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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 11/30/05 r j i",1 r Planning Board Minutes November 30, 2005 .. .... r, r:" i' '"'J . g::3 5 "yO L.- '.,. ,.l Present: Tom French, Chair; Fred Armstrong, Clerk; Walter Jenkms, Ken Torman, John DeMassi, Doug Annino, Frank Holmes I L i"" U Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development \'1 t.l SET T S 11. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. Motion: To appoint Mr. Annino acting chairman eMassi-Holmes All in favor. PASSES Correspondence November 16, 2005 minutes Dr. Torman suggested the ZBA recommendation for 2-4 North Main should read "only parking and commercial, not residential" uses on the fIrst floor. Motion: To approve as amended (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES 2. November 22, 2005 memo from Mr. Burke re: Josephine's Estates fIling fee Refund. Mr. Burke recommended returning that portion of the f1ling fee that was not spent on plan review. He said based on the statftime spent, he has determined that 55% of the fee should be returned. [Mr. French arrived at this time] Motion: To return $1,862.41, the unused portion of the Josephine's Estates fIling fee r (Armstrong- Torman) Mr. Jenkins asked if the board has done this sort of thing before; Mr. Burke said it is standard practice. Six in favor. French abstained. PASSES 3. Meeting notices Attleboro, Canoe River Aquifer Advisory Committee 4. The Beacon 5. Letter from Jasen Crozier re: Cobb Street road completion of all work except top coat, as-built plans and legal descriptions. This work will be completed by June 1, 2006. I 3. Town Meeting Recommendations There are three street acceptances on the warrant: Marshall Avenue, Noreen Road and Nicole Road. Mr. Burke explained Noreen Road and Nicole Road are going to be withdrawn because the punch lists have not been completed. The punch lists for Marshall Avenue have been completed and Mr. Burke recommended the board support acceptance. r Mr. Jenkins said both TIF articles, 10 and 11, are being supported by the TIF committee. (Spherix is a regular TIF and Samsonite is a special tax assessment.) He said there has been a softening of the market in the industrial park, but said there are some who are concerned the Samsonite deal could be precedent-setting for other businesses. He said the Motorola building, where Samsonite plans to move, has sat vacant for a number of years. Mr. Jenkins explained there is a state schedule used to fIgure out the relief the town will grant Samsonite. Mr. Burke said having a nationally known company will bring some recognition to the town and the industrial park. Mr. Jenkins said 25-28 new Planning Board 1 r jobs will be created at the Mansfield site. Mr. DeMassi said he thinks this will be a tough sell at town meeting, since the selectmen recently voted not to split the tax rate in order to have industry carry more of the tax burden. Mr. Jenkins said the TIF Committee struggled with the Samsonite issue, but said it decided town meeting should be given the opportunity to decide. He said there is a significant vacancy level in the industrial park, which is alarming, but said many oftoday's companies cannot make the older buildings in the industrial park work with their needs. Mr. DeMassi asked if the lots mentioned in Article 9 are vacant; Mr. Burke said they are lots for which the town is accepting a deed in lieu of foreclosure. I 3. Site Plan Review - 600 West Street - Berkeley Investments I Bill Buckley, Bay Colony Group, presented site plans and elevations for a 100,000 square foot commercial building. He said the board saw this site in 2002, with a different lot confIguration. Since then, there has been a land swap with the abutting property, the Ames warehouse. Now this lot is more triangular, so the parking can be closer to the building and there will be more ofa view from Route 495. The building is the same size, and still has three stories. Mr. Buckley said he has met with staff, and this plan is a result of that meeting. The initial plan was 115,000 square feet, but that did not include the correct setbacks. After reconfiguring the plan to conform, about 60 parking spaces were lost. There are now 360 spaces where 350 are required. r The site currently includes a softball fIeld and the remainder is lightly wooded. Mr. Buckley explained Berkeley does not have a tenant and will not construct until it has a tenant, or at least a large part of the building rented. He said the owners wanted to go through the process to get the project to the point where they can market it and move quickly when a tenant is found. Mr. Buckley said the site slopes north to south, and they will have to maintain a grade of about four feet. He said there is not a lot of room to grade and a retaining wall along the back will be necessary. Mr. Buckley said the landscaping plan has been modifIed after the staff meeting. The site is served by water and sewer; soils are very good and stormwater will be infiltrated on site. There will be three infiltration systems to take the water through catch basins, through deep sumps and to outflows. The system has been designed with a safety factor of 2-1, as required by the town. Lighting will be along the perimeter, with shoebox fIxtures that will shine down from 25-foot poles with a high pressure sodium lights. Some of the landscaped islands will have light poles as well. r There will be three main entrances and two secondary entrances. There