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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 11/07/2018Planning Board Minutes November 7, 2018 Present: Don Cleary, Chair; Richard LeBlanc, Clerk; Tom French, Beth Ashman -Collins, Ralph Penney, Michael Feck; Alternates Joe Cerretani and Sharon Friedman Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Admin. Secretary 1. October 17, 2018 minutes Motion: To approve as submitted (Friedman -French) Five in favor. Three abstentions. PASSES 2. October 30, 2018 letter from Joseph Freeman, BETA Group re: Intersection and Signal Improvements along Routes 140/106. Mr. Burke said the most significant change, at Chauncy Street/Route 140, will bring the northbound slip ramp further east toward the post office to allow for additional queuing. There will also be signalization changes and handicapped ramps at Route 140/West Street, Route 140/Chauncy Street and 140/School Street. There will be no major geometry changes. Mr. French said the Town has discussed two lanes at Route 140 southbound at Route 106; Mr. Burke said the roadway is not wide enough and does not have enough storage capacity for two lanes. He said that change is not part of this MassDOT work, but the town is working on a way to widen Route 106 to accommodate two left turning lanes from Route 140 southbound. Mr. French asked if that intersection is under state control; Mr. Burke said it is. He said the town is trying to get the Copeland Drive intersection done as part of the Route 140 project. Mr. Penney said a MassDOT engineer was at the last joint meeting with the BOS and talked about Route 140/School Street. Mr. Burke noted the town had proposed work at School/Spring/Willow Streets as part of a Complete Streets application, but MassDOT rejected the idea of a roundabout at that intersection. Mr. Burke said the town's Complete Streets grant application is ongoing and work is continuing on possible solutions to the problems at that intersection. Mr. Penney asked about the blinking yellow left turning lights, like the one at School/Route 140. He said he doesn't think that light works well at that intersection. Mr. Cerretani said the intersection of School Street/Route 140 is dangerous for pedestrians. 3. October 18, 2018 letter from Attorney Kimberly Saillant re: West Street Associates 4. Public Hearing notices —Attleboro, Easton, North Attleboro .van the public hearing notice. Mr. Penney recused himself and left the table. Attorney Edward Valanzola introduced owners Eric and Jefferson Strom and Shaun Kelly, Vanasse Associates. Planning Board 11/7/18 Attorney Valanzola said they have appeared before the Select Board, the Conservation Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. He explained this lot is intended to be a downtown parking lot, which will provide relief for downtown residents and businesses, as well as opportunities for commuters. Attorney Valanzola said they went to the Conservation Commission first and received an RDA with conditions, which includes a requirement for the drainage plan to be approved by Mr. Alves. Mr. Valanzola said Mr. Cygawnoski has met with Mr. Alves. The material will be pervious and the water will be contained on site, the Conservation Agent will have to be notified prior to the start of work and a delineation of the resource area will not be necessary. Attorney Valanzola said they went to the Select Board and he thinks the plan was well-received; they will return after they have completed working with the other boards. Attorney Valanzola said the Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant relief from the landscaping requirement. They will have to submit a revised plan showing buffering at the Milhaus property line, and he said they plan to have that issue resolved by the next ZBA meeting on November 27. Attorney Valanzola explained there are two existing buildings, which will be removed and the utilities capped and disconnected. They are proposing a six-foot fence along the Milhaus property line; Milhaus has requested the fence be eight feet in some sections. Attorney Valanzola said he is confident they will come to an agreement. They are proposing a fence to separate the existing business from the new parking area; the area in the front will be paved with a berm to prevent runoff from West Church Street. The parking spaces will be angled and the lot will have a one-way traffic pattern. Substantial snow will be removed from the site. There will be a six-inch concrete berm and a four -foot walkway to West Church Street. The lot will have handicapped spaces and lighting will be added. Attorney Valanzola said there will be a sign to direct pedestrians across West Church Street and a crosswalk at West Church/High Streets. He said they are not proposing pedestrians use West Church because there is not a full sidewalk. Attorney Valanzola said they have met with the department heads and he thinks they have addressed all the comments. Attorney Valanzola said there will be approximately one