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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 01/31/2018Planning Board Minutes January 31, 2018 Present: Tom French, Chair; Don Cleary, Clerk; Beth Ashman -Collins, Michael McClanahan, Rich LeBlanc, Michael Feck Alternate Sharon Friedman Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Secretary a 1. Minutes December 13, 2017 - a p. 5, 2d para — "and the department head comments must be addressed" p. 7, 2d para — Ms. Friedman said... "while waiting for the state to provide guidance" Motion: To accept as amended (McClanahan -LeBlanc) Five in favor. Feck abstained. PASSES 2. January 17, 2018 letter from Attorney Kimberly Saillant, Deutsch Williams Mr. Burke explained the applicant and the town will file a joint motion to defend the special permit, and the Planning Board does not have to take any action at this time. 3. Public Hearing notices - Attleboro, Easton, North Attleboro, Plainville 4. The Beacon None Zoning: Restaurants in the Planned Business District Mr. Burke said the restaurant industry is changing quickly, and traditional fast food restaurants have begun calling themselves "quick serve." "Fast Casual' is a type of restaurant in between "quick serve" and "casual dining," which may work in the business park. He said his concern would be that restaurants in the business park would not be successful because there is no evening population. He said another option would be to simply change the Table of Uses to allow "restaurant" in the PBD. Mr. French said more and more restaurants, like Panera, want to have drive-through pickup windows but not necessarily an outdoor order board. Ms. Friedman asked how that would be different from fast food; Mr. French said fast food serves pre -prepared food. Mr. Feck said he thinks places like Cosi or Qdoba are fast food. Ms. Friedman asked why another definition would be necessary. Mr. Burke said it may not be and noted traditional fast food is currently allowed in the Industrial 1 zone. Ms. Friedman asked how the restaurant at the Holiday Inn was allowed; Mr. Burke said that restaurant was there prior to the current zoning and is an accessory use to the primary hotel use. Planning Board 1/31/18 [Ms. Ashman -Collins arrived at 7:30] Mr. LeBlanc asked how the idea of allowing restaurants in the business park came about; Mr. French said there are a lot of people working in the business park during the day with no dining options. Ms. Ashman -Collins said there are several existing restaurant options close to the business park and said there is a concern about losing industrial land to retail uses. Ms. Ashman -Collins asked if a restaurant would be allowed in the Stop & Shop plaza; Mr. Burke said that is in the PBD, so would not be allowed. Signage in Reservoir District and Business 1 and 2 Zones Mr. Burke explained the proposal to allow marquee signs in anticipation of uses like MMAS or arts facilities that may go into a downtown Cultural District. He explained the intent is not to allow this type of sign to be animated, scrolling or flashing. The board discussed some existing business signs that are animated, scrolling or flashing. Motion: To send the Building Inspector a letter asking him to investigate and make a determination as to whether the flashing signs are allowed under the Zoning By -Law; and there are a veritable plethora of illegal temporary signs around town that should be enforced (McClanahan -Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Mr. McClanahan asked whether the Cultural District will be going forward; Ms. Ashman -Collins said the Cultural Council is pursuing an application for Cultural District designation. The district would have to be a walkable area, so it would probably be downtown. Mr. McClanahan asked if it would be a problem for the district that MMAS is moving to South Main Street; Ms. Ashman - Collins said she doesn't think it would be. Mr. Feck asked if this by-law would allow any business in the zone to have a marquee sign. The board discussed changing the by-law from "from the fagade of the building..." to "...from the fagade of a performing arts facility, gallery or museum. Events must be held on the premises." Mr. LeBlanc said he likes the idea of allowing marquee signs in the RD, but is concerned about it in the downtown zones. Mr. Cleary suggested stopping paragraph f. at the end of the first line Ms. Friedman asked how this would affect other businesses, like restaurants, that have entertainment. Mr. Feck said he thinks restaurants can survive without marquee signs. Mr. Burke said he would work on a better description of what kind of building the marquee sign would go on, and the board should think about whether it wants to allow marquee signs downtown. Ms. Ashman -Collins said the iconic marquee sign is a downtown attraction. Mr. Cleary asked if the marquee sign should be allowed to overhang the "public way." Mr. Burke said that should be the "public sidewalk." 