will be a loading area, but not a loading dock. Mr. Buckley explained that will be more of a drop-off area for deliveries. There will be no dumpster on site. The entire site will be accessible for the Fire Department's ladder truck. Planning Board 2 r Department Head Comments The clerk read Mr. Buckley's response to the department head comments. Board Comment Mr. Jenkins asked about the loading area and dumpster. He said it would be hard to regulate what that area would be used for and he would like to see what that dock area would look like. Mr. DeMassi suggested signage directing delivery drivers. Mr. Buckley said he would talk to Berkeley about that. Mr. Jenkins said the landscaping looks sparse. He asked about the retaining wall. Mr. Buckley explained the wall will be higher than the abutting property. He said they would rather not build the retaining wall, but the drainage issues and cover requirements drive the elevation. He said the drainage has been set as low as possible. He said if the last row of parking hadn't been necessary, it could be sloped and the wall avoided. The wall starts at two feet, goes to six, to four, and back to two, and the size and type of wall requires structural engineering. - Mr. DeMassi asked if the wall is a big enough concern for the town engineer that he would rather see some parking closer to the street and less buffer in order to avoid the wall. Mr. Burke said he didn't think the retaining wall was a deal killer for staff He said there are walls as tall or taller than this being built at Heron Crest on East Street. He said he was more concerned about the height changes in the wall and said he wouldn't want the parking moved closer to West Street, because to get parking and a travel lane there, the buffer would have to be reduced to almost nothing. Mr. Buckley said the site is 16 feet higher at the front than at the back, so it pitches steeply. Mr. DeMassi asked about sidewalks; Mr. Buckley said the town is building sidewalks on West Street. Mr. DeMassi said he would like to see the site integrated into the existing sidewalks. Mr. Buckley said he would tie into the existing sidewalk. Mr. DeMassi said he had hoped to see more trees in the landscaped area along the front of the site. Mr. Burke suggested looking at the landscaping plan. Mr. French asked if the landscape plan conforms with the town's requirements. Mr. Burke said it does. Mr. Buckley said he would have the landscape architect contact Mr. Burke. Mr. DeMassi asked about utilities. Mr. Buckley said they have moved the electric pad to the side of the building, and everything else is underground. He said the electric pad has to be 20 feet from the building, with seven feet clear and bollards around it. Mr. DeMassi asked about signage. Mr. Buckley said he expects they will use entrance signs similar to the rest of the industrial park, and a note has been added to the plans. Mr. Buckley said the traffic will be two-way throughout the site. Mr. Annino said a recessed loading dock would be a good idea, and could hold a dumpster as well. He said the plan looks great and said there is a lot of landscaping at the ~ front. He suggested adding some around the Route 495 and Zayre property lines. Mr. Planning Board 3 r Buckley said the landscaping plan shows an existing line of pines on the state property; he said they would extend that line on their site. Mr. Annino asked if there will be a guard rail on the retaining wall. Mr. Buckley said there would be. Mr. Annino asked about flagpoles; Mr. Buckley said there will be flagpoles at the front of the building. Mr. Annino asked if there are bollard lights along the front entrance; Mr. Buckley said there are. Mr. Annino said it is refreshing to see a set of plans that are so well designed. Mr. Armstrong said the lighting should be metal halide rather than high-pressure sodium. Mr. Holmes asked the distance between Hampshire and the driveway; Mr. Buckley said it is about 150 feet. Mr. Holmes noted the posted speed limit is 30 mph but asked what the real travel speed is; Mr. Buckley said there are hundreds of feet of sight distance in either direction. Mr. DeMassi asked where the rise to go over the bridge begins; Mr. Buckley said the rise begins at this driveway, with almost 500 feet before the top of the bridge. Mr. Holmes asked about drainage going into the road rather than staying on site; Mr. Buckely said the site is too low. He noted the system is over designed and can handle its own drainage. He said the land continues to drop beyond this site toward the Ames warehouse, where there is a large drainage area. r Mr. Holmes said a second manhole might be necessary. Mr. Holmes asked about the photometrics plan and said the lighting levels vary. Mr. Buckley said they would have to redo the lighting calculations for the metal halide lights. Mr. DeMassi asked about lighting on the building; Mr. Buckley said there will have to be lighting on the building, especially at the entrances. He noted the bollard lights are not included in the photometrics plan. Mr. Burke said Mr. Buckley did a good job and suggested the board's concerns can easily be addressed. Mr. French asked about the lighting plan; Mr. Buckley showed the board the lighting plan showing lights about 90 feet apart. Mr. French said that seems to be close together. Mr. Buckley said that is the type of light he tends to use because it doesn't spill over. Mr. French suggested adding the guard rail to the retaining wall detail. Mr. French suggested checking to