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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 05/23/2018Planning Board Minutes May 23, 2018 Present: Tom French, Chair; Don Cleary, Clerk; Michael McClanahan, Ralph Penney, Mike Feck Alternates Joe Cerretani and Sharon Friedman Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Administrative Secretary 1. Minutes May 9, 2018 Ms. Friedman — p. 2 4th para — delete "for" ; p. 3 — 4th para — Mr. Burke "recommended" approval; p. 5 — Public Comment — 1St para last sentence — TOD development would have to be "part" of; p. 10 — Article 28 — Ms. Ashman -Collins — "she" Motion: To approve as amended (Feck-McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, Easton 3. May 22, 2018 letter from Attorney Louis J. Caccavaro, Jr. re: Release from Covenant — Westhaver Farms Subdivision Mr. Burke explained the subdivision was approved in 1985 and never built; the owners are now requesting the subdivision approval be rescinded and the land released from covenant. Mr. Burke explained the location of the subdivision between Franklin and Winter Streets; the town was recently offered the land under Chapter 61A and did not purchase it; the board then approved two Form A lot. Mr. Burke said typically, the assent of the mortgage holder would be needed to rescind approval of the subdivision. He said the land is not in probate and this is merely a title question. Motion: To rescind approval of the Westhaver Farms subdivision, approved in 1985, as requested by the landowner's attorney (McClanahan -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To sign the Form J Release from Covenant (McClanahan -Penney) All in favor. PASSES w The clerk read a request from the applicant's attorney to continue the public hearing to June 20, 2018. Motion: To continue the public hearing to June 20, 2018 at 7:15 p.m. (McClanahan -Cleary) All in favor. PASSES Marco Crugnale; Attorney Edward Valanzola; Bob Rego, RiverHawk Environmental; Doug Annino, Annino Associates Planning Board 5/23/18 Attorney Valanzola they plan to address Mr. Alves's outstanding comments before the next meeting. Mr. Annino explained the proposal for the development of three buildings on the corner of North Main Street/Thomas Street/Old Colony Way. They have consulted with urban planner David Gamble to talk about how to approach the project because they believe this is an important project for the town and they want to get it right. Mr. Annino explained they have studied unit types and sizes, along with building configuration. He explained the parking is on the interior of the site, which has two entrances. There will be an open arcade on the first floor for a view of the North Common with a pedestrian way through the center. There will be 11,674 square feet of retail on the first floor, on the Thomas and North Main Street sides. The development has an office area, wellness center and storage for residents on the first floor. Mr. Annino explained the building is a few to five feet off the property line, so the streetscape will be enhanced with street trees, which will provide a canopy over the sidewalk. There will be extensive landscaping on the Old Colony Way side, between the building and the property line. There will be tree grates for the street trees. Mr. Annino presented a rendering of the four-story building with tower elements and a variety to the roofseape, including gables, cupolas and an extensive use of fenestration windows. The corner units will have floor -to -ceiling glass. He explained they did not want a flat fagade without detailing. The building will have various materials, including a stone base that will run to the top of the storefront glass, then a mix of hardy plank and asphalt. Mr. Penney asked if the second floor would overhang the sidewalk; Mr. Annino said it would overhang the building's walkway, but not the public sidewalk. Mr. Annino presented a rendering of the building along North Main Street. He said they tried to reflect what has been built across the street and to create an elegant entryway to downtown using cupolas, gables and different roofing materials. Mr. Annino explained the building will be four stories with retail space on the first floor with glass, awnings, signage, canopy lights, sign lights and exterior accent lighting to enhance the fagade. There will be a variety of entryway motifs, such as arches. Mr. Annino explained the interior parking area and view to the North Common. Mr. Annino said there will be parapets and a tower to hide the rooftop mechanical equipment; there will be no resident access to the tower. Mr. Annino presented a rendering of the building including the Route 106 mural. Mr. Annino explained the proposal is for 65 one -bedroom and 37 two-bedroom units. Attorney Valanzola said they see this as an opportunity to help revitalize the downtown with residents who will use the train, restaurants and downtown services. 