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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-03-14 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesTown of Reading _ 'E1) C1 A f ry Mk-1SS. 16 Lowell Street 1gbj IMiAW 10 P 2: 51 Reading, MA 01867-2683 Phone: 781-942-9012 Fax: 781-942-9071 Email: creilly@dreading.ma.us Community Planning and Development Commission CPDC MINUTES Meeting Dated: March 14, 2005 Location: Selectmen's Room, Reading Town Hall Members Present: Neil Sullivan, Chair (NS), Jonathan Barnes (JB), Susan DeMatteo (SD), and John Sasso (JS). Members Absent: Richard Howard (RH) Also Present: Chris Reilly, Town Planner (CR); Michael Schloth Mr. Tony D'Arezzo, 130 John Street, Reading, MA Mr. Robert Poulos, Construction Project Manager for Danis Realty Trust Mr. Edward W. Shaw, Vice President, Dickinson Development Corp., 1266 Furnace Brook Parkway, Quincy, MA 02169 The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. Administrative Review Bond Release-Baldwin Lane Extension Definitive Subdivision Re a memo sent to CR, the Town Engineer says that the subdivision is progressing satisfactorily and recommends the release of $5,400.00 of the bond holding back $600.00 for the trees. JB made a motion to release $5,400.00 of the bond for the Baldwin Lane subdivision leaving $600.00 for trees pursuant to the memo from the Town Engineer. SD seconded. Voted approved 4:0:0. Page 1 of 6 Request for Determination of Minor Modification to Site Plan Danis Realty Trust - I General Avenue Mr. Robert Poulos, Construction Project Manager for Danis, represented Danis Realty Trust. Mr. Poulos listed the modifications in question: 1. Traffic exiting General Way will make a right turn onto Walkers Brook Drive. 2. A traffic island, with the intersection "fully signalized", will separate the entrance to and exit from General Way. 3. A four-lane roadway will be created along the necessary section of Walkers Brook and will require the widening of Walkers Brook there. 4. A concrete strip, as requested by Town Engineer Joe Delaney, will be added to alert drivers to the upcoming lane change ( 2 lanes to 1 and vice versa). 5. Directional ("way finding") signage will be added to direct motorists to Rts 128/93 and 28. Mr. Poulos noted that these modifications were made at the request of the Board of Selectmen and were approved by them on February 15, 2005. NS asked if there were any plans to tie into New Crossing Road. Mr. Poulos said that the Board of Selectmen had asked the same question. Danis would like to tie in with New Crossing Road but can't because Danis does not own the abutting parcel (the Boston Stove property). He added that the consensus of the Selectmen appeared to be that such a tie-in would be welcome, as it would ease local traffic problems. CR recommended that the submittal of a landscape plan for the traffic island be made a condition of the CPDC's determination of the modifications as minor. JB noted that there is no language in the Site Plan bylaws defining "minor" or 'major" modifications. CR said that Case Law generally determines what are minor or major changes and added that these modifications are clearly minor under case law. JB agreed - and noted that Town Engineer Joe Delaney said they were minor too - but JB wanted to point out that the benefit these minor modifications will bring to the neighboring residents is major. Mr. Tony D'Arezzo of 130 John Street said that the Board of Selectmen had said that Danis would pay for the development of any tie in with New Crossing Road if and when the Boston Stove property is developed. Mr. Poulos replied that it was his understanding that if the Boston Stove property ever comes under a site plan review the owner will be required to provide Danis with access to New Crossing Road at Danis' expense. NS said thatit was his understanding that such a tie-in ispart of the "order of conditions'". - - Mr. D'Arezzo asked if the CPDC could require such a condition and CR replied that he believed it could. Page 2 of 6 JB made a motion to accept the changes as a minor modification to the site plan as last revised (February 10, 2005) with the condition that the traffic island be landscaped appropriately subject to the approval of both the Town Planner and the Town Engineer. JS seconded. Voted approved 4:0:0. Design Review: Planned Unit Development (PUD-1) Phase 2 - Walkers Brook Crossing Mr. Ed Shaw gave a presentation in which he described the Walkers Brook Crossing tenants' requested signage. The tenants are Macaroni Grill, Verizon, Linens `n Things, Staples, The Paper Store, Bear Rock Cafe, Starbucks, and, in a separate building by itself, Bank of America. Mr. Shaw provided all the relevant dimensions for all of the signs, including the signs' lettering, on the storefront or wall signs, the pylon sign, the monument signs, and all awnings. The board had no problem with any of the wall signs except for two Starbucks logos that were to be placed in Starbucks' windows. CR said that these would have to be struck from the plans as they violated 4.9.5.6.3 h of the zoning bylaws: "No window signs or any other interior signage that is visible from the outside is allowed. " Stepping back from the signage issue for a moment, Mr. Shaw asked the board if they would entertain a request from Starbucks and the Bear Rock Cafe to allow them to provide outdoor seating during good weather. CR said that the tenants could use their space as they see fit as long as they do nothing with their space that specifically violates the bylaws and outdoor seating, unlike, for instance, placing loudspeakers outside to provide music, does not specifically violate the bylaws. NS asked if outdoor seating might cause an obstruction and Mr. Shaw assured him and the board that he would stop outdoor seating himself if it proved to be a safety hazard or an annoyance to the other tenants. JB said that since the board had already approved everything except the signage how would the board go about allowing a modification to a plan that they had already approved? CR said that, as the seating will be a use of a tenant's space, the board does not enter into the