Town Engineer - Stormwater Management By-Law . , ,,-. Mr. Sullivan explained he has met with the Board of Selectmen and Canoe River Aquifer Committee about this by-law. New items include a requirement for an Operations and Maintenance Plan for new developments and draft regulations to the Conservation Commission submission, including fees. Mr. Sullivan said the regulations include the requirement to go to the Conservation Commission if an acre or more is disturbed, including projects that are not near wetlands. However, Mr. Sullivan said agricultural uses are exempt from this by-law. Mr. Burke noted there is a parcel being cleared now on Williams Street, which is the type of site that would come under this by-law. Mr. DeMassi asked who would have to submit the annual reports; Mr. Sullivan said the developer would be responsible. He said this by-law requires the Operations & Maintenance Plan be recorded, so it runs with the land and all owners are aware of it. Mr. DeMassi asked what would happen if the report states the system has been cleaned, but it really has not; Mr. Sullivan said the report would have to be stamped by an engineer. Mr. DeMassi asked about existing sites that do not adhere to their Operations & Maintenance Plan; Mr. Sullivan said the board has some recourse now, but this by-law would provide more recourse. Mr. DeMassi asked if the School Street retail project would be required to record its Operations & Maintenance Plan; Mr. Burke said that could be made a condition. r Mr. Burke said the board can take action on developments built under special permits that include an Operations & Maintenance Plan. Mr. Sullivan said town counsel is reviewing the by-law and he plans to go to Annual Town Meeting with this as a General By-Law amendment. Mr. Burke said Mr. Sullivan has incorporated staff and board comments into the by-law and said he hopes the board will support its passage at Town Meeting. Subdivision Public Bearing continued - Gilbert Park - Six Lots ofT Gilbert Street - Massapoag Realty Trust The clerk read a request from the applicant to continue the public hearing to November 30, 2005 at 8:45 p.m. Motion: To continue the public hearing to November 30, 2005 (Armstrong-Torman) All in favor. PASSES r' I Correspondence continued 4. October 6,2005 memo from Mr. Sullivan re: Temporary repair of West Street bridge 5. October 18,2005 memo from Mr. Azinheira re: emergency tree removal- Gilbert Street. Mr. French said he was concerned that the tree be replaced with something appropriate for the location. 6. Letter from Jasen Crozier, Village Retirement Communities re: Cobb Street completion. Mr. Burke explained the road has been paved and a new bond will be posted. He said 80% of the job will be done, including sidewalks, curbing and 11 . r streetlights, by November 15, but the topcoat will have to wait until the spring. He said because there are no homeowners on that part of the street, he does not feel a sense of urgency. He said he feels the developer is making a good faith effort. Motion: To extend the completion date to November 15, 2005 (Armstrong-Annino) All in favor. PASSES I 7. Public Comment I 8. Around the Table Mr. DeMassi asked if Route 106 would be completed before the winter; Mr. Burke said the road would not have the topcoat put down this year. Mr. Jenkins asked about the board's December schedule; Mr. Burke suggested one meeting on December 14. Mr. French asked the board to look at the draft conditions for the Mansfield Crossing decision by Friday, November 4, so it can be emailed to the developer prior to the November 9 meeting. Mr. French asked that the plan dates be placed on the Architectural Review section; Mr. Armstrong suggested adding those plans as exhibits. Mr. DeMassi asked if town counsel would review the conditions; Mr. Burke said he could, but he won't be familiar with the issues. r' Dr. Torman asked about Village at the Pointe; Mr. Burke said they had been on the agenda but have an unresolved issue. Dr. Torman said he didn't remember the board granting the developers permission to use the entrance at the back ofthe site; Mr. Burke said the board did grant permission, but said he would look at the minutes. Dr. Torman said he is concerned about the second access being across someone else's property. Dr. Torman said the buildings at Village Landing [Heron Crest] do not appear to be what the board approved. Mr. Burke said he would look at the plans and visit the site. Mr. Burke said he has met with the developer about the status of the site prior to the winter. Mr. Burke told the board about the next Transportation Oriented Development meeting, November 21,2005 at 7:00 p.m. to solicit additional public comment. I 7. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 9:30 p.m. (Torman-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. ~WY>t:S It/11-II{)J Signature of Clerk . . Date otApproval r