see if an indirect highway access permit is needed, which may trigger MEP A. r Planning Board 4 r- Motion: To send the Building Inspector a positive recommendation provided all department head comments and board comments have been sufficiently addressed; and a revised set of plans and narrative identifying changes made to plan are submitted (AnDino-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES I 4. Discussion with Attorney Peter Clarke - Jewell Street Property Attorney Clark presented a conceptual plan for property at 100 Jewell Street. Mr. French explained the board is happy to see plans like this, but stressed that at this point, the board is only giving its opinion and that may change as plans evolve. Mr. Clark said he understood. Dr. Torman told the board his office is next door to Attorney Clark's office. Attorney Clark said he represents the Finers, who would like to do a three-lot residential compound on their land at 100 Jewell Street. He said one of the lots would be the existing house. He said a compound requires 80,000 square feet per lot and they are short the required area by about 3,665 square feet. Mr. Clark noted several other compounds in town that do not have the required area. Mr. French asked if the board could grant that relief; Mr. Burke explained that would require relief through the ZBA. Mr. Clark said he understood that, but said a variance requires a hardship. He said it might help to have a letter of support from the Planning Board to go along with the ZBA application. r Mr. Clark said this site abuts town-owned landlocked land and said he hoped to get feedback about whether the board would like to see the open space donated to the town. Leonard Flynn, 102 Jewell Street, said that parcel floods in the springtime. Mr. Clark said they have tried to keep open space at the front of the property near Jewell Street, as well as at the back. Mr. DeMassi said it would be helpful to know where the existing houses are on abutting properties. Mr. Clark said they are shown on the aerial photo. Mr. Annino asked if there have been other proposals for this property. Mr. Burke said there have been several. He said there are serious drainage problems on Windemere Drive, near this site. Mr. Burke said the application would have to demonstrate the ability to do a traditional subdivision and suggested submitting a preliminary plan showing a traditional, by-right subdivision would be possible. Mr. Clark said his engineer has done a sketch showing that can be done. r Mr. DeMassi asked what the hardship is. Mr. Clark said the parcel is regularly shaped, has regular topography, contains hardpan soil and has drainage issues. He said compound development should be looked upon more favorably than traditional subdivisions. Mr. French said the board has looked favorably on compounds and clusters, but has also recognized that type of development reduces the developer's costs. Mr. Clark agreed. Mr. French said one of the benefits of compounds is the open space, but said the board would have to see a plan showing the traditional lots. He said it has Planning Board 5 .~ never been the board's policy to help landowners get additional lots, and said he would have a hard time recommending a variance when there is no hardship. Mr. Annino and Mr. DeMassi agreed. Mr. Armstrong said there would have to be some argument made for the variance because the board has to uphold the statutory standards. Mr. French said he would be surprised if the board had supported variances for other compounds. Mr. Clark said they have enough area for three 60,000 square foot traditional lots and the roadway, but not enough for three 80,000 square foot lots, as required under the compound by-law. Mr. Burke said a two-lot compound could be done with no variance. Mr. Holmes asked if the site calculation includes the road; Mr. Clark said it does. He said in a compound, the road area is calculated into the site's total square footage. Mr. Clark noted the Karen's Way compound was granted a variance with no mention ofa hardship in the decision. Mr. Burke suggested in addition to developing a traditional subdivision, the application include a more compelling reason for the variance than the fact that other developers were given one. Mr. Clark said he thought the potential for access to other town-owned land would be a good reason. r Mr. French suggested a traditional subdivision plan f1led with the ZBA application would help make the argument to that board that a compound would be better because it would result in less disturbed area and add contiguous open space to town-owned land. Mr. Clark asked if the board would consider sending a letter of support to the ZBA if that plan was submitted. Mr. French said the board is always asked for a recommendation. Mr. Holmes suggested the applicant investigate the possibility of picking up some land from an abutter. [Mr. Annino left the meeting at this time] 4. Subdivision and Scenic Road Public Hearing continued - Gilbert Park - Six Lots ofT Gilbert Street - Massapoag :Realty Trust Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, explained the plan for the six-lot traditional subdivision on Gilbert Street, across from Otis Street. Mr. Maloon showed the board a plan including the surrounding homes. Mr. Maloon said some one of the issues at the last meeting were the high groundwater and the need to fill the road, and the need for additional landscaping. He presented the board with lot landscaping photographs from a Massapoag-built