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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_02252015Planning Board Minutes February 25, 2015 Present: Tom French, Chairman; Michael McClanahan, Acting Clerk; Ralph Penney, Rich LeBlanc, Mike Feck; Alternate Joe Cerretani Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Assistant Town Engineer Rick Alves explained the plan to reconfigure parking and traffic patterns at North Main Street/Oakland Stre"ansfield Avenue. Mr. Alves explained the plan has been amended since the last meeting in October 2014 and incorporates Complete Streets methodology. The last time we presented this plan was early October of 2014 to receive comments from yourself and the public. The plan in front of you hopefully addresses those concerns. The project site is located at North Main and Oakland Street, a Central business District and a Medium Density Residential area, North of Chauncy Street in which the goal is to Design and provide safe and efficient roadways for all road users(vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclist) by incorporating Complete Streets Methodology to the best of our ability. We are proposing 12' travel lanes with 1' fog lines each way throughout the North Main and Oakland Street corridor up to the limit of work at Mansfield Ave. The intersection of Chauncy and North Main we are proposing to add a through west bound lane on Chatmcy which will bring the level of service from E to a C. We are projecting curbing and sidewalk at all intersecting streets along North Main to protect parking. We are proposing Mansfield Ave to be a parking lot consisting of 46 angled spaces, 21 parallel spaces along with a 6' wide shared use bike lane with the addition of 3 speed tables along the 1200' stretch. All stalls are being proposed on the easterly side of Mansfield Ave, where the curbing and sidewalk currently exist. This creates a variable width travel lane from 14' to approximately 18' wide. An additional 13 angled parking spaces are being proposed north of the North Common with an elevated crosswalk prior to exiting onto North Main Street. Crocker Street will remain a one -way in the same direction with parallel parking on the south side only, proper signage will be provided as necessary to help eliminate vehicles travelling the wrong way. The area on North Main between Crocker and Pratt we are proposing parallel parking, sidewalk, lighting, and landscaping on the easterly side. The westerly side will consist of a 19 stall parking lot. This parking lot will also help accommodate for any possible future private development within this area and proper signage must be set for two -hour parking only. The major change from the last plan is at Pratt Street. This will remain a two -way based on traffic counts provided by SRPEDD in 2011. In order to achieve this we are proposing 5' wide sidewalk on Northerly sideline, 8' wide parallel parking, I P travel lanes each way, and another 8' wide parallel parking area, this would eliminate the existing sidewalk on the southerly sideline of Pratt. This will not help fire apparatus on the turning movement onto North Main, therefore, when the public hears the sirens from emergency vehicles they must get out of the way. Northerly of Pratt on North Main, we are proposing parallel parking on the westerly side up to Kingman Ave. The intersection of Mansfield Ave and Oakland is being proposed at a 90 degree angle to slow the traffic down and eliminate trucks from entering the 2/25/2015 new parking lot. Currently there are no land takings but we may need temporary construction easements. All intersecting streets would be under stop -sign control and is estimated to cost $1,000,000, some of which we hope to have funded by the Complete streets Program. With all the proposed improvements mentioned there will be an overall increase in parking of approximately 16 spaces, ADA compliant sidewalks, pedestrian and cyclist accommodations, Safer intersections and we will be beautifying downtown Mansfield. Once again I would like to thank, Town Manager, Selectman, Planning, Highway, Building, Police, Fire, and also students and staff from Northeastern College who have provided input to establish this plan. I look for your approval so we can move towards the next step. Thank You Mr. Ross said most of the new spaces will be two -hour parking, so they will be for businesses rather than commuters. Planning Board Comment Mr. French thanked Mr. Alves and Mr. Azinheira for the work they have put into this plan. He said the board recognizes this is a difficult area, and this plan would bring significant improvements. Mr. Penney commended Mr. Alves for working on a solution to the problems in this area; he said there have been a number of studies done on the area since 1991. He said a perfect design would be difficult because of the number of roads, the train station, commuter and truck traffic. I-Ie said he is glad to see Pratt Street will be two -way traffic because a lot of people use it as a cut - through. Mr. Penney said he thinks there will eventually have to be a