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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 02/06/2019Planning Board Minutes February 6, 2019 Present: Donald Cleary, Chair; Richard LeBlanc, Clerk; H. Thomas French, Beth Ashman - Collins, Michael McClanahan, Ralph Penney, Mike Feck Alternates Sharon Friedman and Joe Cerretani Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development; Jennifer Davis, Admin. Secretary ution: To appoint Ms. Ashman -Collins Acting Clerk (Penney-Cerretani) All in favor. PASSES 1. January 23, 2019 minutes p. 4 Board Comment "Friedman" misspelled p. 6 — 6th para — Mr. French asked about the "centerline radius and reverse curve radii on the cluster plan." p. 5 — Mr. Penney said a color rendering is "required." [Mr. LeBlanc arrived at 7:12 p.m.] Motion: To approve as amended (McClanahan -Friedman) Eight in favor. Feck abstained. PASSES 2. Public Hearing notices — Attleboro, Easton, North Attleboro 3. Draft BETA Road Safety Audit — Chauncy Street (Route 106) at Copeland Drive None Michael Hilsinger, ConSery Group, explained the changes to the plans for the redevelopment of the former Methodist Church into 10 apartment units. He said at the last meeting, the board asked him to explore the possibility of a universal design unit. He said because of the parking on the south side of the building, there would be no room for a handicapped ramp, walkway or handicapped parking. On the north side of the building, the exterior versus the interior floor grade are too great and would result in a very long ramp. Mr. Hilsinger explained the plans show the trash bins in a fenced and gated area on the north side of the building. The egress from the building is shown with an existing stairway, which will be rebuilt. Mr. Hilsinger said the building will stay intact with the exception of the removal of the existing access door to the basement on the north side and the addition of dormers to third floor to allow the construction of egress windows from the bedrooms. Two dormers will be added on the north side of the building and one on the south side. 1 Planning Board 2/6/19 The plan shows lighting with wallpacks to light the parking lot and walkway, as well as accent lighting on the front of the building, on either side of the front window and on two sides of the tower. The previously approved color rendering will be used; grey with off-white trim, black accents and a black roof with grey flecks. The two -foot tall retaining wall will be made of stacked, cultured stone. Mr. Hilsinger said the light fixtures will be simple black sconces with box lights on the front and on the tower, using down-facing lights because they are trying to be dark sky compliant. Mr. McClanahan suggested lighting the tower from the inside; Mr. Hilsinger said they would be happy to do that. Ms. Friedman asked if the lights would be dimmed; Mr. Hilsinger said they would be dimmed by 50% overnight, but will not be turned off for security purposes. Mr. Cerretani asked if the retaining wall will come out from the foundation of the building; Mr. Hilsinger said it will come out from the foundation about two feet and be two feet high. He said that will be required to level the site for the parking area. Mr. McClanahan asked about a construction dumpster; Mr. Hilsinger said they will excavate the south side to create parking, and that will be used for the dumpster and construction parking. Mr. McClanahan asked what would happen with more than 10 contractors on site; Mr. Hilsinger said they would work with Dr. Lynch to use some of the spaces next door, or use public parking. Mr. Penney asked if they plan to keep the fieldstone foundation and bell tower; Mr. Hilsinger said they have had a structural engineer inspect the foundation and they think it can be saved, so they will keep it. He said there is no reason to take the bell tower down, and it will probably be used for mechanical equipment. The board discussed changing condition 48 to read: "The applicant shall attempt to maintain the architectural significance of the historical building by retaining the exterior wooden shingle material, former bell tower and fieldstone foundation to the greatest extent possible." Mr. LeBlanc asked about excavation on the south side; Mr. Hilsinger said at that location, the foundation becomes the retaining wall. They will excavate 3-4 feet and add footings. Dr. Robert Sibilia, 25 North Main Street, asked about the trash area on the north side; Mr. Hilsinger explained the trash carts will be in an enclosure. Mr. French suggested changing condition #10 to require the trash and recycling be removed by a private trash company. Planning Board 2/6/19 The board discussed changing condition #16 to add: "All exterior signage shall be consistent with the character of downtown and approved by Planning Director prior to installation." The board discussed changing condition #21 to remove the reference to a "5% change," to read: "Any significant change to building, parking or attendant drainage will require review and may require action by the Planning Board." Ms. Friedman asked about the maintenance plan; Mr. Burke said that plan is usually reviewed by the Town Engineer. Mr. Feck has missed one meeting; Mr. Cleary appointed Ms. Friedman to vote on this special permit. Motion: To make a Finding that based on the age, the square foot size of the building and the inclusion of a live/work space, which is a use other than what the building was originally designed for, the application meets the requirements of Zoning By -Law Section 230-3.713, Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings. (French -Penney) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To approve the Special Permit application pursuant to Mansfield Zoning By -Law Sections 230-5.5, Special Permit and 230-3.7.B, Adaptive Reuse of Historic Structures, relative to the application of ConSery Group, Inc. for Special Permit approval for the reuse of the former Methodist Church building as a ten (10) -unit residential development on an approximately 6,858 square foot parcel in the Business 2 (132) Zone at 11 North Main Street (Map 27, Parcel 193) as drafted and amended (French -LeBlanc) Friedman — In favor. This will have a positive impact on health, safety, convenience and general ---welfare, is a wonderful reuse of the historical structure, and I believe the way it will be redone - will maintain its character and be a wonderful presence in that part of town. The applicant has made accommodations for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, pedestrians will be safe around the building, cars entering and exiting will have to do so with caution, the site will have adequate municipal facilities, fire and police protection and will have a minimal impact on the natural environment. This is a good reuse and will have a positive fiscal impact. The benefits outweigh the detriments. Penney — In favor. I am glad to see the building being reused, and I think the apartments are small enough to be economical. This has been a landmark downtown for years and I appreciate the applicant's time and effort. French - In favor — This will have a positive impact on the downtown character and social structure, a positive impact on vehicular and pedestrian access and a positive fiscal impact. LeBlanc — In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments, this adaptive reuse is a positive and will have a minimum impact on traffic and infrastructure, and will be a good housing option. Planning Board 2/6/19 Ashman -Collins — In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments and the project will have a positive impact on health, safety, convenience and general welfare. This proposal is appropriate for this downtown location, a positive impact on property taxes, have no detriment to the natural environment and drainage will be improved. McClanahan — In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments and I am glad to see the building will be reused. Cleary - In favor. The benefits outweigh the detriments with the reuse of the building, and it is nice to see one -bedroom apartments. The only detriment is 10 parking spaces for 10 apartments, but I still think benefits outweigh the detriments. Seven (7) in favor. None (0) opposed. PASSES Motion: To close the public hearing (French -McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES Mr. Smith discussed downtown parking strategies and different users like commuters, businesses and residents. Nelson -Nygaard had done a downtown parking inventory, and found there are around 4,800 parking spaces downtown including public and private lots. Around 80% of the parking is privately -owned, so the town does not manage most of the parking. There is a mix of on- and off-street parking. They have looked at morning, afternoon and evening parking conditions, and found that overall, downtown has plenty of parking. Mr. Smith said the commuter parking lots are underutilized assets except during commuter times. He said they have found weekend parking demand is low except for restaurants. They looked at how land use patterns impact parking and found morning hours require less parking, with parking peaks in the evening. They will be looking at how different development scenarios would impact parking demand. Mr. Smith said proposed and future development will impact parking, both positively and negatively; he said while a development like 1 Mansfield Avenue doesn't have much retail now, there will be an impact to parking when it is added. They will look at the current zoning requirements to see if they are appropriate and will interview stakeholders to get an idea of how many cars are actually being parked. Nelson-Nygaard's findings include: on -street parking is underutilized, one-way traffic is not ideal for businesses, parking signage is confusing and inconsistent. He said they will look at the town's parking permit program and said theikey is messaging, especially things like encouraging business owners not to park in front of their store. They will be looking at circulation and connectivity, as well as things like improved wayfmding, resident parking and public art. Planning Board 2/6/19 Mr. Smith said the next steps will involve: projecting parking demands, stakeholder interviews, an online survey, public meeting in March April, and a final plan that is flexible and provides guidance for when the recommendations should be triggered. Mr. Cerretani asked about the public meetings; Mr. Smith said they would host public meetings to interact with the public, which will help them cater the strategies. Mr. LeBlanc asked how restaurants fit into the slides; Mr. Smith said their map is based on the land use map, and restaurants came under "service." Mr. Penney asked if they looked at the duration of the time the cars are parked. Mr. Smith said with some uses, people run in and out. He said with a mix of restaurants and retail, the parking should support business activity; he said the parking limit shouldn't be too short because it could discourage people from staying downtown. Mr. Cerretani asked about stakeholder interviews; Mr. Smith said they wanted to collect the data first, then schedule interviews based on what they have found. Mr. Cerretani said this would help create awareness