Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-24 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesTown of Reading 16 Lowell Street T0`y~S CLUCK Reading, MA 01867-2683 r, D I G MASS- Phone: 781-942-6612 Fax: 781-942-9071 ry '1 t2. Email: jdelios@ci.readmg.ma.us { tSi► G 1 Community Planning and Development Commission CPDC MINUTES Meeting Dated: May 24, 2010 Location: Selectmen's Meeting Room Time: 7:30 PM Members Present: Nicholas Safina (NS), Chairman; John Weston (JW), Secretary; Joseph Patterson (JP), and David Tuttle (DT). Associate Members Present: George Katsoufis (GK) Also Present: Jean Delios (JD), Town Planner; Abigail McCabe (AM), Staff Planner, and Michael Schloth (MS), Recording Secretary. Ms. Gwen Noyes, Oaktree Development Selectman Ben Tafoya, 40 Oak Street Ms. Sheila Clarke, 536 Haverhill Street Ms. Meghan Young, 40 Oak Street Mr. Phil Terzis, Oaktree Development Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, 47 County Road Mr. Zach Ryan, Agnoli Signs, 722 Worthington Street, Springfield, MA There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:40 PM. Public Comment None. Public Hearing: Site Plan Review (Continued) 30 Haven Street, Oaktree Development Representing Oaktree Development was Ms. Gwen Noyes, Mr. Phil Terzis and others. Oaktree provided some answers to questions raised at the last meeting. Shadows: their study shows that throughout the year shadows would have very little impact on surrounding buildings and no shadows would fall on abutting, non-commercial buildings. Noise from rooftop mechanicals (e.g. HVAC): Atlantic Supermarket's rooftop mechanicals sat unshielded on a low roof. Oaktree's roof will be higher and its mechanicals will be behind acoustic shielding. Monolithic rear wall: depending on the unit mix, more bay windows, `balconies may be added to break up the facade. Regarding the right-of-way connecting Haven Street and the municipal parking lot, Ms Noyes suggested scheduling a meeting with abutters and town representatives to come to some resolution. The Board of Selectmen wants it to remain two-way. Oaktree wants it to be one-way so a sidewalk can be constructed. Oaktree suggested the one-way direction they propose could be reversed if that would address the Selectmen's and abutters' concerns. Page 1 of 5 CPDC Minutes of 5/24/2010 Oaktree would be hiring various consultants to review parts of the plan. An acoustic engineer would review the enclosure of the rooftop mechanicals. A traffic engineer would review the impact of making the right-of-way connecting Haven Street and the parking lot one-way, the impact of the proposed sidewalk bump-out, the impact of changes to the parking lot (loading area, trees, turning radii) etc.... Finally, a geotechnical engineer would review the groundwater issues. A member of Oaktree's team said he had met with the Town Engineer regarding the site's grading issues and the existing drainage lines. Regarding drainage, he said Oaktree would be reducing the peak rate of runoff from the site and would meet all requirements of both the town and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He said he would like to meet at least one more time with the Town Engineer before reporting to the CPDC. The Board asked if the Town Engineer had submitted a report. The Town Planner said the Town Engineer is waiting for Oaktree to provide more details before he makes his report. The Board noted there are still many outstanding issues with the parking. One is if the groundwater situation can be adequately addressed to allow underground parking. Another is how visitor parking will be accommodated - especially overnight visitors in the winter months. The Board did not want the problem pushed onto the road commissioners (i.e. the Selectmen) and expected some kind of accommodation from Oaktree. Ms. Noyes said a few spaces possibly could be made available in the underground garage if security issues could be addressed. She suggested this issue be revisited at a later date. The Board also requested Oaktree provide a plan on how to accommodate requests of its commercial tenants for employee parking. The Board discussed the maintenance of the various landscape features. Ms. Noyes said bollards might .be erected to protect trees planted at grade from plows but the biggest issue would be road salt. Oaktree would be willing to maintain the trees etc. but requested the town find an alternative to road salt at least when salting in the vicinity of this site. Selectman Ben Tafoya said the maintenance issues would be reviewed by the Board of Selectmen. The Board noted it would be looking closely at how the building and site would be illuminated: glow and glare should be eliminated or at least minimized. The Town Planner and CPDC wanted more detailed plans from Oaktree. Ms. Noyes said the issue is as she reported at the previous meeting: those in charge of the financing the project need assurance that the project has zoning approval. The Chair asked if by zoning approval she meant the zoning for the project had to be in place, or did she mean the CPDC must approve the project's site plan review. She replied it meant the former at least: the town should confirm that the project conforms to its 40R zoning. After discussion, the CPDC decided a letter offering that assurance might be drafted. The Town Planner said she would put the matter before Town Counsel. The CPDC and Town Planner emphasized that certain issues must be addressed before this letter could be issued: all town departments must have submitted reports on the project (deadline for reports is June 11, 2010); Oaktree must decide on the