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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_12162015Planning Board MinutesVED vY-=, December 16' 2015 v Is F'IC Present: Tom French, Chairman, Don Cleary, Clerk, Michael McClanahan, F ck, Rich LeBlanc Alternate Joseph Cerretani { Jennifer Davis, Administrative Assistant a B r 1 1 o amend zoning Ey-Law 3'ection s. /.z to at ow lvilxea .rsusznessi.Kesiaentiac use an n4; to amend Schedule 4.2.2, Density and Dimensional Regulations Business and Industrial Districts to provide a Maximum Floor Area Ratio By Right of 1.0 for the Mixed Use Business/Residential Use in B4; and to amend Schedule 4.2.2, Note 2 to include Business 4 district.; and Article 42 (PB Supported 5-2-0; Failed at 2015 ATM) To change the Zoning By -Law Schedule of Principal Use Regulations for Business_ Uses for Fast Food Restaurants (Section 3.5.6) from current Not Allowed (N)_ to Allowable Use by Special Permit (S) in the Business (B4) District. Planning Board 12/16/2015 Mr. Clemmey said barring someone buying three or four lots and combining them, there are only a few large lots in B4, the doctor's office on Chauncy Street and the Clemmey lot next to Benny's on Copeland Drive. He said those lots have a lot of residential uses around them, and could be built on now as large retail uses, like the storage facility on the corner of Route 140. He said an office building would be allowed in B4, but there is plenty of empty office space in town. He suggested having a public discussion with the neighbors about why it would make sense to have mixed use as an option in the B4 zone. He said he thinks the article failed last year because the immediate neighbors did not support the mixed use idea, Mr. French said Mr. Clemmey did a nice presentation last year, but said Town Meeting made the decision not to support it; he said that does not mean Town Meeting won't change its mind in the future. He said he isn't sure a year is lonR enough to bring the same article back, Mr. Clemmey said the Patriot Tool site is across the street from residential uses, but has a business use that would work with apartments on the second floor. Mr. Clemmey said the board supported this article last year and said he would like to see the board support it again or even present it. He asked the board to think about what it wants to see in that area. He said there are not that many more large parcels left to be built on in that area, asked the members to think about what can be done there and invite the public to discuss the issue. Mr. French said mixed use in B4 may be an easier argument to make than a proposal for fast food in that zone. Mr. McClanahan said there are some older buildings in that zone that may be changing hands, Mr. Clemmey said he thinks it would be useful to get input from residents on uses in B4. Mr. French said it may be easier to propose only the mixed use in B4 rather than propose mixed use, fast food and the rezoning of the parcel on West Street. Mr. Clemmey said he has not spoken to any developers who think West Street should be a residential use. Mr. French said he thinks Town Meeting may be more receptive to fewer zoning articles. Mr. Cleary said a -public meeting, like a charrette, could be a useful tool to see what the neighborhood would like to see. Mr. Clemmey said they have met with neighbors about issues in thepast, and he thinks having a third party like the Planning Board could provide a neutral opinion. Mr. Cleary suggested a meeting like that should simply ask what neighbors would like to see, rather than asking people to respond to a specific use. Mr. Clemmey said the Chauncy/Copeland intersection is terrible and there have been several suggestions to improve it. He suggested that now the parcel on the corner is for sale, it may be time for the town to take. a 10 -foot strip along Chauncy Street. Mr. French said a taking like that would be very expensive. Mr. Cleary said he has spoken with the Town Manager about looking into getting a strip along the road.' He said fixing the intersection would help with both traffic flow and volume. Mr. Clemmey said taking 10 feet on the west bound side of Route 106 would allow a designated left -turn lane onto Copeland Drive. He said the doctor's office will be a one - acre parcel, a sizable buildable lot in that zone. 2 Planning Board 12/16/2015 Article 43 (PB Supported 5-1-1; Failed at 2015 ATM) To amend the Zoning By -Law to allow Residential Facilities for Residents Fifty -Five 55 years or older Use (Section 3.3,10) as a Special Permit in the Residential I R I) zone and to require the parcel to be at least 20 acres. Mr. Clemmey said one of the items discussed during the Strategic Plan charrette was the need for more ,5 5 and Over housing. He said the board supported this zoning change last year 5-2. Mr. 01 French asked about the Clemmey parcel behind Shaw's. Mr. Clemmey said that was R2, but is now 11. He said the neighbors liked the idea of keeping the allowed uses as retail; he said the driveway for a 55 and over use there would have gone through South Walnut Street. Mr. French said he thinks there would have been a way to avoid putting the road there. [Mr. LeBlanc returned at this time] Mr. Clemmey said he would like