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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmin of planning brd 03/01/06 - ""-j' '. ."~''') ~. '~,. ' 1,,l ~~ ! ' ',~ l\j' t. i, ,-,,,,. fro!" Planning Board Minutes ' 'j C (" Present: Tom French, Chair; Fred ~;:ni ~::k; Walter Jenkins, John tYJf~sL!t AM 10: 57 Frank. Holmes, Doug Annino ;: IE L 0 Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development "'; /\ S S P, C it USE T T S I t.~;_"i""'''.''':''''''. 12.t;~... 1. February 15, 2006 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Armstrong~Holmes) All in favor. PASSES 2. February 24, 2006 memo from Mr. Burke re: Town Meeting Mr. Burke explained there are three zoning-related citizens' petitions, for which the board will have to hold public hearings. The board has two articles: site plan and the flood plain by-law changes mandated by FEMA. [Mr. Annino arrived at this time.] Mr. Burke explained a citizens' petition has been filed to abandon a portion of Billings Street, but the Board of Selectmen will have to hold a public hearing for that. [Mr. DeMassi arrived at this time.] r 3. Meeting notices - Attleboro, Easton, Canoe River Aquifer Committee I............'t- Mr. Burke asked for volunteers for the Capital Improvements Committee. He said the first meeting would be soon, for Town Meeting at the beginning of May. Motion: To appoint Mr. DeMassi and Dr. Torman to CIP (Annino-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke told the board the March 15 meeting would be a workshop meeting with the Board of Selectmen about Transit Oriented Development on March 15, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. 14.~'~~""'-+A."""'.""""""''''' The clerk read a request from the applicant's engineer requesting the public hearing be continued to April 26, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. Motion: To continue the public hearing to April 26, 2006 at 8:00 p.m. (DeMassi-Armstrong) All in favor. PASSES ~ \.3.....'1...... Mr. Annino said Franklin has received a large grant for downtown work, and asked how that was done. Mr. Burke said it was a federal transportation-related grant. Mr. Burke said Mansfield has been working with its congressional delegation to get help with funding for the Route 106 work, rather than for downtown work. Mr. Annino said it Planning Board I would be useful if the town could get some downtown funding for parking~related issues. Mr. Burke said one of the issues that came out during the TOD charrette last month was r- access from downtown to the train station. Mr. DeMassi said there was discussion about a parking garage over the train tracks to connect the two parking areas, which wouldn't help downtown, but would help trip distribution. Mr. Annino said getting people to cross to go downtown there would require something attractive and accessible. Mr. Burke said a deck would provide green space and a link between the two areas. He said the groups at the charrette were also concerned about handicapped accessibility and getting people safely from the other side of the tracks to parking areas. There was also discussion about what kind of businesses would best go into that area. Mr. Burke said the parking consultant had estimated a cost of $17,000 per parking space for a three-story structure. Mr. DeMassi said there had been discussion about the possibility of renting some of the parking spaces to residents who live in the TOD area. Mr. Burke said Route 106 and North Main Street must be improved before bringing traffic-generating uses into the area. Mr. DeMassi said any increase in parking spaces would attract more commuters, and there are already traffic congestion problems around the station. Mr. French said several years ago, the town had spoken with the MBT A about the trains already being overcrowded, and asked what the point would be of adding parking if the trains couldn't accommodate them. Mr. Holmes noted the T has added a morning train that starts at Mansfield, which helps with the congestion. Mr. Jenkins said that area won't be taken seriously until there is reconstruction to get people in and out efficiently. He said he likes the idea ofa parking garage that straddles r- the tracks, but there would have to be a crossing across the CSX lines to get to County Street. Mr. Burke said that would make it easier to get cars in and out, and to get cars across the tracks. Mr. Jenkins said that could be done without the crossing by using that straddle as an exit to County Street. Mr. Annino said he didn't think Mansfield would want to be thought of as a town with a massive parking structure straddling the tracks. [Mr. Annino left the meeting at this time.] The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. He told the applicant there are five members present and he would need five