type (rental or condominium) and number of residential units; Oaktree must submit a letter requesting.a density waiver; the consultants' reports must be submitted (especially the geotechnical engineer regarding the feasibility of underground parking), and at least a general plan of design and materials must be submitted. Page 2 of 5 CPDC Minutes of 5/24/2010 Ms. Noyes said the consultant reports should be ready by the next meeting (6/14/2010) but details on construction materials may not be ready until July. NS moved the Board continue the site plan review of 30 Haven Street until 611412010 at 7:30 pm. DT seconded and the motion passed 4: 0: 0. Request for Master Signage Plan: 25 Walkers Brook Drive, Stop & Shop Mr. Zach Ryan of Agnoli Signs appeared for Stop & Shop. Stop & Shop is changing its logo and look. The total signage on the building will be reduced from appox. 468 square feet to approx. 394 square feet. At the level where the department signs were hung, a two-foot wide, purple band will be painted. The new department signs will be hung within this band. The new department signs will have while letters (originals were black). The new signs will be illuminated with soft-white LEDs. The size of the freestanding sign will not change but the sign panel will be swapped out. The existing red and green stop-light logo lights are white lenses with colored bulbs (red and green). The new lights will use white bulbs with colored lenses (red and green). The Board asked what the change in illuminated signage area would be. Mr. Ryan said the change would be from approx..254 square feet illuminated to 304 square feet illuminated. The consensus of the Board was that the proposal adds a lot more light to the site in an area that has generated many complaints from abutting residents about too bright lights and lights,not turned off. DT did not agree the extra lights would be an issue and noted the lights would be LEDs behind the signs' letters and the signs would be set far from the street and low on the fagade. GK suggested what Stop & Shop is proposing amounts to branding the building itself which is something new to Reading. DT did not see any difference between what Stop & Shop was proposing and the colored bands you see on the walls and canopies of gas stations. JW said his issue was not with the purple band but with the increase of illumination - the increase in the glow of the building. The Board asked Mr. Ryan to find out if there is a Stop & Shop close to Reading that has been changed to the new signage and illumination so the Board could visit it at night. The Board also asked Mr. Ryan for the lumen rating of all lights. Mr. Ryan agreed to provide this information. The Chair moved the Board continue the request for a Master Signage Plan for 25 Walkers Brook Drive until 611412010 at 8:30 pm. JP seconded and the motion passed 4:0:0. Later that evening, before the Board adjourned, Mr. Ryan came back with the following information. • The Stoneham, MA Stop& Shop has been changed to the new signage and illumination. • The stop-light logos are not illuminated today on Reading's Stop & Shop. He also pointed out that Meineke Care Care, Dunkin Donuts, Sovereign Bank; and Staples could all be considered branded buildings. Planning Work Session Sign By-Law Compliance & Enforcement Update and Discussion. Ms. Meghan Young and Ms. Sheila Clarke, chair and vice-chair of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) were present. Also present was Selectman Ben Tafoya. Page 3 of 5 CPDC Minutes of 5/24/2010 The Town Planner reported that the planning staff is in the process of inventorying sign violations in anticipation of the deadline by which all sign violations must be brought into compliance: July 1, 2010. So far, many are relatively minor and easily corrected window-sign violations and staff has designed a one-page sheet to help businesses come into compliance with the window-sign by-laws. But there are other violations that will require greater time and expense to correct. The Staff Planner had prepared a. summary of businesses in violation as of 5/20/2010 [see attached]: • Too many wall and/or freestanding signs: 11. • Internally illuminated signs without opaque backgrounds: 21. • Free-standing signs that do not meet the 20 foot side setback: 8. • Free-standing signs in Business-B or Residential zones: 12 to 15. • Window sign violations: 40. Violation notices have already been mailed to businesses. The members of the EDC said the inventory has revealed issues they and many business owners were not aware of and if the EDC had been aware of these issues it would have tried to address them in the article of sign by-law amendments presented to and approved by the last Town Meeting. The EDC members and Selectman Tafoya were here tonight to ask for the CPDC's support joining with the EDC and Selectmen to push off the July 1, 2010 deadline until after the violation inventory has been . completed and the pertinent Boards and Committees have had a chance to review the inventory to see where the problems lie and decide if it may be a better policy to address at least some of the violations through further changes to the sign by-law. The Chair did not think claiming ignorance was an excuse, but he agreed enforcement of the deadline should probably be postponed until the competed violation inventory could be reviewed. He noted that violators already have recourse to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He also emphasized that he would not want this to lead to the creation of multiple special conditions for specific properties i.e. spot zoning. The Board was not