matter unless someone has a specific preference as to, for instance, table or chair Mr. Shaw interrupted to say that the outdoor seating would be in a common area and not within any particular tenant's space. Page 3 of 6 CR said that that was a different matter entirely. It would be a modification of the plan and would have to be reviewed by the board. The consensus of the board was that the tenants would have to submit a request for outdoor seating. Returning to the signage, Mr. Shaw drew the board's attention to the Pylon Sign. He reminded the board that they had rejected the original, taller design and approved a 52' pylon. This gave the tenants roughly 36 square inches of space for each of their signs (-32" if you discount the trim). The consensus of the board was that the "Staples" sign on the pylon looked out of place. They found the lettering of the "Staples" sign to be disproportionate to the lettering on the other tenants' signs. For instance, "Linens `n Things" letters are 18.5" high whereas "Staples" are 26" high. Also, the "Linens n' Things" letters' font is conservative and light whereas the "Staples" letters' font is bold and heavy making Staples' letters stand out all the more. CR recommended reducing the size of the letters on the "Staples" sign to 22". The board agreed. Mr. Shaw said that due to contractual obligations he would have to talk to Staples before he could agree to such a change. CR next spoke of the blankness of the facade both between "Staples" and "Linens `n Things" and between "Linens n' Things" and "Verizon." He said that these empty spaces cry out for something preferably trees. The board agreed. Mr. Shaw said that planters are already part of the plan and added that he could come back with a new design but that there is not much room for a tree's root ball. CR said he was emphatic about seeing something put there. Maybe a permanent planter? He recognized the limitations of the site but he was sure that there are ways to do it. Mr. Shaw said that he was sure that something could be done to satisfy all concerned. CR concluded the "blank facade" discussion by saying that it should not be made a condition of the approval of the signage. JB said that it should be reflected in the minutes. The board agreed. Mr. Tony D'Arezzo of 130 John Street asked to speak. He had two items to discuss. First, Mr. D'Arezzo asked if the pylon sign would have an animated time & temperature display like the one at Jordan's Furniture. CR said that animated signs are not allowed under the bylaws and that Jordan's was told to remove the animation. Second, Mr. D'Arezzo drew the board's attention to zoning bylaw 4.9.5.6.4 c, which reads: Page 4 of 6 One wall sign per building or tenant is allowed. For tenants or buildings facing more than one street/highway, one additional sign for that tenant is allowed facing such streetlhighway. Mr. D'Arezzo asked if both the Bank of America and the Macaroni Grill might have too many signs under this bylaw? In the discussion that followed, the board came to the conclusion that both the Bank of America and the Macaroni Grill face one street and one street only and that street is Walkers Brook Drive. Although it may appear that Bank of America also faces Lakeview Avenue and that Macaroni Grill also faces Route 128, in fact in each case there is at least one intervening lot between each building and the other streets. CR said that Glen [Glen Redmond, the Building Inspector] will not issue in violation of bylaws and the Bank of America and Macaroni Grill signs do appear to be in violation of bylaw 4.9.5.6.4 c. JB asked what they could do and CR said that they could simply deny the signage. If they didn't want to do that they could approve but add the caveat: "proposed signage that is prohibited by the bylaws as determined by the building inspector shall not be allowed". JB then made a motion to approve the signage as submitted with the following exceptions: 1. The two Starbucks window icons will not be allowed 2. Staples will have to reduce the size of the letters on its sign on the pylon to 22". JS asked if Mr. D'Arezzo's point regarding bylaw 4.9.5.6.4 c should not be mentioned in the motion. CR said that the issue was moot since the bylaws say that the building inspector has the final decision. If the applicant doesn't like the inspector's decision they can appeal to the ZBA for a variance. It was then noted that other signs could be affected - the taglines on "Staples" ` and "The Paper Store" `s signs could be considered as signs themselves for instance. JB was not happy with leaving the issue for the building inspector to handle. He felt that the CPDC was ducking the issue. After further discussion, the consensus of the board was that this design review should be continued to give both Mr. Shaw time to consider his options and CR time to ask the building inspector for a memo on the issue. JB withdrew his motion. - JS made a motion to continue the design review " Phase 2 - Walkers Brook Crossing" until 3/28/05 at 8:00 PM. Page 5 of 6 SD seconded. Voted approved 4:0:0. Public Comment/Minutes The Board noted that an abutters list had been submitted for the five-lot subdivision off of Baker Road. CR said that engineering issues remain to be ironed out and that the interested parties will be coming in for` a DRY SD alerted the Board to a recent ZBA decision regarding "Open Storage". The ZBA allowed "The Corner Closet" on 6 Linden Street their open storage under the Grandfather Clause. CR said that the bylaw is specific: except for one-time events (street bazaars) no open storage is allowed in the downtown district. The ZBA must not have wanted to granta variance. The consensus of the board was that this deserves further discussion since other businesses have been known to place their goods on the sidewalk outside their shops. JB moved to adjourn. SD seconded. Voted approved 4:0:0. The meeting ended at 9.15 PM. These minutes were prepared by Michael Schloth and submitted to the CPDC on April 11, 2005; the minutes were approved as amended by the CPDC on April 11, 2005. Signed s approved, pr' / / loS- Jolx`'Sasso, Secretary Date Page 6 of 6