with downtown businesses. Mr. Smith said it is important to get the message out about downtown parking and to understand people's perceptions about where they park and their destination. Mr. French asked about alternatives for train station parking; Mr. Smith said they would be looking at that. He said adding visual interest around train station parking areas would help to attract pedestrians to downtown. Ms. Ashman -Collins asked if they would look at bicycle parking; Mr. Smith said they would. He said getting people downtown in something other than a car would open parking spaces and encourage an active lifestyle. -- -- - --- - -- Mr. Feck said new developments design their parking for retail because it is the lowest requirement, which results in retail being the only use that can do; he said newer buildings have empty spaces because of that parking issue. Mr. Smith said many towns do not require commercial parking for retail or restaurants; he said they would look at where the parking is available and when. He said some towns allow businesses to count on -street parking within a certain distance. He said there is a lot of existing surface parking in Mansfield, so there may be some opportunities for shared parking. Mr. Smith suggested making the path from the train station and commuter lots to downtown more attractive, better signed and better lit to attract people downtown. Mr. French asked about making North Main Street two-way when the fire station moves; Mr. Burke said the town is planning to look at that. Mr. Cleary asked if there is a need for electric charging stations; Mr. Smith said they will look at that, as well as ride services. He said there are grant programs for towns to provide charging stations. Planning Board 2/6/19 Ms. Ashman -Collins asked about shared parking for services like ZipCars; Mr. Smith said some developers are providing car share as an amenity, as well as a parking strategy. He said some communities are providing on -street parking for car shares. Mr. Cleary asked if anything can be done in time for Town Meeting; Mr. Burke said he can submit space savers on the warrant. Mr. Smith said a lot of their recommendations may be regulatory, rather than zoning issues that have to go to Town Meeting. Chris Marcheselli, Foremarc Realty, explained the revised plan dated January 30, 2019, which addresses Mr. Alves's and some of the abutters' comments. He said the plan has been changed to create an easement for one 6" sewer line to minimize construction on Church Street. The original plan showed the site tying into the existing line, but Mr. Marcheselli said he will tie into the manhole. The water services for second building, closest to Samoset Avenue, will come off Bristol Street. The Water Department requires cut and cap for the demolition, and he will have to go into Church Street to cut and cap the water service, then bring a new service off the water main into the property. Mr. Marcheselli said the sidewalk on Church Street was recently replaced and ends at the end of this property. He suggested adding a crosswalk there. Mr. Marcheselli said he will replace the sidewalk on Bristol Street, and will meet handicapped requirements. Each unit will have a one - inch water service and they will bring two services off Bristol and two off Church Street and replace the piece of sidewalk that has to be removed. The plan shows the use of polymembrane. Mr. Marcheselli said he will provide the wording of the sewer line easement between the two - — lots. Mr. Marcheselli presented renderings of the Church Street side of the building, including street trees, landscaping wrapped around the front of each unit and five more bushes and a flowering plum tree in front of each. They have added two eyebrow windows and bedroom windows, created gables and changed the siding to vinyl shakes with sterling grey and granite grey siding. He said the gables can be made larger if the board would like that. Mr. LeBlanc asked about the topo lines; Mr. Marcheselli explained the roof drains and recharge. Mr. Marcheselli said they could add two-inch caliper maple trees that would have to be maintained by the homeowners. Department Head Comments The clerk read a memo from Mr. Alves Mr. Marcheselli said the false gables would add dimension, but would not add square footage. 6 Planning Board 2/6/19 Mr. Penney asked about trees; Mr. Marcheselli said he has added flowering plum trees in front of each unit and street trees on Church Street. Mr. Penney suggested dwarf varieties for the street trees so there is enough room when they mature. Mr. Penney asked about the demolition; Mr. Marcheselli said he could do the demolition during the day on a Saturday. He said it would only take a few hours to take the building down, and load and remove the materials within one to two days. Mr. Penney asked if the receiving facility would be open on a Saturday; Mr. Marcheselli said it would be. Mr. Penney suggested having contractors access the site from Samoset Avenue; Mr. Marcheselli said he would only have one or two contractors on site. He said he would have a dumpster on site during construction; Mr. McClanahan suggested keeping the dumpster covered. Mr. Penney said he appreciates Mr. Marcheselli's willingness to work with the abutters. Mr. Marcheselli said he thinks this is the best and highest use with the lowest impact and said there is a need for this type of housing downtown. Mr. Penney asked about prices; Mr. Marcheselli said he expects the sales prices to be $400,000-$450,000. He said the units would be around 1,620 square feet each. Mr. LeBlanc asked if this site would drain to someone else's