light at the intersection. He said he doesn't like diagonal parking, which is shown on Mansfield Avenue, Mr. Azinheira said he thinks diagonal parking works best with one -way traffic. Mr. Penney said if cars cannot pull all the way into parking spaces because of snow banks, the travel lane will be narrowed. Mr. Alves said the travel lane, including the bike lane, will be 14 -18' wide. He said the bike lane would likely not be used much during the winter. He said there will be speed tables along Mansfield Avenue to slow traffic. He said he wouldn't recommend putting parking on both sides along with the bike path, for increased safety. Mr. Penney asked how much bike use there is; Mr. Azinheira said he thinks if it is made safer, more bikers would use the area. Mr. Penney said he isn't sure it would be worth the cost. Mr. Annino said angled parking helps slow down traffic and permits quicker, easier access to the spaces. He said angled parking has been recommended in a number of studies. He said the town is prying to encourage pedestrian and bicycle traffic downtown and around the train station. Mr. Ross said the Northeastern study suggested back -in parking, which this plan has not incorporated. He said by 7 am, the parking is pretty full; after that, commuters are being dropped off and the truck traffic picks up. Mr. Penney said he doesn't think angled parking will work well in this area. 2 2/25/2015 Mr. Penney said the plan appears to show parking going across driveways on Crocker Street. Mr. Alves said there are a couple of driveways there, but the parking is shown as future parking for private developments. Mr. Kozlowski asked about the sidewalk and bike lane; Mr. Alves said there wouldn't be a sidewalk on that side of Mansfield Avenue. The existing sidewalk on the other side would remain; he said it may have to be repaired depending on its condition. Mr. Penney said there are bike lanes throughout downtown, but he has not seen many more bicycles. Mr. Burke said he has worked with Mr. Alves on this plan and thinks the layout addresses most of the issues that arose during the planning process. He said he thinks the layout is good and adds parking for existing and future merchants and will improve that portion of North Main Street the town has not invested in. He said this plan would address a lot of issues in the Complete Sheets design, which is intended to include all users. When the town files a MassWorks grant application for funding, this kind of layout will hit a lot of the program's requirements. He said he appreciates the neighbors participating in this long process and he thinks Mr. Alves's plan addresses most of the issues. Mr. Alves said the line striping on Chauncy Street will add a westbound lane, which would mean drivers turning left out of the Bank of America parking lot would have to cross three lanes of traffic; he recommended no left turn from that property. Mr. Alves described the post - construction service levels of each intersection. Public Comment Gino DiGiovanni, Pratt Street, said everyone involved has done a good job and he appreciates the town taking the neighbors' input. He asked if the street widths will change; Mr. Alves said most will not, but said North Main Street will have two 12' wide travel lanes, each with a 1' fog line. He said the travel lanes on North Main Sheet will be narrowed from about 15' to 12% narrowing the roadway will help slow traffic. Mr. Ross said a 12 -foot travel lane is the standard width for a roadway. Mr. DelVecchio said he thinks the process has gone very well; he said he has had many comments from cyclists about their desire to improve bike access downtown. Mr. Annino said this has been a group effort and the process has been collaborative; he said this is a proactive approach to a long- standing problem. He said he thinks this will improve traffic circulation, make the area safer with better pavement and wider sidewalks, as well as aesthetic improvements like street trees and benches. He said he hopes the next step will be to tie the North End to downtown more strongly. Mr. Aptowitz asked if this would impact plans the MBTA has for the area; Mr. Ross said he does not think it would. Mr. Aptowitz asked what would happen to traffic during construction. He said he is concerned about the businesses suffering. Mr. Ross said access would have to be maintained in the area, and the details of construction would have to be carefully coordinated. Mr. Aptowitz said there is an existing traffic problem, especially at night, and asked if that 2/25/2015 should be tied into this plan. Mr. Ross said the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board are meeting with SPREDD on March 18 to talk about traffic modeling in the North Main/Chauncy ( Street/residential area on the west side of the tracks, based on the BETA study, the Northeastern University study and a hybrid of the two. Mr. Aptowitz asked about the $1 million price tag; Mr. Alves said that is not a hard number because the town would have to look at the condition of things like pavement, drainage structures and sidewalks. Mr. Aptowitz