to have a discussion about how to increase 55 and Over housing in town and where it makes sense to allow the use. He said the 55 and Over use requires the site to be on sewer. Mr. Clemmey said the minimum lot size for 55 and Over in R2 is six acres; his proposal last year was to require a minimum of 20 acres in R1 with a maximum of 100 units, which is five units per acre. He said the maximum size of the buildings would stay the same. As an example, he noted a 55 and Over in Easton at the end of Steams Avenue, which are small single-family houses on small lots with a lot of open space. He said he would like to do something similar on his land with higher density multi -family in the center of the site. Mr. Clemmey suggested including people from the Council on Aging in a discussion about what the town needs. Mr. French said he thinks theparcel behind Shaw's would have been a good location for 55 and Over. Mr. Clemmey said 55 and Over developers were not interested in that site because of its location. Article 44 (PB Did Not Support 6-1-1; Withdrawn at 2015 ATM) To rezone the following parcels from Residential 2 (R2) to Industrial I (II): Assessors Map 20, Parcels 3, 4, 5, 191 and 192 (West Street). Mr. Clemmey said he thinks at some point, an idea will come through that makes sense for that parcel. Mr. Clemmey said he read through the Strategic Plan update and said the words "train station" and "TOD" do not appear in the document. He said he thinks the town needs to look at the train station and thequestion of density should be discussed; he said Mr. Crugnale's project is high density. Mr. French said the TOD was approved at a density that was acceptable to Town Meeting; he said he doesn't think it would have passed if it had been proposed at a higher density. He said when the town gets the access issues for the train station settled, combined with the state -provided funding for roadway improvements in the area, people may be more open to density changes around the train station. Mr. Clemmey said he thinks Mr. Crugnale's building will have the opposite effect on people because of its size, and voters will not want to increase 3 Planning Board 12/16/2015 the density more. He said Mr. Cru nale's property is 60 units per acre; Mr. French asked what dens would be on Mr. Clemme 's property across the tracks; Mr. Clemmey said it is 20 the. de Y Y p � y unitsp er acre. Mr. French said the ideal number may be something in between 60 and 20. He noted the other side of the tracks has more residential abutters than the Crugnale property. Mr. p Clemmey said the traffic on Copeland Drive is worse than on North Main Street. He said the eastbound traffic on Copeland Drive is terrible from Route 140 to the DPW garage on East Street every evening. . Mr. French said traffic is getting worse everywhere, with older roads and more drivers. Mr. Clemmey asked if the board would be involved in discussions about making North Main Street two-way... Mr. French said he doesn't think that will happen as long as the fire station is on North. Main Street. Mr. McClanahan said if the street went back to two-way, parking on one side • r lea said parking could be added on Old Colony way. Mr. French said the would. be lost, M . Cleary p g chokepoint oint on North Main Street is at Cheng Du, and those buildings are not going to move. Mr. Clemmey Y said the would not, unless someone buys all of those buildings. _ i an article that was denied cannot o back to Town Meeting for two years; Mr. Mr. Clemmey said g French said that is true unless the PlanningBoard votes that it had changed significantly enough t to make i a different article. He said the same article submitted by a different person would not Mr Clemmey asked if a density change would be enough to make it a be a significant change. Y Y different article; Mr. French said that would be up to the board. Mr. Clemmey asked what the board members would like to see on the lot next to Benny's on ; Y Copeland Drive. Mr. McClanahan said he would not want to see a fast food use, but mixed-use could work thee with ith a restaurant on the first floor and condos above. Mr. Clemmey said . y something like a bowling alley or a small movie theater would be a good fit on that site, but he isn't sure how financially viable something like that would be as a standalone use. Mr. Feck said . g he thinks uses for children would be a good idea in this area. .P01, M. 4 Planning Board 12/16/2015 Mr. Cleary asked if the work on Wendy's requires site plan approval. Mr. Cleary said Taunton got 90% reimbursement for the construction of a dog park and asked aboutpossible projects Mansfield could do. Mr. French said Norton wants to build its portion of the bikepath now and connect to Mansfield's, and has asked Mansfield to contribute to the design costs. He said ACIP decided the town would provide the survey and plans that were done when Mansfield installed its portion, Mr. French asked who would pay to build the portion in between the Norton end of the bike path and the Mansfield end on Fruit Street. Mr. Cleary said the land in between the Mansfield and Norton portions is very wet. Mr. LeBlanc said it would help Norton's application if the portion in between was included. 5 Planning Board 12/16/2015