2 Planning Board 1/31/18 Ms. Friedman said A -frame signs are allowed downtown and asked if there should be language requiring businesses to take the signs in during inclement weather; Mr. French noted that is part of the existing A -frame sign by-law. Recreational Marijuana The draft has removed setbacks other than to schools, proposes to allow the use in the Reservoir District and added a Table of Uses with the uses defined by the Cannabis Commission. Mr. Burke explained the Zoning By -Law currently includes setbacks on adult entertainment and medical marijuana, so those were the setbacks he used in the original draft. However, he explained the Cannabis Commission has said cities and towns cannot impose unreasonable setbacks on recreational marijuana uses. Mr. Feck said he thinks they are trying to establish the setbacks cannot be more restrictive than for any other retail use. Ms. Friedman suggested the same setback for day care centers as for schools. Mr. French said the preliminary guidelines say the setback can be 500 feet from an existing school use and asked if the town could increase that; Mr. Burke said he doesn't think it would survive the state's test. Mr. LeBlanc said he understands the use cannot be zoned out, but said he was concerned with typical zoning practices like setbacks. Mr. French asked if the town has to adopt all the uses in the state's definition; Mr. Burke said he doesn't think it does. Ms. Friedman said towns may limit the number of recreational marijuana facilities to 20% of its package stores. Mr. LeBlanc said if there is no by-law in place, a recreational marijuana facility could locate anywhere in town. Mr. French said the facility would also have to enter into a host community agreement with the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Ashman -Collins said she thinks the indoor cultivation use would be appropriate in the industrial zones or the business park. Mr. Cleary suggested defining the uses in the Table of Uses. Mr. Feck said the Reservoir District may be the best place for retail, if it were to be allowed. He asked if the town could adopt the other types of uses but not retail; Mr. Burke said he thinks the town would have to allow some type of retail. Mr. Burke explained that like adult entertainment, the use has to be allowed in town, even though some people may find it offensive. Mr. LeBlanc asked where package stores can go; Mr. Burke said they can go anywhere retail is allowed. They are also licensed through the Board of Selectmen. Mr. LeBlanc said he doesn't think recreational marijuana is much different than alcohol; Mr. Burke said he thinks that is how the Cannabis Commission is viewing the use. Planning Board 1/31/18 Mr. Feck said he thinks the Reservoir District may be where the use would have the least impact; he said he would rather not see it in B 1 and B2. Mr. French said people may be concerned about allowing the use in the Reservoir District because it includes the Xfinity Center. Ms. Ashman - Collins said the Xfinity Center is right on the town line, so Norton may decide to allow retail on their side. Ms. Ashman -Collins suggested the manufacturing uses would be appropriately located in the industrial zones. The board discussed where the uses may be appropriately allowed: Microbusiness — S in all Industrial zones Manufacturing, Independent Testing Labs — S in all Industrial zones and PBD; N TOD P Party Transfer — N Existing Licensed Transporter — S in all Industrial zones and PBD; N in RD Research — S in all Industrial zones and PBD; N in RD and TOD Mr. Feck said if the moratorium cannot be extended, a recreational marijuana by-law has to be passed at Town Meeting to avoid opening the town up to unregulated locations. Ms. Ashman -Collins said she doesn't think a marijuana manufacturing facility is very different from any other manufacturing facility. Mr. Cleary said the Board of Selectmen would still have to negotiate a host community agreement. Ms. Ashman -Collins said she wouldn't want to exclude any manufacturing use; Mr. Burke said the process would have to be transparent. Social Consumption — Consensus was not to allow. However, Ms. Friedman said people have to be responsible for their own