additional vehicle every 5-6 minutes. He said cars parked in this lot will be able to go in a number of different directions when they leave, unlike the lots around the train station. Attorney Valanzola said they are looking at ways to monitor the parking lot. He said the Select Board asked them to consider what could be done to provide parking for Mansfield residents; he said they are talking about ways to do that. Attorney Valanzola said he does not think this will create traffic problems, and in fact may take some traffic away from the train station area. 2 Planning Board 11/7/18 Mr. Kelly explained the traffic assessment, including an assessment of existing traffic conditions, pedestrian accommodations, MBTA data in terms of number and times of commuter trains, safety characteristics and sight lines. He said the site is located at a bend in West Church Street with a straight line of sight. He said they tried to forecast what kind of traffic this would generate and said it will be commuters, residents and downtown business. He said they estimated traffic by looking at a commuter rail parking report done for the town; the trip generation will be about one-half trip per parking space. Mr. Kelly said if all 60 spaces were for the commuter rail, there would be about 27 morning trips and 30 afternoon trips, or about one every two minutes. He said unlike the lots around the train station, this is about a one-half mile walk with several options for routes to leave the site. He said he has no concerns about additional traffic load generated by this use. He said he recommended the driveway be at least 20 feet wide, signage and pavement markings added and the existing sight lines be maintained. He said there is a partial sidewalk along the west side of West Church and along High Street and recommended a ADA -compliant wheelchair ramp and crosswalk be installed, along with signage directing pedestrians to the train station and downtown. Mr. Cerretani said it is unlikely people are going to walk to High Street to go to the train station, but will use West Church Street. Mr. Kelly said the West Church Street sidewalk is interrupted by utility poles. Mr. Valanzola said they would prefer to build that short section of sidewalk, but it could not be built to comply with ADA requirements. He said they will add a sign on site directing pedestrians to High Street. Mr. Cerretani asked if there will be sufficient fencing along the train tracks; Mr. Valanzola said there would be. Ms. Friedman asked why a white vinyl fence is proposed; Mr. Valanzola said it would last longer and the Milhaus trustees prefer vinyl to stockade. Ms. Friedman said she is surprised relief was granted for landscaping and she would like to see something more attractive. Mr. Valanzola explained that other than Milhaus, this site abuts other industrial uses. He said the triangular lot makes it difficult to add landscaping and maintain the pervious areas. He said because of the way the water will be directed on site, it would be difficult to maintain landscaping. Mike Lammers, Milhaus Board of Trustees, said they have talked about planting arbor vitae along the fence. Mi•. Valanzola said that is not shown on the plan and they are discussing whether the arbor vitae will be possible. Mr. Burke said he spoke with Kevin McNatt from Milhaus, who said they are in agreement about the six- to eight -foot vinyl fence along the property line, and some other items are still being discussed. Mr. Lammers said the arbor vitae could be planted on their side of the fence; Mr. Valanzola said they would not want to plant on property they do not own. He said the concern is whether the arbor vitae would fit on their site. Mr. Burke suggested getting a temporary planting easement on the Milhaus property to plant the arbor vitae. Mr. Cleary suggested simply providing the arbor vitae to Milhaus. Ms. Ashman -Collins asked about the 35% open space requirement; Mr. Burke said the ZBA granted relief from the landscaping provision. Mr. Valanzola said the site is in the buffer zone of the Rumford River, so the Conservation Commission wanted pervious material used so the water will run through the material and remain on site. He said the existing impervious material will be removed and ground, and extra material brought in as necessary. He said the Conservation Commission wanted as little disturbance around the river as possible; Mr. Burke noted the Planning Board 11/7/18 Wetlands Act requires no disturbance within the 100 -foot riparian zone. He said because this is a previously developed site, the commission exempted it from the conditions that would apply to the inner riparian zone. Ms. Friedman asked about the fence color; Mr. Valanzola said the abutter agreed to white. Mr. LeBlanc asked about existing conditions traffic counts; Mr. Kelly said they did not do a count, but said capacity is not an issue on West Church Street. Mr. LeBlanc asked about lighting. Attorney Valanzola said the light has to be contained on site. He said they