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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 05/10/2017Planning Board Minutes May 10, 2017 Present: Tom French, Chair; Don Cleary, Clerk; Beth Ashman -Collins, Michael McClanahan, Ralph Penney Alternates Joe Cerretani Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development, Jennifer Davis, Administrative Secretary Representative Barrows said the town has been discussing access issues around the train station area for many years. He said the state now owns the line from Mansfield to Framingham. He said part of the deal MassDOT made when it bought the track, that ownership included a requirement to upgrade the track. He said he has met with representatives from the MBTA to talk about issues in Mansfield, including addressing the Hatheway-Patterson grade crossing, especially in light of the new TOD zoning on the west side of the tracks. Rep. Barrows said he has met with John Ing, the engineer responsible for track improvements, and Assistant General Manager Jody Roy. [Mr. Cerretani arrived at this time] Rep. Barrows said he talked to Jody Roy and Mr. Azinheira about relocating the crossing. [Mr. Penney arrived at this time] Rep. Barrows said the bridge under the tracks must be fixed; the town's proposal to District 5 included a roundabout at North Main/Angell/County Streets. He said that work would not be eligible for state funding. Mr. Azinheira said the neighbors did not seem opposed to the roundabout idea. Rep. Barrows said the crossing could help trigger economic development on the west side of the tracks. He said Mansfield is second in the region for number of passengers using the commuter rail. He said the town would have to determine if the roundabout is an option, how much the town, the MBTA and private land owners would build, and the best possible routes. Mr. Azinheira said he and Mr. Alves met with BETA and VHB last week and asked them to put together costs for 10% and 25% plans. He said they would like to develop plans to get across the land the MBTA owns plus 20%, to address the crossing issue only. He said the next phase would be to determine how the road connects. Rep. Barrows said he thinks it would be an open crossing, similar to Spring Street in Foxboro. Rep. Barrows said the crossing would probably only be used in the morning and afternoon, during commuter traffic. He said the MBTA wants to make sure the area is properly signalized. Mr. Cerretam asked if traffic would be queuing into the roundabout. Mr. Barrows said a roundabout would probably help the traffic flow. He said there is a lot of pavement in the area, Planning Board 5/10/2017 April 25, 2017 letter from Bill Clemmey, Rumford LLC re: Minor Modification to 875 Main Street Site Plan / May 9, 2017 memo from Mr. Blackman Mr. Clemmey explained his request to change the existing parking at 875 South Main Street from the approved trailer storage to private car parking for the Xfinity Center. Mr. Clemmey said the Board of Selectmen would have to approve the change to the commercial parking lot license. He said the site is a gravel parking area with existing drainage. Mr. Clemmey said the Police and Fire Departments will comment to the Board of Selectmen on the commercial parking lot license. Motion: To approve the minor modification from the approved trailer storage to private car parking for the Xfinity Center at 875 South Main Street (McClanahan -Penney) All in favor. PASSES [Mr. Burke returned to the meeting at this time] Anthony Figel, Alston Construction, representing Medline, explained Medline has parking problems on the daytime shift, so they would like to add additional parking. He said they plan to use some of the existing roadway to use as parking and will add some parking to the existing grass area. The parking lot will be restriped and signage added. The existing Swale will be replaced with perforated pipe set in stone to take the drainage away and recharge into the ground. Mr. McClanahan asked about snow; Mr. Figel said there are existing snow storage areas. Mr. Figel said there will be no additional pavement, only striping on existing pavement. The work will all be on private property and the existing driveway will narrow to 22 feet and be one- way traffic. Mr. Figel explained they have received a variance for 34.6% open space for this site where 35% is required. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from Mr. Cox, MMED; Mr. Alves, Engineering; Ms. Gonyer, Conservation, Mr. Gaffney, Water and Mr. Burke Motion: To approve the modification to the site plan application for the reconfiguration of the existing parking areas at 560 West Street as shown on the Plan of "Proposed Site Improvements, Medline Industries, Inc., 560 West Street, Mansfield, MA 02048," dated February 10, 2016 and revised April 7, 2017 and April 20, 2017, prepared by Meridian Associates. 