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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-06-28 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesRECEIVED ~t, Town of Reading ? EA~'G.,asp. 16 Lowell Street 1004 AG I Reading, MA 01867-2683 I ,4 10~ Zu Phone: 781-942-9012 Fax: 781-942-9071 Email: creilly@ci.reading.ma.us COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CPDC MINUTES Meeting Dated: June 28, 2004 Members Present: Chair, Susan DeMatteo (SD) Jonathan Bames (JB), Neil Sullivan (NS), John Sasso (JS). Also Present: Joseph Delaney, Town Engineer (JD). The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM. JB moved to approve the Minutes of the May 24, 2004 with the noted amendments. NS seconded. Voted 4-0-0, all in favor. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW: Adams Way Subdivision Bond JD discussed the remaining items to be done on the Subdivision, which primarily included the installation of stone bounds and preparation of street acceptance and as-built plans. He further discussed that the bond money was only available for use on the roadway improvements and utilities. The Commission reviewed the Adams Way residents' letter that asks the Town to start proceedings to take the bond money because of a lack of response on the part of the developer. JB spoke in favor of taking the bond so that these items can be completed; he asked whether the Town has contacted the developer regarding this matter. JD said that he knew that the Conservation Commission has been attempting to contact him, but he did not know what attempts had been made by Planning. It was agreed to put this on the next agenda when we can verify what attempted contact has been made. JB asked that the developer be notified of this meeting. PUBLIC HEARING: Site Plan Review Mark Gilbert, 13 7 Main Street NS read the public notice. Attorney Brad Latham, Engineer Bill Bergeron and Architect Dominic Sicari represented the Applicant, Mark Gilbert. Mr. Latham made an initial presentation. The project would demolish the existing structure to construct a two story, approximately 5,600 square foot building. Mr. Bergeron of Hayes Engineering made a presentation. He discussed the following details of the project:_ i A vegetated buffer is being provided along Main Street ➢ Grade changes are necessary due to parking lot slope requirements (5%). ➢ The building is set back from the street due to zoning and parking needs. ➢ New utilities will be brought in to the site from Tarpin Terrace. ➢ The building will be provided with sprinklers. ➢ The building encroaches on the S-15 district by less than the allowed 30 feet. ➢ 21 parking spaces are provided versus the 19 required. They feel that they need to extra spaces to avoid parking on Tarpin Terrace. ➢ A portion of the building will be buried on the southern and eastern sides. ➢ The site is designed to infiltrate all roof runoff. ➢ The site does not fully meet the DEP storm water standards. They contend that they do not need to. ➢ The Town suggested plantings along the Main Street frontage. They are concerned that plantings could adversely affect sight distance from Tarpin Terrace. ➢ The sign is placed 10 feet behind the Main Street Right-of-Way as required by MassHighway. Dominic Sicari made a brief presentation. He explained that the plans submitted with the application were a work in progress and he expected to have more definitive plans for the continued meeting. He further explained that the building would be brick with concrete banding. JD then went through the DRT comments and the Engineering Division comments. He explained that the primary concern was with the lack of compliance with the DEP Storm Water Policy. Since the Site Plan Review By-Law (Section 4.3.3) requires compliance with the DEP regulations, it is questionable whether CPDC has the right to waive this standard. Because it is a by-law, any noncompliance may require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Applicant argued that this site should not be required to comply with the DEP regulations because it is outside of the Conservation Commission's jurisdiction. JD explained that the inclusion of this requirement in the Site Plan Review By-Law was specifically designed to require compliance even if a project was outside of the Conservation Commission's jurisdiction. Inclusion of this language in the by-law allows us to comply with part of the Town's federal and state storm water permit. There was much further discussion between the Commission and the Applicant regarding the applicability of the DEP Regulations and whether the CPDC has the right to waive any or all of these requirements. It was determined that an opinion from Town Counsel will be necessary before anything can be considered. The Commission asked JD to ask Town Counsel for an opinion. NS was concerned with the site grading and the height of retaining walls. The applicant explained that the site was being cut to provide appropriate parking lot grades and that the berm in front of the site could not be constructed due to sight distance concerns. JB indicated that he was looking forward to new architectural plans and reiterated previous DRT concerns with the look of the building. He indicated that he would prefer to see the building moved out towards Main Street with the parking in back, but he understands that it is not within the power of the Applicant to do so. He would also like to see more landscaping and has concerns with cars backing out onto Tarpin Terrace. 