would have to determine who the users are; if they are all commuters, the lights could be lowered after the last train. However, if the users are more downtown residents or employees, the lot would have to be lit later. Mr. Lammers said there is already a lot of lighting in the area, so Milhaus is not concerned about the lights from this lot. Mr. LeBlanc asked how commuter spaces would be managed if downtown residents want spaces; Attorney Valanzola said they would love to have long-term commitments from parkers. He said they would reach out to residents, businesses and commuters to gauge interest. Mr. French suggested the applicant submit a narrative describing that plan. Mr. Valanzola said some downtown restaurants may want to use this lot for valet parking in the evenings and weekends. Mr. LeBlanc asked how the spaces will be marked; Mr. Valanzola said the material compacts, so the spaces will be striped. Department Head Comments The clerk read memos from Captain Marc Goyette, Fire Department and Richard C. Alves, Jr., Town Engineer/Assistant DPW Director Mr. Kelly said he does not think a stop sign at West Church Street is necessary. Mr. Cleary asked for the turning template for the tower truck to be added to the plan. Ms. Friedman asked if there are any hazardous materials on the site; Mr. Valanzola said there are none that he is aware of. Mr. Feck suggested reaching out to downtown businesses for feedback about potential interest. Mr. Cerretani suggested reaching out to downtown residential buildings where there may not be enough parking. Mr. Valanzola said he would do that. Mr. Cerretani asked if lighting would cross to Winthrop and Warren Avenue; Mr. Strom said there is about a six-foot height difference between the sites. Mr. French asked if Mr. Alves is comfortable with the pervious material; Mr. Burke said he thinks Mr. Alves is comfortable with it. Mr. French asked why the Cul-Tecs are needed; Mr. Burke said the 100 -year storm has to be held on site. Mr. French said if the site were paved and the Cul-Tecs installed, they could add a treatment system. Mr. Burke said the Conservation Planning Board 11/7/18 Commission did not want the site paved. Mr. French asked for additional detail of the crushed material to be added to the plan. Mr. Cleary asked how much parking the existing business needs; Mr. Burke said it would require one space per 200 square feet. Mr. Valanzola said the building is about 5,000 square feet. Mr. Burke suggested adding a table showing the parking requirement for the existing business. Mr. Cleary asked if the ZBA waived the open space requirement; Mr. Burke said the setbacks and buffers are in the landscape section and have been waived. Mr. Cleary said the ZBA can waive the open space, but the Planning Board cannot. Mr. Cleary asked if a couple of trees can be planted over the drain; Mr. Burke said nothing can be planted there. Mr. Cleary asked how to prevent pedestrians from using West Church Street and from cutting through Milhaus. Mr. Valanzola said the Milhaus gate is too high for pedestrians to get over. He said they looked at adding more sidewalk to West Church Street, but there is not sufficient space.He said they would add signage to direct pedestrians to High Street, where there is a crosswalk and full sidewalk. Mr. Cleary asked how high the fence is along the train tracks; Mr. Strom said there is at least a six-foot fence along the tracks, which goes right to their building. Mr. French said there are five existing parking spaces shown on the West Church Street; Mr. Valanzola said those spaces are for the business. Mr. Burke said he would rather those spaces did not back out onto the street, but they would probably be grandfathered. 'Mr. Cleary asked Mr. Burke to check that with the Building Inspector. Mr. LeBlanc asked if lighting at the public parking next to Mansfield Bank is lowered at night. Mr. Burke said he does not think it is. Mr. LeBlanc asked the reason for the four -foot walkways in the parking lot and said people would not likely use them. Mr. Valanzola said they want to encourage pedestrians to walk around the perimeter of the lot and not in the travelled way. Public Comment The clerk read a November 6, 2018 letter from the Fulton Pond Condominium Trust Attorney Valanzola said they would install signage indicating the surrounding properties are private and overflow parking should not park in abutting lots. He said the poor sight lines mentioned in the letter are on the 125 High Street property, not on their property. He said he understands there is an existing problem entering and exiting that site because of overgrown brush along High Street. Mr. Burke said he is not certain who owns that property and suggested talking with Mr. Cook. Bill Richard, Fulton Pond Condominium Trust, said he is not opposed to the proposal, but is concerned about the overgrowth causing problems with sight distance. Planning Board 11/7/18 Mr. Lammers said people park on the street around this entrance and suggested signage