positive votes. Mr. Crugnale said he understood. Richard Peterson, Annino Associates, presented the board with reduced plans of the project. He explained the site is on the comer of West Cottage and Rumford Ave, with an existing 2 ~ story building, between the Mill House apartments and the Cat Man Cafe. He said they intend to bring in the best elements of the surrounding properties, such as the Victorian building next door, and build a new four-story building. Mr. Peterson explained the proposed building will be built close to the street and they will build new sidewalks and add plantings. Parking will be at the ~ of the building. Irt.ox r Planning Board 2 r Each floor will have four two-bedroom units. The first floor units have private direct access to the outside, and the main entrance will be from the parking lot. There will be a dumpster dumpster on an adjacent property, owned by Mr. Crugnale's father. Mr. Crugnale explained that land will be made part of this parcel. Mr. Crugnale explained there is a large oak tree on the property, which he plans to save. Mr. Peterson explained the exterior of the building, which will include brick on the lower and stucco on the upper levels, which picks up on the style of the Mill House across the street. There will also be awnings. Mr. Crugnale said he is open to suggestions about the aesthetics of the site, as he has been on his previous projects. Bob Rego, site engineer, explained the new building will be accessed from West Cottage Street and the parking will be made more efficient. The footprint of the building will be a bit larger than the existing building. He explained the drainage flows off site to a catch basin in the street on Rumford Ave. That flow will be maintained, but as much as possible will be infiltrated on-site, under the parking lot prior to discharging it to the catch basin. Mr. Peterson said they are proposing a fence along the property line with the Cat Man Cafe, and the dumpster enclosure will be heavily planted. r Mr. Rego showed the board a plan of the existing site. There is currently a curb cut off Rumford Ave to an existing driveway and one along the length of the property on West Cottage Street. That will be reduced to a 24-foot wide curb cut and the parking rearranged. Mr. Peterson explained they have a 25-foot setback from the comer so the building will not affect sight lines. Mr. French asked if the building conforms with the requirements of the Zoning By-Law. Mr. Peterson said it does and they do not need any variances. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from Electric, Water, Police, Mr. Burke, Engineering. Mr. Crugnale said the transformer pad could be relocated to near the dumpster. Mr. Rego said the handicapped parking space meets ADA requirements, but it can be made larger to comply with the town's requirements. Mr. Crugnale said there will be two affordable units. There will be tandem parking spaces, which will be deeded to specific units. Parking is required at 1.5 spaces per unit, which the application meets. Mr. Peterson explained the photometrics plan. The lighting will shine into the parking lot and the building itself will have several exterior attached lights. There will be two pole lights along the back of the property line of the cafe, which will shine into the parking lot. r Planning Board 3 r There will be lights on the side of the existing Crugnale property, one on West Cottage Street and one near the front entrance to light the parking lot. Mr. French noted the middle of the parking lot seems to show less than one footcandle. Mr. Jenkins suggested looking at the spread on the site and the spread on the adjacent properties. Mr. Peterson said they are anticipating no spread onto adjacent properties. Mr. Holmes asked about the building~mounted lights~ Mr. Peterson said they would be can-type fixtures with about one footcandle. Public Comment Brett Boscow, 150 Rumford, Unit 308, asked how the parking lot will be arranaged. He asked if the spaces are large enough; Mr. Peterson said there had been a question about a van~accessible parking space, which has to be larger than a typical space. He said the space meets ADA regulations, but the town has a larger requirement. Mr. Boscow asked about snow removal~ Mr. Crugnale said he takes the snow off site. Mr. Boscow said he was concerned about overflow parking using the Mill House parking lot during snowstorms. Mr. Crugnale said he has a number of other small parking lots, and he has experience removing snow. Mr. Boscow said he is concerned about parking congestion in the neighborhood. Mr. Peterson said he thought this would help the traffic situation because the size of the curb cut will be reduced, and residents will be prevented from parking close to the street, as they do now. He said they are not asking for any