asked how long the project would take; Mr. Annino said he thinks it would take around nine months. Mr. Aptowitz asked if MassWorks would pay for this project; Mr. Ross said it would not pay for the whole project, but may find some of the work. He said the rest could come from sources like Chapter 90 funding or road bonds. Mr. Kozlowski said Pratt Street currently has two -way traffic with sidewalk on both sides; he asked why the plan shows two -way traffic with sidewalk on one side. Mr. Alves explained the existing travel lanes are only about 10 feet wide. Mr. Kozlowski said the town would be giving up some sidewalk for more parking; Mr. Alves said that is correct. He said eliminating the sidewalk on one side would allow parallel parking on both sides. I-Ie said currently, people park on both sides of Pratt Street, which prevents proper two -way traffic flow. Mr. McClanahan asked about using the MBTA and town -owned property next to Mass Glass on Mansfield Avenue for parking; Mr. Alves said there is a five -foot difference in grade on that site, and the number of additional parking spaces would not be worth the expense of the site work. ( Mr. McClanahan asked about the CSX crossing; Mr. Ross said the Board of Selectmen has talked with the MBTA about that in connection with the new access ramps it plans to install. Motion: To send the Board of Selectmen a positive recommendation on the proposed Traffic Pattern Plan North Main/Oakland Street as shown on the plan titled "Traffic Pattern Plan North Main/Oakland Mansfield, Massachusetts" dated January 8, 2015, prepared by the Town of Mansfield Engineering Department (Penney- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES [The Planning Board left the Board of Selectmen's meeting to hold its regular meeting in Meeting Room 2 alb at this time] Motion: To appoint Mr. McClanahan Acting Clerk (LeBlanc -Feck) All in favor. PASSES The clerk read a request from the applicant's attorney to continue the public hearing. Motion: To continue the public hearing to March 11, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. (McClanahan -Feck) All in favor. PASSES 1. February 4, 2015 Minutes Motion: To approve (McClanahan - Penney) 2/25/2015 Mr. Penney noted the discussion of FutureFoam including the company's manufacture of / bedding, packaging, ca et, not carbon, underlayment. 1 Page 5, FutureFoam motion. Mr. Penney said the board had discussed concerns about noise during the public hearing. Mr. Burke said the discussion was about the outdoor use of forklifts, but the applicant, Brian French, said they do not use outdoor forklifts at night because the deliveries would have been made by then. He also told the board there would be no second shift. Mr. Penney asked about limiting noise between 10 pm- 7 am. Mr. Burke said he would send a supplemental letter. Mr. Penney suggested adding a condition requesting the operator make every effort to reduce noise as much as possible between 10 pm -7 am. Mr. LeBlanc asked about a condition on the maximum decibel level. Mr, McClanahan said there are several other industrial operations in the neighborhood with no noise conditions. Mr. Burke said he would send Future Foam a letter asking them to make every effort to reduce noise as much as possible between 10 pm -lam. Around the Table — Mr. Penney asked about requiring renderings to be submitted with site plan approval submissions. Five in favor. LeBlanc abstained. PASSES 2, Public hearing notices — Easton, Foxboro, Plainville, Sharon 3. The Beacon 4. Mass Interchange newsletter 4 Foxm A (A1YR) Plaris — � _ Mr. Burke distributed a memo regarding upcoming projects, including draft zoning articles. He said the Flood Plain and Recodification are the only critical items. Flood Plain Map Amendments — To change language in Zoning By -Law to reflect the most updated FEMA maps. Mr. Burke said the changes to the maps have not affected many homes on Mansfield. Recodification — The Town Clerk has proposed recodifying the town's documents, including the Zoning By -Law, General By -Law and Charter, into a single document. There are no substantive changes proposed to the Zoning By -Law, simply renumbering and reorganization. The Planning Board has to hold a public hearing on the recodification, but not on the text of the by -law. Mr. Burke said he spoke with the Attorney General's office today about exactly what was done in the recodification; he was told the Planning Board public hearing should simply be to recodify the by -law, not to discuss the text, because no changes are being proposed. Consensus was to submit the FEMA and recodification articles for 2015 Annual Town Meeting. Site Plan Renderings — Mr. Penney said he thinks the board and the public would be better able to understand the plan if renderings are submitted. Mr. Burke said the board has the ability to 2/25/2015 work with an applicant and encourage them to use different colors or building styles, but does not have the ability to require specific things. Mr. Penney said the board has relied on renderings supplied with some site plans to better understand