averse to further discussion on allowing free-standing signs within the 20 foot setback or on allowing Business-A businesses to have both a free-standing and a wall sign; however, it did express concern over sign proliferation. It noted that if changes were made to allow such signs, then changes should also be made to somehow adjust the sizes of the signs. DT noted that at some point the town has to enforce the rules. He further noted that the program to bring all signs into compliance has been in effect for over sixteen years. Five years ago the town reviewed signs with construction costs under a particular dollar amount for compliance; and the deadline for the more expensive signs was set down as July 1, 2010. He agreed there could be an expense associated with some of the changes but noted that is why businesses were given time to come into compliance, and why businesses with more expensive signs were given more time. The Chair noted the postponement would not be for a long time but only until after Town Meeting has had a chance to vote on any further, sign by-law changes - probably this Fall. He added it does not make sense to require businesses to make changes to correct violations that may no longer be violations in the near future. The Town Planner said a letter would be sent to business owners informing them the deadline for bringing their signage into compliance has been postponed until further notice. Page 4 of 5 CPDC Minutes of 5/24/2010 The Board took no action on this item. South Main Street Design Guidelines GK had provided the Board with a summary of his notes from prior discussions of the guidelines. He suggested that the Board come to an agreement on an action plan for developing and. implementing the guidelines. He further suggested testing the guidelines by creating models of the area using them and using the Staff Planner as an independent observer to critique the models. The discussion turned to shared parking. The Town Planner pointed out that currently there is nothing in the town's by-laws that would allow shared parking to be implemented in Reading. She suggested asking Town Counsel if there is a model by-law on shared parking Reading might use. JW noted that to make shared parking work deed restrictions would have to be imposed but currently there is no way for the town to do so. DT suggested the town needs a market in parking spaces and an active parking commission to oversee it. The Board agreed that it would have to better and more concretely define its vision for South Main so that the benefits of what the Board would like to implement there are made obvious to residents; without substantial approval from residents it would be difficult to win approval from Town Meeting. GK offered to collect the Board's ideas and suggestions. The Board took no action on this item. Other Business Resignation of CPDC member Clair Paradiso The Chair reported he had received Clair Paradiso's letter of resignation and had forwarded it to the Town Planner. He said he would forward it to the other members of the Board tomorrow. Approval of the minutes of 5/10/2010 The Board did not address this item. Update: 285 Main Street, Perfecto's Cafe Town Planner reported that Perfecto's will be back before the Conservation Commission on 6/2/2010 and there is an issue the CPDC may want to address. The Conservation Commission may require a fence to restrict access to the rear section of the site. JW took issue with this possible requirement. He noted it should be a global concern of the Board not to restrict foot traffic between sites. The Board agreed. The Chair moved the Board recommend to the Conservation Commission that a fence not be required at the boundary of 285 Main Street. DT seconded and the motion passed 4:0:0. DT moved to adjourn. JW seconded and the motion was carried 4:0:0. The meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m. These minutes were prepared by Michael Schloth and submitted to the CPDC on June 14, 2010; these minutes were approved as amended/presented by the CPDC on June 14, 2010. eston, Secretary to Date Page 5 of 5 Sign Violations Summary We have inventoried 138 establishments as of May 20, 2010. The remaining 70 or so downtown businesses are slated to be inventoried by the end of the month (one side of Main, Haven, Woburn and High Streets). 'Of the 138, there are a total of 92 businesses with sign violations (67% of the businesses). SIGNS IN BUSINESS-A ZONING DISTRICT: A lot which contains not more than one establishment shall be allowed one free-standing sign or one wall sign or one projecting sign only. 11 Violators (8 on south Main Street, 3 on north Main Street near Franklin Street) INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SIGNS WITHOUT OPAQUE BACKGROUNDS: 21 Violators (13 on south Main Street, 1 on north Main Street, Toni Walkers Brook Drive) FREE-STANDING SIGNS THAT DO NOT MEET THE 20 FT SIDE YARD SETBACK: 8 Violators • Argeros Insurance (not installed according to permit) • Building with Elyse Jewelers Gregory's • Dynamik Sports (not installed according to permit) • European Skin Care • Bank of America (ATM) (noted on permit it must be brought into compliance by July 1St) • Dandi Lyons. • Reading Petroleum WINDOW SIGNS: 40 Violators FREE-STANDING SIGNS IN BUSINESS-B OR RESIDENTIAL ZONES: Approximately 12- 15 • Seat Cover Mart • Anton's Cleaners & Paint Store with the Purple Door • Family Dentistry (home office on Woburn St.) • Eric's Green House • Meadow Brook Golf Club • Douglas Funeral Home • Dougherty Funeral Home • Daily Times Chronicle • Reading Square Auto. • Couple of other home offices/Wobum Street