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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_01212015Planning Board Minutes January 21, 2015 Present: Tom French, Chairman; Beth Ashman- Collins, Clerk; Don Cleary, Rich LeBlanc, Mike Feck; Alternate Joe Cerretani Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Assistant On behalf of the board, Mr. French expressed condolences to the family of Cheryl Collins, Planning Board member and founding member of the Garden Club. Mr. French welcomed Mr. Cerretani as a new alternate to the board and congratulated Mr. Feck on his appointment as a full member. Ms. Ashman- Collins told the board she has been appointed to the Industrial Development Commission. 2. Correspondence I. December 17, 2014 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Feck - Cleary) Four in favor. Ashman - Collins, Cerretani abstained. PASSES 2. January 13, 2015 memo from Mr. Burke re: Planning Board regulations and policies and good governance. Mr. Burke explained this can help frame the board's discussion about issues like waivers from the Subdivision Regulations. Mr. French asked what the board could do differently. Mr. Burke said it is important for the board to avoid discussing Planning Board business outside of an open meeting and said the Attorney General considers any communication between board members to be a public document, which would have to be produced if requested. Mr, French asked for clarification on whether the members can communicate via the Planning Department; Mr. Burke said they can. Mr. French asked about preparing neighborhood strategic plans; Mr. Burke said that is the kind of thing the board does with projects like TOD and will see when the chocolate factory redevelopment is submitted. Mr. French asked about implementing zoning in the context of existing zoning documents; Mr. Burke said the board did that with recent zoning changes in the business park after issues came out of the Strategic Plan. Mr. Burke said the board manages its resources with things like donations to the sidewalk fund and requiring affordable units in new developments. Mr. French asked how most of the town's affordable units have been developed; Mr. Burke said developers in multi - family developments have tended to provide the units within the development, while most of the developers of single - family subdivisions have either written a check or built the unit somewhere else. Mr. French asked how much is in the affordable housing fund; Mr. Burke said it is close to $500,000. Mr. LeBlanc asked if the board can require the affordable unit to be built; Mr. Burke said a developer has several options to comply with the requirement. He said if the intent is to make the units affordable for a first -time homebuyer, condominiums have been more successful than single- family homes. 4. January 13, 2015 memo from Mr. Burke re: $20,000 South Coast Rail grant to update the Housing Production Plan 1/21/2015 5. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, Easton, North Attleboro, Plainville, Sharon 6. The Beacon 7. January 21, 2015 memo from Mr. Burke re: Dutton Drive Surety / copy of $56,936.58 check for the surety and $15,000.00 check for the sidewalk fund. Mr. French asked how much is in the sidewalk fund; Mr, Burke said there is around $9,000. He suggested the board talk to DPW about priorities for using that fund — install new sidewalks, repair existing sidewalks, upgrade crosswalks, install handicapped ramps, etc. Motion: To set the surety for Dutton Drive at $56,936.58 and to sign the Form J Release from Covenant (Cleary -Feek) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke explained the Dutton Drive plan is a Land Court plan. Land Court assigned different numbers to the lots than the original plan shows, and assigned lot numbers to the roadway and open space, which are all included on the Form J. Motion: To accept the $15,000.00 on behalf of the Town of Mansfield to be deposited into the Planning Board's sidewalk fund (Cleary- Ashman - Collins) All in favor. PASSES South Main Street (Map 14, Parcels 24, 25, 29) — Estate of Frank Geddes. The plan seeks to create Lots 1, 2 3 and D. Lot 1 contains the existing 625 South Main Sheet with 160 feet of frontage and 36,512 square feet of area; Lot 2 has 150 feet of frontage and 34,224 square feet of area; Lot 3 has 32.94 feet of frontage and 67,326 square feet of area and was granted a frontage /lot width variance; Lot D has no frontage and 106,300 square feet of area and will be donated to the Mansfield Conservation Commission or the NRT. The property was granted a variance for frontage