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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_03112015Planning Board Minutes March 11, 2015 Present: Tom French, Chairman; Beth Ashman- Collins, Clerk, Michael McClanahan, Don Cleary, Ralph Penney, Mike Feck Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Assistant 1. February 25, 2015 Minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Penney- McClanahan) Five in favor. Ashman - Collins, Cleary abstained. PASSES 2. Willowdale Form I Covenant Motion: To accept the Willowdale Form I Covenant (McClanahan- Penney) Five in favor. French abstained. PASSES 3. Willowdale mylars to be signed Motion: To sign the Willowdale mylars (McClanahan - Penney) Five in favor. French abstained. PASSES 4. Public hearing notices — Attleboro, North Attleboro, Plainville, Sharon Five lots - two lots off the end of Old Farm Road/Wayside Drive and three lots off the end of ( Saddle Ridge Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted relief from the frontage and lot width requirements in August 2014. Mr. Burke recommended endorsing the plan. Motion: To endorse the Form A plan (Penney- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES 5. March 6, 2015 letter from Robert and Janice Sauuet, 177 Old Elm Street re: sale of land. Mr. Burke explained that because this land has been in Chapter 61 and is proposed to be sold for residential development, the town has the right of first refusal. He recommended sending the Board of Selectmen and the Conservation Commission a letter recommending not to purchase the land. Consensus of the board was there is not enough information to send a recommendation. 6. March 11, 2015 Disclosure of Appearance of Conflict of Interest from Michael Feck The clerk read the public hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the public hearing would be conducted. Mr. Feck said he has filed a disclosure with the Planning Board and Town Clerk's office about a previous business relationship he had with the applicant. Mr. Feck said he feels comfortable participating in the public hearing. Attorney Edward Valanzola introduced property owner Chris Cunningham and said they would like to get the board's feedback, and may continue the public hearing to have a chance to address 3/11/2015 the board and department head comments. He said the revised plans, dated March 9, 2015, were delivered to the Planning Department today. Mr. Valanzola presented renderings of the building. Ralph Maloon, RIM Engineering, explained the plan for the construction of a four -unit rowhouse /townhouse on an approximately 6,409 square -foot parcel in the Business I Zone. He said he has met with Mr. Alves, who was concerned about the wall impacting the neighbor to the west. Because of the snow, they were only able to excavate beside the wall today and found the upper portion of the site flows toward the street, and the lower portion flows to a depression in the back yard, then into the ground. Mr. Maloon said the site has Class A soils. Mr. Maloon said the original design showed the west part of the roof going to a to a seven foot storage area, but after meeting with Mr. Alves, that has been changed so the whole roof and parking lot go into the ground. Mr. Maloon said there will be a six -foot buffer area with trees. He said the wall is well - constructed and practically right on the property line. The walkway will be up against the wall, leaving a three -foot space between the walkway and the building, with crushed stone. Ms. Ashman - Collins asked if there is a handrail between the walkway and the wall; Mr. Cunningham said that is a lit walkway. Mr. Maloon said there is a 1'8" drop from the wall to the neighbor's property. Mr. Maloon said all surface water will go into the ground. He said some remaining land sheds to the street, but with insignificant flow of .143 csf to the street. After construction, flow will be .186 es£ I-Ie said he would put in a berm so the water from a neighboring property that flows to the street now will still be able to flow through a berm over this property to the street. Mr. French asked if the bollard -style lights shown on the plan will be installed on top of the wall. Mr. French asked if the 3' wide sidewalk is wide enough to meet ADA requirements; Mr. Burke said ADA requires a 4' wide sidewalk. Mr. Maloon said there are lights on each unit's door, which are 25 feet apart. Mr. Burke said the walkway has to be illuminated separately from the units for safety. Mr. McClanahan said a lighting plan would be needed. Mr. French said a landscaping plan would be needed. Mr. McClanahan asked where the snow would be piled; Mr. Cunningham said there is some room at the edge of the property. Mr. Valanzola said if there was too much snow, it would have to be removed. He said Mr. Cunningham plans to rent the units and would put snow removal in the leases. Mr. Penney said this year's snow has highlighted the need for a snow storage /removal plan. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from the Engineering Department and two memos from the Fire Department, 2 3/11/2015 Mr. Maloon said the sewer connection has been relocated and Mr. Alves would like a manhole in the parking area with a "Y" to each unit separately; Mr. Maloon said he would work on that with Mr. Alves. Mr. Maloon said the roof is peaked so would need a gutter. He said Mr. Alves is concerned about a pipe being installed too shallow and the water freezing. Mr. Maloon said the front of site is the back edge of sidewalk; Mr. Alves concerned about the sidewalk being damaged. Mr. Maloon said the 100 -year storm has been added to the plan. Captain Tebeau's March 3, 2015 letter indicates the Fire Department will be satisfied if the building is sprinklered. Public Comment Alex Barr, 141 Rumford Avenue, said he is concerned about someone falling off the walkway and being injured on his property. Ire said he would like a fence on the property line. He said snow removal is already a problem downtown and he is concerned about additional snow from this building. He said he is concerned about the additional trash and recycling from these units. Mr. Cunningham said they would have a private hauler for trash and recycling. Mr. French asked if the town would pick up trash and recycling if residents put it out; Mr. Burke said the policy is that it does not, but he has seen it done. Mr. French asked about a condition requiring a private trash hauler; Mr. Burke said that would make it more enforceable. Mr. Cleary suggested making it clear that the residents will not be allowed to have their trash and recycling picked up by the town. Mr. Barr said he is concerned about the existing on- street parking problem and said his driveway is frequently blocked. He said he already has a problem with dog waste in his yard. Mr. French said they are proposing two -car garages for each unit, which would meet the parking requirement, so on- street parking would be for visitors only. Mr. Penney asked if a special permit could include a condition requiring people to use their garages for parking rather than for storage to cut down on on- street parking. Mr. Valanzola said the plan is for these units to be rentals, so that would be up to the landlord. He said there would be enough room in the parking area for residents to park extra cars in front of their garages. Mr. Valanzola said he would provide the board with floor plans. Mr. Barr said Zoning By -Law Section 4.3.6, landscaping and screening, requires a 15 -foot buffer when a commercial zone abuts a residential zone; he said his lot is zoned R3, but this lot is zoned B1. Mr. Valanzola said this is a residential use. Mr. Burke said the B1 district is specifically excluded from that section, but suggested the applicant look at that issue. Mr. Barr said there should be some landscaping protection for residential uses abutting business uses. Mr. Cleary suggested the applicant might consider providing the abutter with something like arbor vitae to help with screening. Mr. Cunningham said he would be willing to work with Mr. Barr on a solution. Mr. Barr said a six -foot fence along the property line would help. Mr. Valanzola said they should look at a railing along the walkway, but would be concerned about a fence creating a closed alleyway effect. Mr. Barr said his home will be significantly impacted by this large 3/11/2015 development; Mr. Valanzola said they would look at a more natural buffer material. Mr. French suggested a four -foot chain link fence with some plantings on the abutter's property. Mr. Valanzola said they would revisit that and come back with a landscape plan. Mr. Penney suggested a chain link fence with plastic slats. Bill Clemmey, Foundry LLC, owner of the property to the east, asked for the property line to be staked to determine the accuracy of the lot line. Mr. Clemmey asked what would happen to his lot's drainage; Mr. Maloon said the drainage will continue to shed to the street. Mr. Clemmey said he does not have a water problem now and he doesn't want this project to impact his property. Mr. Valanzola said he thinks they have addressed that with the Town Engineer. Mr. Maloon said Mr. Alves witnessed the soil testing. Mr. Valanzola said the water from this project cannot leave the site and impact other properties. Mr. Clemmey said he would like to see the planting plan. Mr. Valanzola said they were planning low plantings. Mr. Clemmey asked if there is a wall on the other side of this property; Mr. Maloon said there is not. Mr. Clemmey asked if the existing sewer would be able to handle four homes instead of the existing single - family home; Mr. Maloon said it would. Mr. Clemmey asked if there will be enough room in the driveway for cars to pull out of the garages if there are visitors parked in the lot. Mr. Valanzola