behavior; Mr. French said the concern is about enforcement. Retail — Mr. French asked if the state wants to treat the use like package stores, should it be allowed anywhere retail is allowed? Mr. Cleary suggested RD and Industrial 1. Mr. LeBlanc said he agrees with Il, but not RD. Mr. Feck said he thinks a by-law allowing the use downtown would fail at Town Meeting. Mr. McClanahan suggested everyone think about each zone in town and where the use might be appropriately located. Ms. Ashman -Collins said she would ask the IDC and Downtown Business Association their opinions. Mr. LeBlanc suggested an overlay district along the Route 140 corridor between Routes 95 and 495. Mr. Burke said the legislation does not prohibit an overlay district and said he would check with the Attorney General's Office. Industrial 3 Uses — higher density, multi -residence, downtown -type uses, offices, live/work, farmers markets Mr. French suggested everyone look at these uses. Downtown Parking Mr. French said there have been requests from downtown businesses, especially restaurants, to not have to provide parking. Mr. Burke said he has met with several restauranteurs looking at newly built buildings without adequate parking for a restaurant use; he said he thinks that is more 4 Planning Board 1/31/18 an issue with developers of new buildings maxing out the space with residential and retail than with the town's zoning. Mr. Burke said providing parking is one of the most important things for a restaurant use. Ms. Ashman -Collins asked what some of the existing downtown restaurants do about parking; Mr. Burke said some have on-site parking, some use shared parking. Mr. Feck said he thinks developers plan for retail uses, which has the least restrictive parking requirement. He suggested considering increasing the retail parking requirement so developers will have to plan for more parking spaces. Mr. French said he wouldn't want to make it more difficult to attract retail uses to downtown. Mr. Feck said he thinks business space in newer buildings is harder to rent because owners do not want to take the risk of their customers not being able to park. Ms. Ashman -Collins asked if there is a way to provide some flexibility for small restaurants to locate downtown. Mr. Burke said the existing downtown parking requirement is for one parking space per eight seats, and valet and shared parking are allowed. Mr. Feck asked about allowing businesses to count offsite spaces within a certain distance; Mr. Burke said that could work, but could become a problem if too many businesses use the same spaces. Ms. Friedman said she thinks there is plenty of parking downtown. Ms. Ashman -Collins said the town is working on improving signage for downtown parking. Mr. French suggested changing the by-law to "restaurant uses" rather than "all non-residential uses." Mr. Burke said he used "non-residential uses" in anticipation of tenant turnover. Ms. Ashman -Collins said the IDC has discussed the importance of restaurants downtown. She said restaurant uses are compatible with the train station for shared parking. Street Acceptance: Willow Street Reconfiguration Forest Heights Drive Other: Funding for New Comprehensive Master Plan $100,000? `- � Mr. Burke said he attended a meeting with DOT about the railroad crossing and beginning the process for getting access to the I3 land. They hope to have designs in the next several months. Mr. McClanahan said the crossing belongs to the MBTA and the land is town -owned. Mr. Burke said the Northeastern University students will be working on a project on the Route 140 corridor from Foxboro to Norton this spring. Planning Board 1/31/18 Mr. Burke said the application was submitted today for "Housing Choice Designation," which is intended to show the town is in compliance with its Housing Production Plan and which will give the town bonus points on grant applications. Mr. French said the APR property; six acres south of Route 106 from Winthrop Street to Central Street, is on the market. He said the owners have asked about the possibility of extending the TOD overlay district to this property to help with their marketing. Mr. French said the board should think about which articles it wants to bring to Town Meeting; he said the articles discussed tonight are all important, but would be too much for one Town Meeting. Motion: To adjourn at 9:45 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES Next Planning Board Meeting: February 14, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. r� Signature of Clerk Date of Approval F 6 Planning Board 1/31/18