1. This modification to the site plan titled "560 West Street Final As -Built," dated October 23, 2009 and revised October 30, 2009, prepared by Meridian Associates is for the reconfiguration of the existing parking area as described on the Plan of "Proposed Site Improvements, Medline Industries, Inc., 560 West Street, Mansfield, Planning Board 5/10/2017 the building stands alone and can have its own dedicated entrance, with a possible third entrance for a small third tenant. Mr. Cerretani asked if they are looking for tenants in a specific industry; Mr. Spiro said the building lends itself to flex users. He said it would not be a distribution building because the ceilings too low and there are not enough loading docks. He said uses like R&D and light manufacturing are being pushed out of towns closer to the city. Mr. Penney asked about the prior use of this building; Mr. Spiro said it was Murata's headquarters and included offices, manufacturing and warehousing. Mr. Spiro said they may raise a small portion of the building and he thinks they will quadruple the 70-100 employees there now in the next few years. He said there is plenty of parking on this site to support that many employees. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from Mr. Cox, MMED; Ms. Gonyer, Conservation; Mr. Alves, Engineering and Mr. Burke Ms. Ashman -Collins suggested including bike racks. Mr. Spiro said the main portion of the building was built in 1978 and the addition was built in 1984. He said his company tries to redevelop existing buildings rather than demo and rebuild. He said there isn't much good R&D space in the area and thinks this could be one. Mr. Cleary said this building has a lot of parking and suggested extra spaces could be leased to MPlex on the weekends. Mr. Burke said the number of parking spaces will be reduced and the building will be improved. He recommended approving the site plan. Motion: To approve the site plan application for the reconfiguration of the existing parking and loading areas at 11 Cabot Boulevard as shown on the plan titled "Submission for Site Plan Approval: 11 Cabot Boulevard Mansfield, Massachusetts" dated April 27, 2017 and revised May 8, 2017, prepared by DeVellis Zrein, Inc., with the following conditions: 1. Any and all remaining department head comments (attached) must be completely addressed prior to the issuance of a building permit[s]. (McClanahan-Cerretani) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Penney asked about low impact design. Mr. Burke explained the idea is to leave a site as natural as possible and to eliminate drainage structures. He said it would be an attractive Planning Board 5/10/2017 hearing early and then change the language substantially, it could go beyond the scope of the legal advertisement. Mr. Penney asked what happened with the McKenzi Lane article; Mr. Burke said it had to be re - voted because the original motion was for discussion, not for acceptance. Mr. French asked about the Cabot's Pond land gifts; one should have included a reference to state constitution Article 97, which was not included in the motion. Mr. Burke said that is not fatal to acceptance of land gifts. Mr. French said scheduling zoning articles at the end of the Town Meeting warrant is not productive. He said zoning helps determine how a town grows and looks, and is more important than some of the minor financial matters that appear earlier on the warrant. Motion: To send Representative Barrows a letter in support of the relocation of the grade crossing at the proposed location at County Street/North Main Street/Angell Street (McClanahan -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To reappoint Mr. French Chair (McClanahan -Ashman -Collins) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To reappoint Mr. Cleary Clerk (McClanahan-Cerretani) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Cleary said a question came up at Town Meeting about what percentage of special pen -nits are approved; he said special permits involve negotiation, so very few are approved as submitted. Mr. Penney said Dutton Drive was not approved at Town Meeting and asked if the street can come back next year; Mr. Burke said it can. Mr. French said Mr. Stanbrook did a great job at Town Meeting as Acting Town Manager. Motion: To adjourn at 9:15 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES Next Planning Board Meeting: May 24, 2017 at 7:00 p.m., Meeting Room 2 a/b ,% nature of Clerk Date ofApprov al Planning Board 5/10/2017