said visitors will have to park in front of the garage doors, which would not impact the residents of the other units. Mr. Clemmey asked the height of the building; Mr. Cunningham said it is 36'8" from the top of foundation. Mr. Clemmey asked for a copy of the revised plans. Board Comment Mr. McClanahan said the board would require landscaping and lighting plans. Mr. Feck asked for the actual materials to be included on the landscaping plan and on the renderings. He said the snow will have to be removed if the site runs out of storage. Mr. Penney said the application appears to be incomplete per Section 5.5.6 and asked when the clock starts; Mr. Burke said the clock starts when the application is submitted. He noted the Town Clerk is required to accept the application. Mr. Penney said he doesn't think 36 inches is wide enough for an ADA- compliant sidewalk; Mr. Burke said ADA requires a sidewalk to be 48 inches wide. Mr. Penney said Mr. Alves has requested a maintenance plan for the drainage system. Mr. Penney said he would like to see how the snow will be stored without blocking the dumpster. Mr. Penney said he would like to see floor plans. Mr. Penney said he would like to see comments from the Building inspector; Mr. Burke said the Building Inspector would review the plan for compliance to zoning and the building code. Mr. Penney said the abutter's concerns about someone falling off the walkway onto his property could be solved with a fence. 3111/2015 Mr. Penney asked what the parking requirements are in B 1; Mr. Burke said B I requires 1.5 spaces per unit and this project exceeds the requirement with two spaces per unit. Mr. French said the building will have to be built in accordance with the approved elevations. Mr. Cleary asked what the benefit would be to replacing a single- family home with four units. Mr. Valanzola said there is a need for these units downtown, which would be more affordable than single - family homes. Mr. Cunningham said the units would probably rent for $1,800. Mr. Penney said the special permit standards are higher than for a site plan and asked for a financial benefit statement on the project. Ms. Ashman - Collins said she is concerned about the mass of the structure and the tunnel effect of a tall townhouse style building turned sideways would create on the neighborhood. She said the neighborhood has a lot of older homes with nice architectural detail, and this rendering shows a very plain building; she said she doesn't think the impact on the neighborhood will be positive. She suggested the building be smaller and include details like front porches. Mr. Burke said there are a number of issues that need to be addressed, including lighting and landscaping plans and snow removal. He said he isn't as concerned about the proposed density as about the design of the building fitting in with the neighborhood. I-Ie suggested the applicant address the questions in the special permit section of the Zoning By -Law. Mr. French said the board will be required to address the questions in the special permit section when it makes its decision. He suggested the elevation facing the abutter be improved and additional elevations be added to the plan Mr. Burke said the lighting and landscaping plans should show the plan and the detail. Motion: To continue the public hearing to April 29, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. (Penney- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES 5� Publrc'Corument Mr. Cleary said the sidewalk in front of the business at 190 Chauncy Street is still covered in snow, but all of the homeowners along Chauncy Sheet have cleared the sidewalks in front of their houses. He said the business has a lot of room on site for snow storage. Ms. Ashman - Collins said she would like to be able to require the removal of illegal advertising signs for e- cigarettes. Mr. Burke suggested sending the Building Inspector a letter asking him to enforce the prohibition on temporary signs. Mr. Penney asked to include inflatable signs. Mr. French suggested asking the Building Inspector to look at the proliferation of illegal signs. Motion: To send the Building Inspector the above letter (Ashman- Collins - Penney) All in favor. PASSES 3/1112015 Mr. Penney suggested adding something to the next Subdivision Rules and Regulations discussion about the board's ability to evaluate projects in terms of waiving sidewalks with donations to the sidewalk fund. Mr. Burke said the board already has the ability to waive its regulations, but would not recommend adding something that specific. Mr. Penney said he would like a way to make applicants aware of the program; Mr. Burke suggested talking with the applicants early in the permitting process. Motion: To adjourn at 9:10 p.m. INextkPanning Board Meeting: Signature of Clerk W March 25, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. z� 2� ZO Date of Approval 3/11/2015