2 Planning Board 5/23/18 Mr. Crugnale said the retail spaces may be broken into larger or smaller areas, and they will make provisions for things like grease traps in case there is a restaurant tenant. He said there are 60 apartments rented at 1 Mansfield Avenue; he said he is finding young professionals want one - bedroom units rather than two. Mr. Annino presented a plan showing proposed site amenities. Mr. Penney asked if the amenities will be similar to things provided at 1 Mansfield Avenue and North Common, such as trash barrels and light fixtures. Mr. Annino said they would be. Mr. Annino said they could have done up to 120 units, but the parking works for the 102 units proposed. Mr. Burke said the parking is the factor that limits density. Mr. Crugnale said the parking at 1 Mansfield Avenue is adequate and noted most residents are commuters with one car. Mr. French noted there are tandem spaces shown on the plan; Mr. Burke said the Planning Board can make a finding that tandem spaces may be used in the TOD or Downtown Overlay districts. Mr. Feck said there are 149 parking spaces shown on the plan, but 153 are required. Mr. Annino said there are on -street parking spaces. Mr. Feck said the board has not allowed on -street residential parking on other projects. Ms. Friedman said the plan seems to have been developed with incentives in mind and asked what it would look like without the incentives. Mr. French said the density allowed in the underlying zone is 2.5; this FAR is less than that, so they do not need incentives to get to this design. He said he thinks the incentives were included to enhance the project. Mr. Feck noted the incentives are needed for the on -street parking. Ms. Friedman asked how many subcompact spaces are proposed; Mr. Annino said they are proposing less than the 30% allowed by right. Ms. Friedman asked what kind of incentives are included. Mr. Crugnale said there will be park benches and lighting similar to what was used at 1 Mansfield Avenue and on the North Common. Mr. Annino explained they have proposed light fixtures, street planters, litter receptacles, bike racks, street trees and grates and colored, textured brick sidewalks. They are also proposing 10 -foot wide sidewalks so the building can be set back from North Main Street, Thomas Street and Old Colony Way. The building will have a curved entryway to enhance the entrance to the development and to downtown. Mr. French asked about a restaurant; Mr. Annino said there would be a small public plaza, hopefully with outdoor restaurant seating. Mr. Feck asked if this meets the mixed-use definition. He said in the B 1 and B2 zones, the ground floor must be a retail, restaurant or bank use; he asked if the tenant storage shown on the plan would come under that. Mr. Annino said it would if the space were rented to the residents. He said that is not counted as retail space in the parking calculations; Mr. Feck said he isn't sure that meets the Zoning By -Law requirement for commercial on the first floor in a mixed-use development. He said if it is retail, that space may have to be included in the parking Planning Board 5/23/18 calculations. Mr. French asked if they have talked to the building inspector about this issue; Mr. Annino said it was not discussed during the staff -level meeting. Mr. French suggested getting clarification from the building inspector about whether the tenant storage and residential amenities on the first floor meet the by-law. Mr. Burke said he would talk to the building inspector; he said retail is defined as an exchange of services or goods, and commercial is a transaction of commerce. He said when someone rents an apartment, it is a transaction that may include things like a gym or storage area that are not inside the apartment. Mr. Burke asked the size of the fitness center; Mr. Annino said it is 1,800 square feet. Mr. Crugnale said the lobby will be a nice amenity. Mr. French said if the storage space is rented to non-residents, he thinks it would be retail space and the area would have to be included in the parking count. Mr. Annino said they have 149 parking spaces on-site and need 153. Ms. Friedman asked about the 17 on -street parking spaces being used as residential parking. Mr. Annino said they are not counting any of the commuter spaces on Old Colony Way as residential parking, but they are including the 17 two-hour parking spaces, which he said would help the retail. Mr. Rego said they would not be able to rent the on -street parking spaces to residents. Mr. Cleary noted there is parking under the whole building and asked if that is supposed to be a percentage of the depth of the