Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPLANNINGbrd_07272016Planning Board Minutes Joint Meeting with Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and Industrial Deve ment Commission July 27, 2016 cp 11, Present: Tom French, Chairman; Michael McClanahan, Ralph Penney, Rich nc ,. Sharon Friedman Alternate Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Admini *(e Assistant Board of Selectmen: Jess Aptowitz, Chair; George Dentino, Frank DelVecchio, Mickpel Trowbridge, Steve Schoonveld William Ross, Town Manager Members of the Finance Committee and Industrial Development Commission Kara Griffin, Director, and Danielle Fish, VP of Economic Development, Tri -Town Chamber of Commerce Mr. Aptowitz suggested that because of the different groups present, the discussion should be kept at a "big picture" level. The group viewed a promotional video about the Mansfield -Norton -Foxboro region. Mr. Wilk asked how the information would be disseminated. Ms. Griffin said it would be used for marketing to the business community and will be sent out on numerous platforms. She said it was presented to Foxboro last night and will be presented in Norton tomorrow. The video has been sent to the area's representatives and senators, and will be sent to Governor Baker. Bob Krentzman, IDC Chair, congratulated the Tri -Town Chamber of Commerce and said the video shows the advantages of the region as a whole. He said the IDC plans to focus its efforts on marketing to bring businesses to Mansfield. Sharon Friedman, Planning Board, said the film is a great start, but was concerned it did not reflect the area's diversity, and should focus on what is available for families and in houses of worship. Mr. Krentzman distributed IDC documents including one describing the IDC's activities and one highlighting Mansfield's amenities. Mr. Schoonveld said economic development is one of the Board of Selectmen's priorities. Mr. Krentzman explained the IDC has focused on the question of "Why Mansfield?" and wants to act as facilitator to businesses looking to come into town. He said they want to focus on the entire town, are doing a lot of marketing with a website and Facebook page and have a partnership with Mansfield High School students to help with the website and marketing. They Workshop BOS-PB-Fin Com -IDC July 27, 2016 are working on community relationships with current businesses, potential businesses, banks and realtors, and want to find out when businesses are thinking of moving and try to encourage them to move to Mansfield. Dr. Krista Hill Cummings, IDC, explained they have prepared a brochure with MHS students and are working on a website. She said the IDC wants to have programs to make sure businesses are attracted to Mansfield and will be bringing up development and infrastructure opportunities. She said they have done marketing research with a survey of residents, with over 1,000 responses, asking what kind of businesses residents want to see. She said responses were things like coffee shops and kids' activities; she said she thinks residents want more social types of businesses, especially in the downtown area. The IDC also did a focus group of downtown business owners; concerns included parking and getting the business owners to work together. Mr. Penney said he understands the goal of encouraging businesses to come to town and to raise tax revenue. He said the downtown has been a topic of discussion for many years, and the Planning Board hears a lot about the need for parking. He suggested the Fales Oil lot could be used for parking. Mr. McClanahan said that would be a good location for parking because it is at the beginning of the bike path. Mr. Penney said that property has been off the tax rolls for a long time. Mr. Aptowitz said the Board of Selectmen hopes to have more regular workshop meetings with boards and committees. Mr. Penney said zoning in the business park was changed recently in an attempt to encourage businesses to stay in or relocate to Mansfield. He said zoning has also changed to allow valet parking at downtown restaurants, though no one has yet taken advantage of it. Mr. Schoonveld said the goals are growth in the business park, sustainability and competitiveness. He asked if there should be a review of the zoning in the business park. Mr. McClanahan said there have recently been several zoning changes in the business park; Mr. Penney said site plan approval has been a good process with applicants. Mr. French said he thinks downtown is coming along well, with a lot of recent mixed-use projects and increased growth around the train station. He said the MassWorks project will help traffic and parking in the downtown area, and there have been a number of zoning changes in the last fewy ears to further encourage downtown development. Mr. Ross said the MassWorks project is scheduled to start