parking variances. r- Mr. Boscow said with two bedroom apartments there would likely be two cars per unit, which will make Rumford Avenue busier. Mr. Crugnale said several of his other buildings have residents with one car. Mr. Rego said an attractive thing about the area is its proximity to the train station, so some residents don't need two cars. He said he would be willing to install signs not to park in Mill House. Kevin McNatt, 150 Rumford Ave, asked about the tandem parking spaces, which will be deeded to particular units. He said with five tandem spaces, there might not be enough parking for all the units. Mr. Burke said the overall site conforms, but it may not on a unit-by-unit basis, which brings up a question about zoning compliance. Mr. Rego said the regulations call for 1.5 spaces per unit for the project as a whole, since no one has half a car. Therefore, he said that regulation has to apply to the whole site. Mr. Crugnale said some units would have one space, some would have two, and the buyers would know ahead of time how many spaces would be available to them. Mr. Jenkins said he would want the assurance that each unit would get at least one parking space, even if the buyer doesn't need one. He said subsequent owners might need a space. Mr. Crugnale said he would do that. Mr. French asked who would ultimately make the call; Mr. Burke explained the board would issue the permit, but the building inspector would interpret and enforce the Zoning By-Law. Mr. DeMassi said the board has never required a certain number of spaces to be deeded simply because there are tandem spaces involved. Mr. Crugnale said the tandem parking spaces would serve as a driveway for the people who live in the unit. r Planning Board 4 r Mr. McNatt asked if the handicapped space would be assigned; Mr. Crugnale said one handicapped space would be constructed for the universal construction unit. Mr. Peterson said if this were a public parking lot, the handicapped parking issue would be different, but because this will be private property, the spaces can be deeded to certain units. Ruth Lieberman, 150 Rumford Ave, asked if the board visits sites prior to making decisions. Mr. French said the members are familiar with the area. Ms. Leiberman said this is a small area and she was concerned that side of Mill House will not see the sun or be able to put their shades up. Mr. Crugnale said he thinks his project will improve the investments of the other homeowners in the neighborhood. Ms. Leiberman suggested a smaller building. Mr. Crugnale said financially, he could not do a smaller building. Mr. Boscow asked how old the existing house is; Mr. Crugnale said it is around 100 years old. Mr. Boscow said part of Mansfield's charm is its older houses; Mr. French said the board cannot tell the applicant not to demolish the building. Nicole Waldron, 150 Rumford Ave, said with 16 units, 24 spaces is not enough. She said she is concerned about overflow parking in the Mill House lot. She said some other downtown projects began construction very early in the morning and asked if there is a way to prevent that. Mr. French said the board can add hours of operation to the permit. r Mr. French asked how long construction would take; Mr. Crugnale said it would be 7-10 months. He said this building would be slab on grade, so there will be no digging. Mr. Boscow said the parking lot doesn't seem to have a lot of room for maneuvering. Mr. Rego said there is a 24~foot aisle in the lot, which will allow two~way traffic. Ms. Waldon asked about the size of the structure; Mr. Crugnale said it would be four stories, about 45 feet. She said the area right now is not attractive and thinks this will be an improvement. Jay Barrows asked about parking on West Cottage Street and suggested No Parking signs. Mr. DeMassi said that would have to be brought before the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Barrows asked what would happen if West Cottage Street were turned back into two~ way traffic. Mr. Crugnale said nothing would happen since the construction will stay on his property. Mr. Rego said the new parking configuration and curb cut would help control incoming and outgoing traffic. He said there will be enough room for cars to back out. Mr. Holmes said parking space number four doesn't appear to have enough room to pull out~ Mr. Rego said that car would have to back straight out. Mr. Crugnale said the dumpster could be pushed back to make more room for that turning movement. Mr. DeMassi noted that spot is a compact space. Mr. French asked about deeding compact spaces; Mr. Rego said the buyers would know which spaces they would be using. Mr. Peterson said it might be more difficult to market a unit ifit only has access to ~ Planning Board 5 a cOlppact space. Mr. Rego said there are only two