restricting parking on the corner and on either side of the entrance. Mr. Lammers said because there is no sidewalk there, parked cars will result in people walking in the road. Bill Clemmey, 55 Fowler Street, said the gravel would have to be restriped every 6-8 months. He said the queuing space from the street to the gate should be added to the plan. He said people will walk up West Church Street and the sidewalk issue should be addressed. He said the driveways are only 34 feet apart. He said there is a duplex on Warren Avenue directly across the tracks that may be impacted by the lights. He asked the board to consider the special permit requirements in its vote. Ms. Friedman asked if there a way to make the walkways near the handicapped parking ADA - compliant. Mr. Burke said it would have to be at least five feet wide with a ramp. Mr. French asked about the distance between the driveways; Mr. Valanzola said the business will continue to have deliveries, with the trucks coming in one driveway and going out the other. He said he doesn't think there will be a queue backed up onto West Church Street. Mr. French suggested instead of installing the 12' driveway, using the parking lot entrance for the business and the parking. Mr. Burke said the Planning Board can make a finding on the distance between driveways in the industrial zone. Mr. Valanzola said without the second driveway, trucks would have to back out of the site. Mr. French asked the applicant to look at that again. Ms. Friedman asked if there is liability to having truck traffic go through a parking lot where cars are parked; Mr. Valanzola said he does not think there is. Mr. Burke said the parking template should show the trucks can make the turn at the existing building. Mr. Valanzola said that came up during the department head meeting, which is why the parking spaces are angled. Mr. Cleary asked about adding sidewalk on the other side of West Church Street. Mr. Feck said the plan only shows one utility pole on that side, but said there might be others. Mr. Cleary said he would like to see that additional sidewalk installed. Mr. Burke suggested working with DPW. Mr. Lammers said there is a utility pole on the swale at Milhaus; he suggested moving it further into the Milhaus property, which would open up room for a sidewalk. Mr. Valanzola said they would look at it again. Motion: To continue the public hearing to December 12, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. (French -Friedman) Mr. LeBlanc asked for clarification from Conservation about the parking lot materials. All in favor. PASSES Planning Board 11/7/18 [Mr. Burke left the meeting at this time; Mr. Penney returned at this time, 9:05 pm] The clerk read the public hearing notice. wrtnan continued from the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. rticles 15 and 16 were Article 15 Mr. Clemmey explained Article 15 proposes to rezone 398 West Street from Residential 2 to Industrial 1, and which abuts a parcel that was rezoned to Industrial 1 in 2014. Wayne Lampron, 27 Casa Drive, asked if this lot would be included in the recreational marijuana zone. Mr. Cleary said this would not change the location of that overlay district. Mr. Clemmey said this lot would not be included in the recreational marijuana overlay district. Ms. Friedman said she thought one of the reasons for the rezoning proposal in 2017 was to take advantage of the recreational marijuana overlay. Mr. Clemmey said that is not the case and this lot would not be included. Mr. Penney said he remembered the neighbors supporting the rezoning of the larger parcel in 2014. Mr. Clemmey said as R2, that lot could have included a 55 and Over residential; as an Il parcel, there would have to be a 75 -foot setback. Mr. Clemmey said this change would provide more frontage for a second entrance to future industrial or retail development. Article 16 Mr. Clemmey explained Article 16, which proposes to rezone Map 20, Parcels 3,4,5,191;192 West Street (the four lots at the corner of West Street and Route 140) from R2 to Il. Mr. Clemmey said an entrance to any new development would have to be 300 feet from the highway and would have to have a 75 -foot buffer. He said it would be developed as retail, not industrial, and would help with the tax base. He said he would be willing to sign a development agreement with the town. He said the neighbors can be protected with berms, trees and landscaping; the closest neighbor would be 75 feet from the lot line. He said a box the size of this site laid over the land around the Mobile gas station on Chauncy Street would have six houses inside it; this site would have more buffering with a retail building than any other parcel in town. He said he thinks the highest and best use of this land would be retail, but it would still have to go through the Planning Board special permit process. He said the Town needs growth and commercial development, and this corner would be low impact, high return for the town. Board Comment Mr. Penney asked if Mr. Clemmey has met with abutters; Mr. Clemmey said he has met with abutters in the past, and have installed a berm with trees and the abutters were not happy. He said the Planning Board has to do what is best for the town, and said this is an opportunity for the town to move forward. Mr. Penney said he is concerned about the loss of industrial land, but said the board has to weigh the interests of the abutters. 