in mid-August and the contractor expects to complete it in six weeks. Mr. Wilk said Finance Committee worked with the Planning Board on zoning changes in the business park. He said the town should know who the tenants and owners are in the park, and should be meeting with those people regularly. He said the same kind of data should be collected for downtown businesses. Mr. Wilk said by the time a tenant's lease is up, that company knows what it will do, so the town should keep in touch with the tenants. Mr. Krentzman said the IDC has talked to the town, businesses, state leaders about Mansfield over the last year and said the IDC is working to become an information and relationship - Workshop BOS-PB-Fin Com -IDC July 27, 2016 building conduit. The IDC has met with Steve Clancy, who said many of the buildings in the business park were built in the 1960s and 1970s for warehousing and are becoming obsolete. Mr. Clancy said businesses now want to put more business space into smaller buildings, so density may be becoming more important than building height. Mr. Wilk said the Planning Board used the recommendations from Dr. Mullin to propose changes to the business park, to try to accommodate the needs of businesses. Mr. French said if the zoning needs to be looked at again based on the discussions with Mr. Clancy, the Planning Board would be happy to do that. Mr. Ross said when the industrial park was developed, the idea was to separate businesses from retail and restaurant. He said one of Mr. Clancy's points was that business is changing and people want to be able to walk from their office to restaurants. Mr. Ross said the town should encourage GATRA to expand service in the business park. Mr. Krentzman said there is no central business group in the business park with the responsibility for things like landscaping. He said the IDC would like to help establish a park association and apply for a BID for the business park. Mr. Penney said the town got a lot of help and donations from the businesses in the park during the Plymouth Street field construction, and was supposed to construct some walking paths in the park, which he said he doesn't think was done. Joe Sollecito, MMED Director and former Taunton Electric Department manager, said it is important to attract large industry. He said Mansfield has low rates, but the industrial customers are not large power users. He said there should be an attractive rate process through the use of incentives; he said Taunton businesses saved about $700,000 under that city's program. He said something like that could help keep and attract businesses to town. Mr. Ross said Taunton sponsors a breakfast for its major customers to highlight the electric department; he and Mr. Sollecito are talking about doing something similar. Mr. Trowbridge asked if the Planning Board has looked at issues in the business park like density and open space. Mr. Krentzman said Taunton only requires 10% open space in the industrial park; Mr. Penney said the commercial tax rate in Taunton is $32 per $1,000. Mr. Wilk said one of the issues Mansfield may come up against is competing against towns with full-time economic development staffs. Ms. Friedman commended the IDC for all its work and suggested coming up with a unifying vision and a mission to help with marketing. She said she thinks the big issues are with density, diversity and design. She suggested determining the most beneficial kind of structure in the business park, and in the downtown area, which has different density and design requirements; and in other commercial areas near residential areas. She said it may be time to look at the Master Plan and what should be addressed. Mr. DelVecchio asked about the Master Plan; Mr. Burke said it was last updated in 2008 and is typically done every 10 years. Mr. McClanahan said the town also did a Strategic Plan study with Dr. Mullin in 2012 and updated it in 2015. Workshop BOS-PB-Fin Com -IDC July 27, 2016 Mr. Trowbridge said it may be worth considering hiring an economic development director to work full-time on these issues. Mr. Ross said the Planning and GIS Departments are working on a database of business park owners and tenants, which should be ready in mid-September. Mr. Schoonveld suggested a review of Mansfield and surrounding towns' zoning for another meeting in mid-September, including what uses are allowed. Mr. Krentzman said the IDC has been working with Mr. Ross on the development and marketing strategy. Mr. Aptowitz said the work on the Fales Oil property has to be completed. Mr. Schoonveld suggested the Board of Selectmen schedule another meeting like this for downtown issues. Mr. Aptowitz thanked the board members for participating. The Board of Selectmen adjourned the meeting at 9:45 p.m. 4- "1 , zo� Ien Date /of Appy6val nature of Clerk Workshop BOS-PB-Fin Com -IDC July 27, 2016