building. Ms. Friedman asked how many apartments would be handicapped accessible and affordable; Mr. Annino said one of every seven units will be affordable and five percent will be handicapped accessible. There will be elevators, so all floors will be handicapped accessible. Mr. Burke said based on the proposed density, that would result in about 15 affordable units and five with universal design. Ms. Friedman asked how many handicapped parking spaces would be included; Mr. Armin said there will be five handicapped parking spaces and two van accessible spaces. Mr. Penney said he appreciates the time Mr. Feck put into reviewing the plan. He said there are 21,000 square feet of retail space there now, and this proposal would reduce it to 11,674 square feet. He said he thinks having retail downtown is important. He said this is a good-looking building that will impact the downtown area and he hopes the applicant will take tonight's comments and make the plan better. Mr. Penney said there are eight apartments there now, and this plan proposes 102 apartments. He said there are a lot of apartments in town; he said he understands progress, but said this would dramatically change downtown. Mr. Annino said the town's Master Plans stressed the fact that downtown needs residential uses, which adds to the vitality of the retail uses. He said the hope was that at some point, retail would start to flourish, but the only way to get there is to get people downtown. He said business at Geno's is up 30%, partly due to the construction at 1 Mansfield Avenue. He said he agrees there are a lot of apartments in town, but downtown is prime for the retail/residential mix. He said he agrees it will change downtown, but he thinks it will be for the better. He said the Master Plans have encouraged diversity. Mr. Valanzola said downtown has changed a lot over the last 20 years, and a lot of the retail tenants in this existing building have moved out. He said development like this would give Planning Board 5/23/18 young professionals and older residents the ability to live in Mansfield, and will give downtown a boost. He said retail will not come back to downtown without people living downtown. Ms. Friedman said one of the ideas of the Master Plan was to encourage more dense living, which means larger and higher buildings, creating a more urban setting. She said as buildout continues, the town might consider transitional buildings between new construction and existing neighborhoods. She said she understands the proposed building is in keeping with the Bl and B2 zones. Mr. Annino said that would be a good topic of discussion for the next Master Plan. Mr. Cleary suggested swapping Thomas Street with part of this site so Thomas Street leads into Rumford Avenue, shifting the building, gaining public parking spaces and eventually making North Main Street two-way. Mr. Valanzola said the property is under contract, so there are time constraints that would make it difficult to revise the plan to that extent. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from the Police, Fire, Engineering and Planning Departments. Mr. Rego said he is working on the department head concerns. Mr. Annino said he would meet with Mr. Burke and prepare a narrative response. Public Comment Email from Judith Norris Gretchen Calagaris, owner of the Looking Glass Cafe, said she employs 15 employees, 12 of whom are Mansfield residents. She said there has been a lot of speculation about what is going on and asked what will become of the existing tenants. She said she wants to stay in town. Mr. Crugnale said he doesn't want to see anyone lose their job; he said there will be 11,000 square feet of retail in the new building. Mr. Valanzola said there is only one signed lease in the building because tenants have been unsure about what is going to happen with the building. He said he is sensitive to the situation, and said there are going to be retail opportunities in the new building. Ms. Calagaris said she is concerned about what would happen to her business while the new building is being built. Mr. Valanzola said there have been a lot of restaurants in that space, but Ms. Calagaris has made it work and he would like to be able to provide them with an opportunity. Ms. Calagaris said this will change downtown and the character of Mansfield. Mr. Valanzola said a lot of tenants have left that building and the character has already changed. Mr. Crugnale said he would like to work with the existing tenants and said he thinks more downtown residents will help Ms. Calagaris's business. Dwayne Williams, 1 Samoset Avenue, said the parking doesn't make sense. He said for the retail to succeed, the building should be pushed back and diagonal parking added to North Main and Thomas Streets. He said the sidewalk should be