subdivision in Walpole, which includes a picture of the type of wall they will use. Mr. Maloon said they had proposed a fence with a sign, which has been changed to a finished granite stone wall. r Part of the stone wall on Gilbert Street will be removed and rebuilt into the entrance driveway. He said there will be no trees disturbed, but there are a lot of trees on their Planning Board 6 r site, where the construction entrance was proposed. He said that has been moved to save as many trees as possible. Mr. Maloon said about 120 feet from the driveway, there is a mound in Gilbert Street; Mr. Sullivan recommended taking down the mound. Mr. Holmes asked if the construction entrance would go through the existing stone wall; Mr. Maloon said that would be taken down and rebuilt. He said he has placed a swale to carry surface water away from the new road until it is paved. The temporary construction easement will be crushed gravel. Mr. Maloon showed the board a cross-section of the landscaped island, with a list of the trees to be saved and to be removed. The average depth of the well in the middle of the island is 3.2 feet, with about 60 feet across of natural ground cover. The island will be 92 feet across. He said there will be no drainage placed in that area and there will be a 4-1 slope in the landscaped island. The slope will be grassed, with spreading juniper and other low-growth forsythia bushes. Mr. French asked if there is a drain in the landscaped island; Mr. Maloon said there is not. Mr. French suggested a small outlet to a drain manhole to take accumulated water rather than having it get trapped. Mr. Maloon said he could provide one. r Mr. DeMassi asked about the backside of the cul-de-sac; Mr. Maloon said that will be uphill from Gilbert Street. Mr. Maloon said the soil testing has been done along the road, finished ground will rise 4-5 feet wherever a leaching field will be installed, and groundwater is very high on the site, so the road will be brought up. Mr. Maloon said the road is 509 feet to the middle of the circle. He said the amount of fill needed is becoming typical because of the type of land that is left in town. Mr. French asked about waivers; Mr. Maloon said they have requested a waiver for sloped granite curbing. Department Head Comments The clerk read a memo from Richard Alves, Senior Engineer, indicating his comments have been addressed and not recommending the waiver for sloped granite curbing. Mr. Maloon said they have extended the easement across Lot 1 to prevent the homeowner from filling the lot and blocking flow. Board Comment Mr. Burke said this is a simple plan without extensive comments from staff; the remaining staff comments have all been addressed. He said the board changed its regulation from sloped to vertical granite curbing because of durability issues. He said his concern for a residential subdivision is aesthetics, and sloped granite is more appropriate for this setting. Mr. OeMassi said he is concerned the board has two standards for curbing; Mr. Burke said maintenance on a site like this isn't really his main r Planning Board 7 r issue, appearance is. Mr. DeMassi asked why the applicant wanted to used sloped curbing; Mr. Maloon said it looks better and it is a bit less expensive. Mr. Holmes asked about the affordable housing by-law. Mr. Burke said this subdivision, with six lots, will have to confonn to the inclusionary housing by-law. Mr. Jenkins asked how the applicant plans to conform to the requirement. Mr. Paglia said he would do something off-site. Motion: To grant the waiver for the use of sloped granite curbing rather than vertical granite curbing (Tonnan-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To approve the subdivision as drafted, including adding a drain in the cul-de- sac island, keeping Gilbert Street swept, and contacting the Police Chief about a possible detail (Armstrong-Holmes) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To approve the scenic road as drafted, including the removal and replacement of approximately 110 feet of stone wall at the main entrance; 20 feet at the temporary construction access east of the main entrance; and 85 feet west of the main entrance in order to regrade no more than 100 feet of hill along Gilbert Street. No trees will be removed from the Gilbert Street right-of-way. (Torman-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (Tonnan-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES r I 7. Public Comment Mr. Flynn said he has been to SRPREDD and the Route 106 underpass reconstruction is being put off for a year because the 25% construction plan has not been submitted. He said it would be prudent for the board to send a letter to Mass Highway and SRPRED that this development is critical now because of existing traffic problems and the proposed expansion of the train station. Motion: To send a letter to Mass Highway and SRPRED that this development is critical now because of existing traffic problems and the proposed expansion of the train station. (DeMassi~Torman) All in favor. PASSES I 8. Around the Table Motion: To support the acceptance of Marshall Avenue as a public way and not to support Noreen and Nicole because their punch list items are incomplete (Armstrong-DeMassi) All in favor. PASSES 17. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 10:15 p.m. ( ) All in favor. PASSES r Next meeting: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. ~~ Signature of Clerk } ~/} l/ /OJ- Date of Approval Planning Board 8