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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 02/08/2017Planning Board Minutes February 8, 2017 Present: Tom French, Chair; Don Cleary, Clerk, Beth Ashman -Collins, Michael McClanahan, Michael Feck, Ralph Penney Alternates Joe Cerretani and Sharon Friedman Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Assistant 1. I'i anriing'Boa� d iVleet%ng cane+ to older a`t 7:00 n.m. January 25, 2017 minutes The board discussed sending a memo to the Board of Selectmen regarding recreational marij uana. p. 6 - paragraph — Mr. Penney said he was concerned the plan would "block access to a planned second entrance from County Street." p. 9 — Mr. Penney said the AUL documents are available on the DEP website under the RTN;4-19002. p. 2 — Ms. Ashman -Collins said "no new traffic generating use, other than parking, is being proposed at this time." Motion: To approve as amended (McClanahan -Penney) Six in favor. Feck abstained. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, North Attleboro 3. The Beacon Mr. Burke presented two draft zoning articles prohibiting tandem parking and requiring renderings to be submitted with special permit applications. He said the warrant closes March 1. Mr. Penney asked if renderings would be required if there is a structure proposed, because some special permit applications do not include a structure. He said renderings have been helpful to the board and abutters with site plan applications. Tandem parking includes amendments to the Definitions and Parking and Loading sections. Mr. Burke explained that if the board wants to preclude tandem parking, it would have to be defined. The draft includes dimensions to help define a "space;" Mr. French asked if that has to be included. Mr. Penney asked if tandem parking is used in nearby communities; Mr. Burke said it is used more often in an urban setting. He said it will be used at the new development at 1 Mansfield Avenue; Mr. McClanahan said the gas station at North Main/Chauncy Street uses Planning Board 2/8/2017 tandem parking. Mr. French said it is used at the new dental office on North Main Street. Mr. Feck said he isn't sure tandem parking has to be eliminated completely, but suggested the board could use it as a marker to determine if a proposed development is too dense. Mr. French said tandem parking could be used after a Planning Board finding; Ms. Ashman -Collins said she would hate to see a project fail because of a few parking spaces. Mr. Feck suggested tandem parking could be added to the density bonus section of the by-law. Mr. Burke said it could allow more flexibility in small lots. Mr. Cleary asked if this could cover lift parking spaces as well. Ms. Friedman said tandem parking could allow more development on a site, so the board should be careful about how much it allows. 5: SperatermiY>E'ublxe,Heaxingeonhuaesl` 130 Sprw$breet .1-Uit.55 and OKe ResdntiI Develggment = Grov, �uii"ding Realty TJist The clerk rend the nuhlic hearing notice. Mr. French explained how the snecial permit public hearing would be conducted. Applicant James Lazzara explained the proposal for a 12 -unit 55 and over apartment building on a 7.8 acre site. He has received a variance to have 12 units in one building where 8 are allowed and has an Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission; some of the parking was relocated because of its proximity to wetlands. He said some parking has been moved to allow a larger turnaround per the Fire Department. The building meets the area, setback and height requirements. There will be common areas, laundry, exercise room and a mail room all in one building to avoid residents having to go outside. [Mr. Cerretani arrived at this time] Mr. Lazzara said there are sewer, water and electric to the site. Sewer and water run up Spring Street now. Mr. Lazzara said he has been talking to his neighbor about putting in a better buffer along the property line and bringing sewer and water through the subdivision. He said the Town Engineer does not want him to connect to the main sewer line in Spring Street because it would require a pump with a lift station. He said if he ties the sewer into the subdivision, it could be done by gravity. Department Head Comments The clerk read a memo from Mr. Burke. Mr. Lazzara explained the snow storage would be along the east end of the parking lot, the northeast side of the driveway and on either side of the dumpster. He said he can store 46 inches of snow on site before it has to be removed off site. He said the Order of Conditions limits the amount of chemicals that can be used on the lawn, so he said that would preclude deicing chemicals. Mr. Lazzara said the Fire Department wanted two areas to turn around, one at the beginning and one at the end of the driveway. Mr. Lazzara said he expects to find out about the sewer hookup before the next Planning Board meeting. Mr. Lazzara said the units will be one -bedroom, around 1,000-1,200 square foot units. Planning Board 2/8/2017 Public Comment February 8, 2016 letter from Robert Tomasello, Lot 6 Marie Drive, regarding landscaping on this site. Mr. Lazzara said he has spoken with Mr. Tomasello and there is a dramatic grade change and a retaining wall added between this property and the Marie Drive lots. The Willowdale lots have been raised, and Mr. Lazzara said as part of an agreement to try to mitigate the impacts of the grade change, he proposed removing the wall, regrading and planting along the lot line. He said there are currently about ten 15-20 foot tall arborvitae