wider for outdoor dining and the architecture could be better. Donna Regan, 41 Casa Drive, asked about the timeframe. Mr. Crugale said he has no timeframe at this point; he said it would have to be approved, then he will have to get financing. He said construction will take around 18 months. Planning Board 5/23/18 Laureen House, 567 East Street, said she agrees parking is a problem and said the 10 -foot sidewalk will not be wide enough. She asked about renderings of Old Colony Way. Mr. Annino presented a rendering of Old Colony Way, with similar details to the Thomas Street side. He said the Old Colony Way landscaping will include the same street trees and grates, with the building set back further and an additional planting bed. Ms. House said she is concerned about the sidewalks being blocked during construction. She suggested the board consider how many existing rental units are empty and asked where the demand is. Mr. French explained the developer takes the risk, and noted the application is a site plan, not a special permit. Mr. Crugnale said 214 Rumford Avenue is full, and 1 Mansfield Avenue is ahead of schedule for full rental. Ms. House asked about reducing the development by one floor, which would open up parking spaces. Kristin Williams, Samoset Avenue, said young people rent apartments, then buy houses, so communities with large numbers of rental units are losing residents. She asked about affordable units; Mr. Burke explained the affordable housing section of the Zoning By -Law. Lorraine Tavares, Fairfield Park, said their units each have one designated parking space and visitor spaces. She said she doesn't think this parking will work because commuters park in the resident spaces. Brian Nielson, 284 North Main Street, said he is concerned about public safety and parking. He said there are already empty retail spaces around town, including 1 Mansfield Avenue. He said he would like to see the North Main Street fire station become public parking and said he is concerned about fire and police coverage. A Villa Street resident asked about the handicapped parking; Mr. French said the state code requires a certain number of spaces, which is not related to the number of units, but rather the total number of parking spaces. Mr. Valanzola said they would work with the town engineer on his comments. Mr. Burke said he would talk to the building inspector about whether on -street parking spaces can be counted; the interior depth of the parking under the building; whether the tenant storage/residential amenities are commercial uses, and if they are, do they need to be counted in the parking calculation. Mr. French said he has a problem with residential parking being on -street spaces. Mr. Feck said the board has always made sure the residential parking spaces are on-site. Mr. French said he thinks there are too many tandem spaces, he thinks the project is too dense and suggested looking at making it smaller. Mr. Burke said at 1 Mansfield Avenue, the board specifically said there would be no residential parking on -street. Mr. Crugnale said they would look at those issues. Mr. Crugnale said he reduced the number of tandem parking spaces on this site as much as possible. Ms. Friedman said this may be too dense and reducing it would help with the parking issues; it would also provide some transition between the new development and existing residential uses. 6 Planning Board 5/23/18 Motion: To continue the site plan to June 6, 2018 at 7:15 p.m. (McClanahan -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Karl Clemmey asked the board to consider bringing back the auto service station for Special Town Meeting. Motion: To appoint Mr. Cleary chair (McClanahan -Friedman) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To appoint Mr. LeBlanc clerk (McClanahan-Cerretani) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Burke said he got an email from Mr. Azinheira today informing him the easement has been worked out with JP Noonan, so they crossing at the train station from North Main/County Streets should be worked out soon. Heitt may go to Town Meeting in the fall for a possible 2019 MassWorks grant application and 2020 construction. Mr. Feck asked about new construction at Mansfield Crossing; Mr. Burke said that is a Tesla supercharge facility. Ms. Friedman said the Open Space & Recreation Committee met last week and is looking at what needs to be done with conservation parcels. Mr. Cerretani thanked Mr. French for his leadership. Mr. Penney also thanked Mr. French for his years of service. Motion: To adjourn at 9:45 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. PASSES Next Planning Board eeting: Jilne 6, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. 'Ij4' - 6 Signature of Clerk Date of Approval Planning Board 5/23/18