property. Mr. Marcheselli said the elevation is at 161 now and will be lowered to 160. He said the elevation will be the same on Church Street and the property behind this lot is higher. He said post -construction, more water will be recharged into the ground. Mr. LeBlanc asked Mr. Burke if this will work; Mr. Burke said he thinks it will. - - Mr. French said he thinks this is a lot of building on a small lot. He said the area has multi - families, but in large houses rather than two duplexes. He asked Mr. Burke's opinion on the benefits versus the detriments. -Mr. Burke said he thinks it will work in the neighborhood. He -- said there are a lot of multi -family buildings in the neighborhood and he does not think this would be out of character. He said the number of bedrooms of the existing house and the proposed building would be about the same. He said he doesn't think it will be out of character with the neighborhood. He said there are very nice houses in the neighborhood, but he doesn't think this would bring down their value. He said this is a family neighborhood, and with Mr. Marcheselli's proposal being for three-bedroom units, he thinks it is more likely to attract families. - Mr. French asked what could have been built before the zone was changed to business; Mr. Burke said the R3 zone allows duplexes on a 15,000 square foot lot. Ms. Friedman asked about one single-family house and one duplex; Mr. Marcheselli said single-family is not allowed in the current zone. Mr. Feck said this was an R3 lot until a few years ago and B2 allows higher density. Mr. Marcheselli said when he looked at the project, he thought this would be the lowest impact allowed use. He said this house has been significantly damaged and there were not many uses that would have worked for the existing structure. He said he looked into using the property as a sober house, which would have been exempt from zoning. 7 Planning Board 2/6/19 Mr. LeBlanc asked if it is fair to say the multi -families in the neighborhood are single owner or condos; Mr. McClanahan said some are condos. Mr. Marcheselli said he thinks there are more rentals than condos; Mr. Burke agreed. Ms. Friedman asked the size of the backyard; Mr. Marcheselli said it would be 26.9 feet from the back of the house to the property line. Mr. Cleary appointed Mr. Cerretani a voting member. Motion: To direct Mr. Burke to draft a special permit approval with conditions for the board's review (McClanahan -Ashman -Collins) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To grant a waiver from Zoning By -Law Section 230-4.4, Off -Street Parking and Loading, for a distance of 28.2 feet from the proposed driveway on Bristol Street to the intersection of Church Street on the north side of the property where 50 feet is required (McClanahan -Ashman -Collins) All in favor. PASSES Motion: To continue the public hearing to February 27, 2019 at 7:10 p.m. (French -LeBlanc) All in favor. PASSES None Mr. Feck said he has seen 18 -wheelers trying to back into Firestone on School Street in the evening. Mr. Burke said deliveries are supposed to be made to that business early in the morning. He said he would visit the site and ask the building inspector and police department to do the same. Mr. French said he thought Mr. Smith's presentation on downtown parking was excellent. Ms. Ashman -Collins agreed. Mr. French asked how that fits with the TOD study the Town Manager is doing; Mr. Burke said the Town Manager is meeting with landowners to try to build consensus. The committee will be meeting February 19 and 26 at 6:00 p.m. Mr. French asked if this will be a wholesale change to the existing TOD; Mr. Burke said he doesn't think so. He said he thinks the density will change and the location of uses within the district may be change. He said if consensus cannot be built with the landowners very quickly, zoning changes may have to be pushed from 2019 Annual Town Meeting to a future Town Meeting. Mr. French said he would like to try to bring the downtown parking changes to 2019 Annual Town Meeting. Mr. Burke suggested incorporating some of the zoning changes the board has discussed into the Master Plan process. Mr. LeBlanc said unless there are critical developments coming soon, it may be better to wait for the Master Plan process. Ms. Friedman suggested the downtown overlay district may be important to do before the Master Plan; Mr. French said that may be more of a Master Plan issue. Mr. Feck said he wouldn't want to go to Town Meeting with zoning changes this year, then go back to change them after the Master Plan is complete. Planning Board 2/6/19 Mr. LeBlanc asked about getting final, complete plans for projects. Mr. Burke said the board approves development concepts, like colors and materials, as well as technical issues like drainage. When a developer applies for a building permit, they have to provide the building inspector with the structural details and code compliance. Mr. Penney said the plans have to have enough information for the building inspector to be able to enforce the board's decision. Mr. LeBlanc asked about the status of the North Main Street/Thomas Street property; Mr. McClanahan said the sale of that building has gone through. Mr. Cleary reminded the board members to complete the ethics test and return it to the Town Clerk. Mr. Cleary said it would be interesting to revisit some approved projects and see how the plans turned into reality. Motion: To adjourn at 10:00 p.m. (McClanahan- ) All in favor. Next Planning Board Meeting: February 27, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. r J G, Signature of Clerk Date of Approval 9 Planning Board 2/6/19