and lot width. He said the the plan warrants endorsement. Motion: To endorse the Form A (LeBlanc - Ashman- Collins) All in favor. PASSES Willow Street (Map 12, Parcels 26 & 27). The plan seeks to convey Parcels A (386 + /- so and Parcel B (1,413 + - so to the Town of Mansfield for roadway purposes; and to convey Parcel C (2,428 +/- so to and combined with land owned by James J. Crawford, Parcels A, B and C are identified as non - buildable, non - conforming parcels. Mr. Burke explained the land swap will allow the Willowdale developer to change the layout of Willow Street and flatten out the sharp curve. Mr. Burke said the plan warrants endorsement. Motion: To endorse the Form A Plan (LeBlanc - Cleary) All in favor. PASSES January 13, 2015 memo from Mr. Burke re: Mr. LeBlanc said he is concerned about the board being consistent and about waiving sidewalks. Ms. Ashman - Collins said the board can grant waivers to be responsive to the conditions on a specific parcel, but agreed the sidewalk issue has come up a lot, especially with small subdivisions on roads with no existing sidewalk. Mr. LeBlanc said he is also concerned about waiving granite curbing. Mr. French said it is good to be as consistent as possible, given that each project is different, but said every waiver has to have a demonstrated benefit to the town. He said the board has the ability to waive the sidewalk or granite curbing requirements in 2 1/21/2015 subdivisions in different areas of town that are either more rural or more urban. Mr. Cleary asked if it would be defensible if the board denied a waiver and the developer appealed it; Mr. Burke said it would be because each waiver has to be considered individually. He said when towns get in trouble is when boards require more in some developments than the standard. He said the board's denial of waivers would be defensible as long as in cases where waivers are granted, the board recognizes the benefit. He said a good example is Bay Brook Farm, which was granted a waiver from the length of a dead -end road because of conservation issues. He said the developer could have put in two entrances, but there was a demonstrated benefit to a single' entrance. Mr. French said he is concerned about granting waivers on the length of a dead -end street, which developers request a few times a year. Mr. Burke said the elimination of the second roadway in Bay Brook also eliminated the town owning another bridge. Mr. Feck said requiring sidewalk on both sides limits a developer's ability to use limited impact development techniques; lie suggested amending the by -law to address something like eliminating granite sidewalks on one side in exchange for limited impact development. Mr. Burke asked if the board would like him to draft a low- impact development alternative for the Subdivision Regulations, Mr. French said something like that could be an option at the discretion of the board and the town engineer. Mr. Cleary that would not prevent the board from granting waivers, it would just give the engineer other options. Mr. Burke said the board can deny waivers if it does not see the benefit to the town. Ms. Ashman- Collins said there should be a formula to codify the donation when something is waived. Mr. French asked if Mr. Burke is concerned about granting waivers if the only benefit to the town is financial. Mr. Burke said that would be troublesome because with a donation to the sidewalk fund, there would be no visible benefit for most of the town's residents. Mr. Burke said on a development like Lincoln Place, the town got 17 acres of land abutting the bike path as a public benefit. Mr. French said while the town may not have a use for that land now, it may in the future. Mr. LeBlanc said he would feel more comfortable if there was a more formulaic approach, so both the developer and the town would know when the process begins. Mr. Burke said the Means book provides the cost of each step of construction, and the town adds a 20% contingency to that amount in case the town, which has to pay prevailing wage, has to finish the job. Mr. French said the decision to grant waivers are a negotiation based on each site. He said the country drainage idea would be a good one on the right site. Mr. French said the board has talked about revisions to the Subdivision Regulations, including the width of subdivision roadways. Mr. Burke said wide roadways, such as the ones in the business park, encourage drivers to go faster. He said he has spoken with Dr. Dulaski from Northeastern University about his students doing a project to look at narrowing the roads in the business park and making it more