straddling the lot line and suggested filling in between them with additional plantings up to the wetland line to provide more buffer for the neighbors. Mr. Lazzara said the grading would happen on his property. Board Comment Mr. Penney said the parking is on the opposite side of his proposed building from the new Willowdale houses and asked what the Marie Drive residents would be looking at. Mr. Lazzara said this building is about seven feet lower than the current grade of the Marie Drive cul-de-sac, so they would be looking at the second and third floors of his building. Mr. Penney asked if the lift station would be eliminated if the site uses gravity sewer. Mr. Penney asked where dumpster is; Mr. Lazzara said it is at the back of the parking lot. Mr. French asked if the dumpster would be enclosed by a stockade fence; Mr. Lazzara said it would be. Mr. Penney asked what else can be done for the abutters. Mr. Lazzara said the Willowdale lots have been lifted, so he suggested filling his property to the same grade and adding a bank of arbor vitae, which he has discussed with the abutter. He said he does not plan to remove the existing mature trees on his site. Mr. Lazzara said the Conservation Commission had wanted him to flip the building and put the parking on other side, but he said he did not want to do that because of the abutting properties. He said he also wants the new building to have as much of a southern exposure as possible. Mr. Penney said the building is being built on the side of a hill; Mr. Lazzara said there will be a minimal amount of water flowing toward his property from Marie Drive and he will install swales on both sides of his building. Mr. Cleary said there should be zero runoff from the new subdivision. Mr. Cleary asked about the lot on which the new building is proposed; Mr. Lazzara said it is a separate lot from the factory building on the other side of the river. Mr. Burke said this lot was in Chapter 6 1 A and has been separate from the factory building. Mr. Cleary asked if there is enough frontage on Spring Street. Mr. Burke said the lot has sufficient frontage, but the access does not have to be from the frontage. Mr. Lazzara said there are two existing houses across the street from this site. Ms. Ashman -Collins said a row of arbor vitae may not be enough and suggested a professional landscaping plan should be prepared; she said a mix of different types of trees may be a more Planning Board 2/8/2017 effective buffer. Mr. Burke said Austrian Pine trees have branches to the ground and are a different shade of green than standard pines. Mr. Cerretani asked if headlights would shine onto the houses on Spring Street; Mr. Lazzara said they would, but he has a limited area for his driveway because of wetland issues. A resident said her driveway is set about five feet off the proposed driveway on the other side of Spring Street; she said it is a very busy street used as a cut through, has no sidewalks and this project would add to the traffic. Ms. Friedman asked if the units will be all one bedroom; Mr. Lazzara said yes and noted six would have a second room that could be used an office or den. He said he did not want to do two bedroom apartments. He noted all the apartments will be handicapped accessible. He said there is a huge demand for affordable over 55 rental units, and noted his definition of affordable and the town's definition are different; he said he considers affordable to be appropriate for people earning under $50,000 a year. Mr. Burke said Mansfield's median income, and therefore its "affordable" level, as defined by the Commonwealth, is much higher than that. Mr. Lazzara said there will be one deeded "affordable" unit in the development; his market rate units will be $1,000-$1,400/month. Ms. Friedman said she thinks the over 65 population has a lower income than that; she said that rent may not be supportable for many people for long. Mr. Lazzara said his average age is 65-70 and he thinks it is a housing type that fits a need. Public Comment JT Walsh, Mansfield Willowdale LLC, said his customers are concerned about the size of building. He asked the board to continue the public hearing until he and Mr. Lazzara have an agreement in place and said he thinks a more substantial green screen is fair and necessary. Bob Tomasello, 12 Michael Lane and Lot 6 Marie Drive, said he is concerned about the height of the proposed building and said he would like to see a two-story building rather than three. Mr. French asked how far from the back of Mr. Tomasello's new lot the new building would be. Mr. Mr. Tomasello said it is about 200 feet and he will be able to see this building from the second floor of his new house. Catherine Tomasello, 12 Michael Lane, said she is concerned about the people in this building being able to look into their house and back yard. Mr. Tomasello said he is concerned about the units being rentals rather than condominiums. Mr. McClanahan asked for elevation renderings showing the building, grade and edge of roadway. Ms. Friedman asked if there are sidewalks; Mr. Lazzara said it is an 18 -foot wide paved driveway, about 275 feet long, with no sidewalks. He said it is very tight because of the conservation issues. Ms. Friedman asked if that will be a safety problem for residents. Mr. Cleary said there is no sidewalk on Spring Street where the driveway comes out. Mr. Tomasello asked if the town has an easement for sidewalks on Spring Street. 