compact spaces in the lot, and the r" units with two spaces could get one of each. Mr. McNatt asked about the sidewalk construction and whether permission would be needed from the Board of Selectmen. He said the sidewalk on the east side narrows down to nothing. Mr. French said the Town Engineer would comment on that. Mr. McNatt asked about the proposed trees. Mr. Rego said they are street trees in grates, with the foliage up high in order to maintain walking space. Mr. Burke said work within the public way requires Board of Selectmen permission. Board Comment Mr. DeMassi said he has visited this site. He asked how close the Victorian is to the proposed building. Mr. Crugnale said there is a driveway separating them. Mr. Peterson said it is a little over 30 feet. Mr. DeMassi asked about the mechanicals and asked ifthere would be anything on the roof Mr. Crugnale explained the elevator will be in the middle of the building and would not go over the 45~foot height limit. Mr. DeMassi said that should be shown on the plan. Mr. Crugnale said because it is a slab, he could build a hole-less elevator. Mr. DeMassi asked the width of West Cottage Street~ Mr. Rego said the layout is 45 feet. r" Mr. DeMassi asked about the gate at Rumford/West Cottage. Mr. Crugnale said that would be wrought iron. Mr. DeMassi asked if there are any setbacks in this zone~ Mr. Burke said there are not. Mr. Peterson said the building doesn't come right to the corner because of sight lines. Mr. Rego said the face of the building is eight feet back from the back edge of the right. of-way. Mr. DeMassi asked about signage~ Mr. Rego said there is a stop sign leaving the parking lot onto West Cottage Street. Mr. DeMassi asked the dumpster size; Mr. Rego said it is a five cubic yard dumpster with a 9'xI6' fence. Mr. Burke suggested checking the plan for inconsistencies~ he said the plan shows two building sizes and two dumpster enclosure sizes. Mr. DeMassi said he understands Mr. Crugnale's father owns the property next door, and asked what would happen with the dumpster when that isn't the case. Mr. Crugnale said there is already a dumpster in that area. Mr. DeMassi asked about mechanicals on the roof~ Mr. Crugnale said the condenser units would be on the roof, and would not be seen from the street. Mr. DeMassi said the Mill House residents would be looking down onto this roof Mr. Crugnale said the mechanicals on the roof could be screened. Mr. DeMassi said the front of the building is on the parking lot side, not on the street. He said the building doesn't really fit into the character of the neighborhood to the south, ,,-. Planning Board 6 r although it does tie into the building across West Cottage Street. Mr. Peterson said the way the building will be used, it makes sense to put the entrance where the parking will be. He said there would be limited parking on the street. Mr. Crugnale said he has considered softening the first floor to avoid a commercial look. Mr. DeMassi asked about the fence at the back of the site; Mr. Peterson said it would be a six-foot stockade fence. He said the configuration of the existing building is irregular, so the proposed structure looks much larger and shows much less green space. Mr. Crugnale said there is barely any green space there now. Mr. DeMassi asked about irrigation; Mr. Crugnale said he will have an irrigation system and he would add it to the plan. Mr. DeMassi asked about the final placement of new trees and suggested note requiring review of staff. Mr. Burke said the Tree Warden could coordinate that because he would be concerned about snow plowing. Mr. DeMassi said there are a number of lights shown on the plan and asked which ones are being proposed. Mr. Peterson explained the details showing the fixtures. Mr. Burke suggested making that clearer on the plans. Mr. DeMassi said the Rumford Avenue elevation shows trees and asked if they really exist. Mr. Crugnale said there are trees, but they are not that tall. Mr. DeMassi said there should be a detail for the driveway/sidewalk transition. Mr. Rego said Sheet 4 of 5 shows that detail. r Mr. DeMassi said there is a detail showing the driveway entrance sidewalk being painted and asked what material that would be. Mr. Rego said that would be concrete. Mr. DeMassi asked about building signage. Mr. Crugnale said the driveway has a small wrought iron fence that could include a sign. Mr. DeMassi said the sign details should be added to the plans. Mr. Jenkins said he is concerned that the way this building sits will create a corridor on Rumford Avenue. He said this is a residential area and this proposal is very dense. He said unkept open space is more attractive to many people than no open space. He said he would like to see the building stepped back on the upper floors. He said that while he understands the