2 SD discussed some concerns with shielding of the roof mechanical equipment and was also interested in what the height differential was between the existing building and the proposed building. The Applicant stated that the height should be about the same because they are both two- story buildings. Public Comment: Bill Sayman, 2 Fairmount Road. concerned about site parking; he felt that there would not be sufficient parking and that people would be parking on Tarpin Terrace. He expressed concern that the existing house behind the site could be bought and turned into additional parking. He was also concerned with lighting and mechanical equipment. Ken Bauer, 24 Fairmount Road: also concerned about additional parking and asked if, in fact, the house behind the site could be used for parking. The Commission and the Applicant responded that it would require a zoning change for that to happen. JB made a motion to continue the Public Hearing to July 12, 2004 at 9:00 P.M. Seconded by NS. Voted 4-0-0, all in favor. PRE-APPLICATION: Site Plan Review Presentation Trickett Realty Trust, 110 Main Street Tony Guba of Ayoub Engineering, Inc. made a presentation on behalf of the Applicant, Trickett Realty Trust. He discussed the following items: ➢ A new approximately 3,500 square foot store will be built. New dispensers and a new canopy will be installed. The ZBA has already approved the canopy location and signage. ➢ A drive through is proposed for some type of breakfast use (Dunkin Donuts or similar). ➢ New underground storage tanks and piping that meet or exceed all federal and state regulations will be installed. ➢ Curb cuts to remain as currently configured. ➢ Preliminary analysis of drainage has been done. ➢ The building will be of Colonial style including a hip roof, dormers and a brick facade. JD presented a list of general concerns that typically arise during this type of site plan review. They included: ➢ Compliance with DEP Storm Water Policy. ➢ Adequacy of drive-thru stacking. ➢ Noise associated with speakers at the drive-thru. ➢ Dumpster enclosures. ➢ Hours of deliveries. Landscaping. ➢ Site circulation. JB believes that a traffic study needs to be conducted for this site. The drive-thru is one issue, as is the already problematic intersection of Hopkins and Main Streets. He also questioned whether curb cuts should be restricted and had concern with interior traffic 3 circulation. JD stated that if a traffic study is to be required it should include an analysis of the Hopkins/Main Street intersection including AM and PM turning movement counts. The study should focus on turning conflicts and circulation. NS stated that there is an existing problem at that intersection with school children crossing at that location going to the Joshua Eaton School. He also stated that there are many accidents at that location. JS asked whether the site will include an air pump etc. and questioned how that might affect site circulation. SD asked if any of the operators' other sites were near this one. The Applicant responded that one is located in Tewksbury on Route 38 near 1-495; it is a Shell station located at 365 Main Street. There is also another in Tewksbury located at 1220 Main Street. The Applicant will revise the plans and submit a formal application based on CPDC and staff comments. PRE-APPLICATION: Site Plan Review Presentation 519 Main Street, Iinran Alvi & Kim Carter Imran Alvi made a presentation regarding the project. The key features included: i The existing use is a dental lab and it will be converted to a retail operation. i A 20-foot by 20-foot addition will be added to the front of the building. They will be working with the owners of the Graham Radio building on a new facade. NS asked where parking was being provided and whether the aisle was too narrow. SD asked what the existing house on the site will be used for. The Applicant responded that retail will be on the first floor, with residential on the second floor. SD also asked whether the building was historic. JD expressed concern with access to the parking area. The plans show only an 1 1-foot right-of-way to access the rear parking spaces. JB thinks that improvements to the property are a great idea. He does not really like the proposed design of building. He is not sure that it fits in with the character of the Town. JS is also concerned with access to the rear of the parcel. The Applicant will contact JD and/or Chris Reilly, Town Planner, to discuss the access requirements. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 78 Haven Street, Strong Insurance Inc. Attorney Tim Kelly made a brief presentation on behalf of the Applicant, Robert Strong. There was apparently a misunderstanding by the Applicant as to the sign requirements. One of the signs has already been installed at the new location and the second sign has been made but not installed. SD explained that the grandfather clauses in the sign by-law are due to expire next year and that the CPDC has been looking at signs in anticipation of this. She also explained that the letters and made of wood. JB asked about the issues with this application. Was the primary concern the fact that the signs do not meet the current by-laws? 4 SD indicated that the specific issues were the signs' compliance with the by-law and that a sign was erected without a Certificate of Appropriateness and Sign Permit. NS asked whether these signs were just the signs from the old building moved to a new location. Attorney Kelly explained that these were new signs that used the existing brackets on the building. JB indicated that if this process were starting from the beginning, these signs would not be what the Town was looking for. SD stated that she does not want to compromise Town standards. JB asked whether CPDC can accept the signs as presented or should the whole process be revisited. He would like to see sign uniformity on the entire block. He would like to talk about this sign package as though we were starting over. SD indicated that the second sign needs to be smaller than the first sign, however, she cannot find the pertinent section of the regulations. NS asked whether the first sign is OK and are we just dealing with the second sign. JB would like to get Dick Howard's input on this application and recommends that this matter be continued to the 7/12 meeting. The action date for the application is 7/26. JB reviewed Section 6.2.3.2 of the sign by-law relating to the size of the second sign in the Business B district. A motion was made by NS to continue this matter to 7/12/04 at 7:45 P.M. Seconded by JS. Voted 4-0-0, all in favor. Motion to adjourn by JB. Seconded by NS, Voted in favor 4:0:0. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 P.M. These minutes were prepared by Joseph Delaney, Town Engineer, edited by Chris Reilly, Town Planner and submitted to the CPDC on July 26, 2004. These minutes were approved by the CPDC on July 26, 2004. Signed as approved: -k_~/ti Neil Sullivan, Secretary Date 5