things like lighting and the general color scheme. He asked what would happen if a feature was shown on a site plan rendering, then not built. Mr. Burke said he and the building inspector would work with the developer to build the project as presented. Mr. Penney said renderings have become part of many applications that the board has come to rely on to understand the project. Mr. French agreed. Motion: To submit the site plan renderings article for 2015 Annual Town Meeting (Penney - McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Fast Food — Mr. Burke said the board discussed revising the fast food definition last year. Mr. French asked if revising the definition would make existing uses, like Dunkin Donuts, non- conforming. Mr. Burke said they would likely become pre- existing, non - conforming uses. Mr. Penney said the board has discussed changing where drive - throughs are allowed. Mr. Burke said many restaurants have pick -up options, which is very different from drive - throughs. He said drive - throughs would fundamentally change a neighborhood; he said he would not suggest allowing drive - throughs in the B4 zone. Mr. LeBlanc asked for clarification on whether "rapidly prepared" food is fast food. He asked if a deli would be considered fast food; Mr. Burke said he did not think so. Mr. French said the building inspector would have to enforce the definition. Mr. LeBlanc suggested specifying that the majority of the food being served is "rapidly prepared, pre - processed food products." Mr. Ross came in to invite the board to the March 18 Board of Selectmen's meeting with SRPEDD to discuss traffic modeling on North Main Street /Chauncy Street. He suggested asking SPREDD to look at the train station area as well. Mr. French said he agrees it might be necessary to amend the fast food definition, but said he was concerned about making existing businesses non - conforming. Mr. Burke said he is concerned about allowing the use in more areas of town. He said he thinks under the current definition, most uses like Dunkin Donuts are already pre- existing, non - conforming. Motion: To submit the fast food article as amended with "rapidly prepared, pre - processed food products" (McClanahan - LeBlanc) Mr. Penney said he isn't comfortable with the draft wording. Motion withdrawn Solar Energy Systems — Mr. Burke explained he drafted this article at the request of the Town Manager and sent it to town counsel, but has not heard back From him. He said he is concerned about the impact of this article on the agreement the Board of Selectmen is working on with the Branch Street property owners who have proposed a solar energy farm. Mr. French asked if the Town Manager and Board of Selectmen have reviewed this article; Mr. Burke said they have. Mr. French asked if there is a way to shorten the by -law. Mr. Penney said he thinks the Board of 6 2/25/2015 Selectmen should sponsor the by -law. Mr. French said the Planning Board would have to hold the public hearing, but said the Board of Selectmen should decide whether or not to submit the article. Consensus of the board was to submit the following articles for 2015 Annual Town Meeting: 1. FEMA; 2. Recodification; 3. Site Plan Renderings Residential Compound - Mr. French distributed a draft article to amend Residential Compound. He reminded the board Town Meeting did not support a proposal to eliminate the use last year. Mr. French said this proposed amendment would limit residential compounds to two lots. Mr. Feck said he thinks the value of residential compounds is that they allow open space and less roadway. Mr. McClanahan said the board has discussed changing the roadway standards for Residential Compounds. Mr. Feck said this would not preclude private ways. Mr. LeBlanc said he is concerned about emergency vehicle access on a private way. Mr. Penney said compounds tend to have the open space at the rear, resulting in less roadway. 7, Pibhc Comment Mr. French asked about MassWorks grant applications; Mr. Burke said the town does not have any grant applications in at this time. He said there are questions about funding for this type of program under the new administration. Mr. French asked about a visit from Miryam Bobadilla; Mr. Burke said Ms. Bobadilla has changed departments and the program has not been funded. Mr. Penney said the Planning Board sent the Board of Selectmen a few years ago about sidewalks; he asked what the board can do to get the sidewalk fund going again. Mr. Burke said he has met with Mr. Cook and Mr. Azinheira about DPW's priorities for sidewalk repair downtown. He said the state has started looking at what towns do with Chapter 90 funding and whether it has a sidewalk maintenance plan. Mr. Burke said the Board of Selectmen as Road Commissioners would make the decisions about sidewalks; he said he thinks the town plans to do sidewalk work this summer. Motion: To adjourn at 10:10 p.m. (Penney- ) All in favor. PASSES Next Regular Planning Board Meeting: March 11, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. L3- ll -zdi� Signature of Clerk Date of Approval 2/25/2015