pedestrian - friendly. Mr. Feck asked if the board would like to look at a low- impact development by -law. The members said it would be a good idea. Mr. Burke said eliminating infrastructure, like manholes, 1/21 /2015 would save the town a lot in annual maintenance. Mr. French said the board would want the town engineer to have the ability to review the proposal. Ms. Ashman- Collins said any new regulations would have to allow for differences on sites. Mr. Burke asked if the board would like to add more language about the board's statutory ability to waive its own regulations; Mr. French suggested adding language that the board can make a finding to waive its regulations based on the benefits. Mr. Cleary suggested adding a waiver explanation page to the subdivision application, which would make the developer think about the benefit of each waiver request. Mr. Burke told the board he has drafted three potential zoning articles for Annual Town Meeting, including a solar energy by -law, a fast food definition and flood plain map reference amendments. Mr. Burke said the North Main Street/Oakland Street/Mansfield Avenue discussion with the Board of Selectmen will be February 25, followed by the Planning Board's municipal clearinghouse review and vote. He said the plan has been to several public meetings and all of the resident comments have been incorporated. He said he will distribute the plan to the board in the next few days. Mr. LeBlanc asked if there are regulations about the location and number of bird feeders in terms of public nuisance and health issues. Mr. Burke said something like that would probably be a Board of Health issue. Mr. LeBlanc asked about the signs at Mansfield Crossing. Mr. Burke said they are still there and he has contacted the developer's office several times, with no response. He said one of Dr. Dulasky's suggestions was to add a mini roundabout where the detail officers stand during busy times. Mr. LeBlanc said he visited the Essex Street site where a 55 and over development may be proposed; he said it is a beautiful property and looks very wet. Mr. Cleary asked if the board wants to make any changes to cul -de -sac islands; consensus was that the board has discussed the issue and decided to leave the by -law as is. Mr. Feck said the best way to deal with cul -de -sac islands is to keep them natural, eliminating the need for maintenance. Mr. French said trees in cul -de -sac islands tend to be too small and suggested requiring them to be street tree sized. Ms. Ashman- Collins asked if the Master Plan or Strategic Plan discusses a sidewalk priority plan; Mr. Burke said he thinks DPW has a plan with downtown as a priority. Mr. Burke noted Jordan- Jackson principal Theresa Murray, after being involved with the Strategic Plan process, 1/21/2015 applied for and got a Safe Streets grant and has been working with the Engineering Department on the layout and parking in front of the schools. Mr. Cleary asked about the pickup /dropoff area in front of the schools, which has numerous traffic cones. He asked if something simple, like striping, could be done in that area to accomplish the same goal. Mr. Cerretani said the roadway under the County Street underpass frequently freezes; Mr. Burke said that would be a DPW issue. Mr. Cleary asked if that is part of the work the state did. Mr. Burke said it was, but was not done correctly. Mr. French asked about inviting Miriam Bobadilla to discuss grant funding for TOD. Mr. Burke said by the time TOD was adopted in 2014, the money had been released. He said no one knows what the new governor will do about transportation and South Coast Rail funding. He said the TOD project was the kind of project the former governor was very interested in, but he isn't sure what Governor Baker's priority will be. Mr. Burke said he has spoken with the owner of the Cleveland Twist property, who said lie is not interested in being the town's development partner on TOD, but would be willing to sell the land. I-Ie said he has spoken with BETA Group, who would like to work with the town on a MassWorks grant. He said if the town gets the crossing, a MassWorks grant could focus on accessing the land from County Street. He said it would be better for the town to deal with MBTA -owned land than CSX land. Mr. Burke said he would contact Ms. Bobadilla about coming to talk with the board about the Commonwealth's funding plans, Motion: To adjourn at 9:15 p.m. (Cleary- Ashman - Collins) All in favor. PASSES Next Regular Planning Board Meeting: February 4, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. §i natu o Clerk Date of proval 1/21/2015