4 Planning Board 2/8/2017 Mr. Burke said Mr. Alves just got a $35,000 grant from the Complete Streets program for design, which will make the town eligible for $450,000 for construction. He said Mr. Alves is looking at reconfiguring the School/Willow/Spring intersection and adding some sidewalks at the Willow Street end, so it would be logical to look at the South Main Street end of Spring Street during that process. Mr. Burke said the 55 and Over use does not generate as much traffic as an assisted living facility like Willow Crossing and will not have employees. Mr. Lazzara said not all of his residents have two vehicles, but people do have in-home services, and there are ambulance runs. A resident said each ambulance brings a fire truck and police car, so those lights will be shining into her front windows. Mr. Lazzara said this is an allowed use in this zone. Mr. Burke asked if screening could be provided for the abutter's driveway. Mr. McClanahan asked for renderings showing the proposed new driveway and the existing driveway. Ms. Ashman -Collins said the board has required developers to plant landscaping on abutting properties in the past. Ms. Friedman suggested a rendering from Lot 7 on Marie Drive; Mr. Lazzara said it is 80 feet to the cul-de-sac and about 100 feet to the road. Mr. French suggested adding a couple of dimensions to the plans. Mr. McClanahan asked if Mr. Walsh could provide the board with a plan of Lot 6. Motion: To continue the public hearing to March 8, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. (Penney-Feck) All in favor. PASSES The clerk read a request from the applicant's attorney to continue the puolrc nearing to renruary 22, 2017. Mr. Penney said that is school vacation week and he will not be available. Mr. McClanahan said he may be out of town that week. Mr. French said he is concerned about not having enough members to conduct this public hearing February 22. Mr. Burke said if the board cannot accommodate the applicant's date request, it can schedule the public hearing at its next available meeting. Motion: To continue the public hearing to March 8, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. with the understanding the board intends to take action on the application that evening (Penney -McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Feck suggested making tandem parking discretionary. Mr. Burke said the board can make a finding that the number of spaces, including tandem spaces, is appropriate. Mr. Feck suggested adding tandem parking to the list of density bonus items. The board discussed including vertical lift spaces as tandem spaces. Consensus was to go forward with articles for tandem parking and renderings with special permit applications. Planning Board 2/8/2017 Mr. French asked about the town's option to opt out of the non-medical marijuana by-law; Mr. Burke said to opt out, at least 10% of a town's registered voters would have to sign a petition to put it on a ballot to vote it out. The board discussed sending the Board of Selectmen a memo summarizing the Planning Board's understanding the town could vote to ban the use outright, point out that Mansfield is unique because of the Xfinity Center and a concern that allowing non-medical marijuana to be sold in town may become an attractive nuisance. Mr. Feck said the town has the option to say it doesn't want non-medical marijuana and suggested asking the Board of Selectmen for guidance on whether the town wants it or not, and where it would be most appropriately allowed. Mr. Penney asked if there would be standalone non-medical marijuana retail establishments or marijuana could be sold in existing retail establishments; Mr. Burke said he doesn't think there is anything in the law prohibiting existing retail establishments from selling non-medical marijuana. Ms. Ashman -Collins suggested also requesting input from the Police Chief. Ms. Friedman said she thinks it will be important to have the Board of Selectmen understand this is going to happen, and to get an idea of what the town wants to do, which will put the town in a better position to deal with it. "7 ,>'ablic,Comment Mr. Penney asked about the Cabot's Pond land donation. Mr. Burke explained Mr. Willis is willing to deed the lower third of the pond and the dam, which the town takes care of anyway, along with a parcel south of the dam on Willow Street and a parcel on Basin Street, both of which are wet and contain a stream that connects to the Rumford River. He said Mr. Walsh is in the process of donating the northern portion of the pond to the town as part of the Willowdale subdivision. Mr. Penney said this would be good because it would help the town with flood control; the donation would save the town a lot of money in land acquisition costs. Mr. Cleary asked if that land would connect with the Great Woods. Mr. Burke said that land would abut NRT and town -owned land. Mr. Penney said National Lumber is still parking its trucks in the landscaping area and along Francis Avenue. Mr. French asked about the proposed lift parking spaces at 1 Mansfield Avenue. Mr. Burke said the lift spaces were moved out from under the building to the rear of the parking lot closest to Mansfield Avenue. Mr. Penney asked about the height of the building; Mr. Burke said it is under the 45 -foot height limit. He said the height by-law does not consider tower or parapet details, only the flat pail of the roof. Ms. Friedman suggested that issue may be something for the board to think about. Motion: To adjourn at 9:05 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES e t Plan in Boa d Meeting: February 22, 2017 at 7:00 m. GSignatureofClerk Date dfAp royal Planning Board 2/8/2017