economics of the project, he would like to see the building at three stories or with a smaller footprint. He said he would be happy with a 10~foot grass strip around the perimeter of the site. He noted the renderings seem to show the existing building much taller than it really is. Mr. Jenkins noted this is a special permit use, which is a gray area. He noted the board is required to consider the benefits versus the detriments, but developers try to get the highest and best use, and those two things don't necessarily agree. Mr. Crugnale said it wouldn't be feasible to build three stories. Mr. Jenkins said he is more concerned about the neighbors in this case than on North Main Street. r- Planning Board 7 Mr. DeMassi said the houses south of this site are older Victorian or colonial types, and r as they come down and large buildings like this go up, the character of the neighborhood changes. Mr. Crugnale said he understand that, and said if this site were further down Rumford Avenue, where there are a lot of older homes, he wouldn't be considering this. Mr. Jenkins asked about the location of the fire exits, which are shown at the core of the building. He said he would be concerned about accessing those stairs from the inside. Mr. Armstrong said he shares Mr. Jenkins's concerns. He said he recognizes the project meets zoning, but said he wished there was a way to make it seem less massive. He said he is concerned about the canyon effect. He said he appreciates Mr. Crugnale's willingness to work with the board on all his projects. Mr. Armstrong said he is concerned about the lack ofa building "front." He said he thinks the exterior rendering may have one color too many and suggested the roofbe a mansard so it looks smaller. Mr. Armstrong said he was also concerned about what would be on the roof Mr. Holmes asked about the noise from the mechanicals on the roof Mr. Crugnale said they would be standard condensers, which are relatively quiet, and they could be screened. Mr. Jenkins said the units are very small, so they wouldn't need large equipment. r Mr. Holmes asked the distance from the curb to the edge of pavement on the new West Cottage Street sidewalk. Mr. Peterson said the new edge of curbing would be the same as the existing line. Mr. French noted the applicant would have to go before the Board of Selectmen for the new sidewalk. Mr. Burke suggested connecting the sidewalk to the existing sidewalks. Mr. Crugnale said he could do that. Mr. Holmes asked if there would be a bank of water meters on the building. Mr. Crugnale said they would have to be inside the building, probably in the sprinkler room. Mr. Holmes asked about the transformer; Mr. Rego said it could go next to the dumpster. Mr. Burke said the light department wants 10 feet clear all the way around a transformer. Mr. Holmes asked if the roof drains go to the back of the site; Mr. Crugnale said they go to a dry well underground. Mr. Holmes noted some inconsistencies on the plan regarding drainage. Mr. Rego said there are some design issues that have not been completed. ~ Mr. Holmes asked what kind of curbing would be used. Mr. Burke said vertical granite would be required. Mr. Rego said the radius would also be granite. Mr. Burke asked about comer sight distance from West Cottage Street. He said the sight triangle goes through the wrought iron fence and asked if it would work. He said the Planning Board 8 height of the fence is regulated by the Zoning By-Law. Mr. Crugnale said he would look r at that. Mr. Burke said he is concerned about the individual entrances from Rumford Avenue being mistaken as lobby doors. Mr. Burke said the issue of scale and mass could be addressed with a different treatment to the top floor, like a mansard roof, moving the lower right comer of the building back or a different layout on the top floor so it could be stepped back. Mr. DeMassi asked if the lights shown on the fourth floor would shine onto the ground. Mr. Crugnale said they would only shine on the building. Mr. Burke asked if the new sidewalk would be lit well enough to be safe for pedestrians. Mr. French said he shares Mr. Jenkins's concerns and agrees this is a very different neighborhood than North Main Street. He said the proposal is very dense and the site may not be big enough. Motion: To continue to March 29, 2006 at 8: IS p.m. (DeMassi-Armstrong) Allin favor. PASSES \5.,~fZ~ Mr. Jenkins asked about George's Cleaners. Mr. Burke explained the variance for r- parking under was granted and the other two, FAR and parking, were denied. I'.ii\~~t Motion: To adjourn at 11 :00 p.m. (DeMassi-Jenkins) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: Wednesday, March 15,2006 at 7:30 p.m.-Joint Meeting with BOS - TOD <<flvwr&01l q Signature of Clerk/ /'1 II '2., ) 0 ~ Date of Approval (' Planning Board 9 .. T