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Home My WebLink About2003-06-09 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesTown of 16 Lowell Street Reading w CE ! RK Reading, MA 01867-2683 Phone: 781-942-9012 Fax: 781-942-9071 4. a ( 1 Email: crielly@ci.reading.ma.us ' V Community Planning and Development Commission CPDC MINUTES Meeting Dated: June 9, 2003 Members Present: Jonathan Barnes (JB), Chairman; Michael Flammia (MF), Secretary; Paul Devlin (PD), Neil Sullivan (NS), Richard Howard (RH), Commissioners. Also Present: Chris Reilly (CR), Town Planner; Kelley Meier (KM), Recording Secretary. The Chair calls the meeting to order at 7:34 PM. MINUTES April 14th, 2003 RH moved to accept. PD seconded. Voted in favor, 4-0-0. STAFF BRIEFING Notification of Natural Resources Forum CR updates the Commission on notification for the Natural Resources Forum scheduled for 6.16.03 and the agenda for the Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) meeting on 6.11.03. Notice on the Forum has been distributed to the local media, Town Boards and Commissions and interested parties. CPDC Appointments CR explained that there is only one application for the CPDC opening so far from former CPDC member Susan DeMatteo, who looks to be the frontrunner in the application process. Several CPDC members also need to be sworn into the MAPC. JB mentioned that the Chair is up for rotation shortly and all the board members should be thinking of who will be so designated. 8:00 PM - Public Hearing: Site Plan Review/8 Walkers Brook Drive, Applicant - Petroleum Group Exxon William Golber is present from Bohler Engineering and gives a brief presentation. over proprietorship on March 31, 2003. Matt Smith from Bohler was at the last Design Review Team (DRT) meeting when the site plan was reviewed by Town staff. Some changes to the presented site plan reflect comments from the DRT. Currently autos are not serviced in the existing bays, but one bay is used for inspection stickers. There is some mature vegetation on the site, however, there is none in front. The site has been cleaned up a little to make it more presentable. The Applicant is taking the previously proposed drive-thru off the table right now. They have limited resources right now and increased profitability is needed from the convenience store to make the operation competitive with similar stores. The convenience store will sell prepackaged items. They will be renovating the existing footprint already on site and will be maintaining the current curb cuts. The Applicant is looking to improve the trash enclosure on the north side of the site. As a result of the DRT comments, one of the major site plan changes was the proposed alteration of parking adjacent to the rear kiosk to parallel spaces. The Applicant picked up 700 square feet of green space on the right side of the site plan by eliminating some of the unnecessary parking. MF arrived at 8:36 PM. CR updated the Commission on the minutes from the June 5 DRT meeting. One of the concerns was the amount of parking spots on site and the Applicant has reduced the amount. Mr. Golber shows some of the vegetation currently on the site. The trees need to be pruned but the large caliper Pine will remain. Another concern was the circulation of delivery trucks; the DRT advised a condition limiting access to Route 128. The property owner is Conoco Philips. Joe Delaney, Town Engineer saw the previously submitted plans and CR has not heard anything from him since the DRT meeting. There isn't any pedestrian access from Lakeview Avenue to the site now, so there isn't any plan for doing so. There are no proposed changes to the downspouts. No food preparation or changes to the footprint are proposed for the convenience store conversion. The back exterior of the building will have no changes, but the front of the building will have a new fagade with a predetermined color scheme. Public Comment -Doug, 155 Village Street: the two closest residences have small children and their safety is a major concern; what hours of operation would the convenience store have? Mr. Golber stated that the store would be open according to hours allowed by the General By-Laws. -Joyce, 151 Village Street: concerned about the existing glare from site at night- she can read in her bedroom with the lights on; has a problem with drugs being sold on the corner, along with the phone that occasionally rang; the former owner was very nice about shutting off some of the lights and the phone, but she doesn't want to deal with the blaring lights and the ringing phone again; it doesn't make any sense to put a convenience store right within a distance of another convenience store - where does all this nonsense end? RH would like to see the lights changed. One of the luminous culprits is on the lower right of the site plan; it glares in his rear view mirror and could cause a lot of accidents. Public Comment -Andy, 11 John Street Court: would like to have the lights comply with the By- Laws; would like to have more mature plantings to be used for sound and light buffering. There is nothing put in writing for the proposed 12' by 12' spot within the convenience store, but something could be put in there in the future. The store hours can be determined by CPDC. Public Comment -Andy, 11 John Street Court: are there going to be any beer or wine sales? -Mr. Prizio responded that no such retail is currently under consideration. NS was curious if it would be possible to put a stockade fence down the Lakeview Ave. lot line for screening. RH moved to continue the hearing to June 23rd at 9PM. NS seconds. The vote was favored 5-0-0. The Chair called for a 5 minute break. The Chair called the meeting back to order. Administrative Review 4 West Street - Mobil "On The Run" Approved Site Plan CR updated the Commission on matters concerning Conditions #4 and #8 from the Site Plan Decision: the location for a "'Welcome to Reading" sign and a temporary construction fence in lieu of the required stockade fence. Marlene Wolfe-is-present to-represent the Applicant. - Bill Hanson was also present. He showed some pictures to the Commission. There is a temporary, 6' orange silt fence up until the permanent one goes up. JB mentioned that the temporary fence is adequate for buffering during construction as 6' stockade fence goes up as required. The other issue for review is the "Welcome to Reading" sign. Bill Hanson is concerned with the signage congestion that is there now and proposes a spot on their property across the street. There was discussion about what kind of sign there should be and where it could be put. RH moved to modify item Conditions #4 and #8 as recommended. MF seconded. Voted in favor, 5-0-0. 680 Main Street - Venetian Moon Site Plan Waiver Request There is a draft Certificate of Action. CR updated the Commission regarding the Certificate of Action. Atty. Josh Latham, representing the Applicant, accepted all the Conditions that were listed. The Town Planner, Fire and Police Departments do not have any issues with granting the waiver. RH would like to propose 3 more items for the Certificate of Action: 6) Cooking will not be allowed in the basement. 7) Emergency lighting will be installed downstairs for safety. 8) Prior to an occupancy permit, the Town Planner and Fire Dept. representative will inspect the basement for proper safety requirements, and shall provide written documentation of compliance. NS seconds. Voted in favor, 5-0-0. RH moved to adjourn at 9.45 PM. PD seconded. Voted in favor, 5-0-0. These minutes were done by Kelley Meier, Recording Secretary, edited by Chris Reilly, Town Planner, and submitted to the Community Planning and Development Commission on June 30, 2003. These minutes were approved on June 30, 2003. Signed as approved, Michael Flammia