7 Planning Board 11/7/18 Mr. Cleary asked the size of the lot; Mr. Clemmey said it is 3.4 acres. He said it could accommodate about a 15,000 square foot building. Public Comment November 5, 2018 letter from Cindy & Brian Bisciotti. Mr. Bisciotti said it seems like the lights, traffic and noise from the Shaw's plaza are right in his back yard. He said the berm was not very high, and he has put up a fence. He said a development on this site would be right in his back yard. Mrs. Bisciotti said there are 21 homes on Casa Drive, so this would impact all of their neighbors. She said the neighborhood has been there 40 years and there have been a lot of changes. She said the Casa Drive and Walnut Street neighborhood is all residential, and there are uses allowed in R2 that would also help the town. Karen Kelly, 65 Walnut Street, said she has lived there 35 years, said there is a bus stop on the corner and this development would bring more traffic Janice Coffin, 14 Casa Drive, said she has previously lived near a Dunkin Donuts and sound travels. She said the traffic on Walnut Street is heavy and fast, and there is no sidewalk. She said she is concerned this would create more of a hazard for pedestrians. Mr. Lampron said he bought his house 21 years ago in a residential neighborhood, and rezoning the property would encroach on their neighborhood. A resident of 24 Casa Drive said he would not have bought his house if it abutted an industrial zone. Karl Clemmey, 390 West Street, said he has owned the land for 40 years, before the houses were there. He said 150 people live in the neighborhood and only six came to the hearing. He said this is a key piece of land and he would be willing to sign an agreement with the town. He said the sewer for this neighborhood comes through his land and he can only build one building. He said they will develop the site right. Motion: To SUPPORT Article 15 [to rezone 398 West Street from Residential 2 to Industrial 1] (French -Penney) Seven in favor. One opposed. PASSES Motion: To NOT SUPPORT Article 16 [to rezone Map 20, Parcels 3,4,5,191,192 West Street (the four lots at the corner of West Street and Route 140) from R2 to Il ] (French-Cerretani) Mr. LeBlanc asked about Mr. Clemmey's conversation with the Town Manager; Mr. Clemmey said they have discussed a development agreement, which would include things like retail only, no drive throughs, but they do not have anything to propose at this time. He said they would have to come back for a special permit for any proposal. Mr. Clemmey said the board has supported this article in the past. Mr. French said the board will only be making a recommendation to Town Meeting, which makes the decision. Mr. Clemmey said he thinks the board's vote sends a message to the people. Mr. French suggested doing a development covenant to give the abutters some comfort. Planning Board 11/7/18 A resident asked if drive-through is allowed in I2; Mr. French said it is allowed by special permit. Mr. LeBlanc said it is hard to imagine residential being built on this corner, so the best use may be something commercial. However, he said in terms of protecting the neighborhood, a development agreement may be the best way to move forward. Mr. Feek said he thinks that helped the Chocolate Factory reuse plan. Mr. Cleary said he thinks there will probably be a commercial use there in the future, but it is difficult to decide if it would help the town more than it would harm the neighbors. Seven in favor. One opposed. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (French -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Street Acceptance November 1, 2018 memo from Mr. Burke re: street acceptance recommendations - Forest Heights Drive, Marie Drive, Dutton Drive Motion: To support the acceptance of Dutton Drive, Forest Heights Drive and Marie Drive as public ways provided all the punch lists are completed to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer and the Subdivision Inspector prior to Special Town Meeting (French -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Ms. Friedman said the Open Space Committee has met. Mr. Cleary said he attended the Strategic Planning Committee's last meeting and the committee arrived at a vision statement. He said the committee will discuss potential changes to the TOD zone and it hopes to bring all the landowners together. None Motion: To adjourn at 10:00 p.m. (French- ) All in favor. P Next Planning Board Meeting: November 28, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. /45�/ X,�211 Sfgnature of Clerk Date of Approval Planning Board 11/7/18