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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-09-22 Community Planning and Development Commission MinutesTown of Reading 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867-2683 Phone: 781-942-6612 Fax: 781-942-9071 Email: ckowalski@ci.reading.ma.us Community Planning and Development Commission CPDC MINUTES Meeting Dated: Septe ber 22, 2008 Location: Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town!Hall Time: 7:30 PM Members Present: David Tuttle (DT-),'Chairman; hlicholas Safina (lvS); -Secretary; J hn Sasso (JS), and John Weston (JW). Members Absent: Brant Ballantyne (BB) Associate members present: George Katsoufis (GK). Also Present: Carol Kowalski (CK), Town Planner; Abigail McCabe (AM), Staff Planner; and Michael Schloth, Recording Secretary. Ed Shaw, Dickenson Development Corp. Richard Batten, Batten Bros. Sign Company, 893 Main Street, Wakefield, MA There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Public Comment There were no comments from the public. Certificate of Appropriateness: 123 Haven Street Eastern Bank (was MassBank) Mr. Richard Batten of Batten Bros. Signs appeared for the Eastern Bank. Wall Si ns The applicant is seeking to change the bank's signage form "MassBank" to "Eastern Bank". Currently, there are two wall signs on the building that both face Haven Street: one over the main entrance and the other on the ATM's drive-through canopy. As the bylaws allow only one wall sign per facing street, the wall sign on the drive-through canopy would be taken down. Mr. Batten said Eastern Bank may go before the Zoning Board of Appeals at a later date for permission to put back the second wall sign on the drive through canopy. The wall sign would be halo lit with LED's inside the individual letters and logo reflecting back on the building. Mr. Batten assured the Board no light would shine through the letters or logo. The Town Planner noted sign illumination must be turned off at close of business. Mr. Batten said the lights would be controlled by a time clock and photocells: the time clock would allow the lights to be Page 1 of 4 CPDC Minutes of 9/22/08 on between 7:OOAM and 7:OOPM but the photocells would not turn the lights on unless it was dark anytime between those hours. In response to the Board's concerns regarding the brightness of the halo lighting, Mr. Batten said the amount of light reflecting off the building would be low and he could supply a specification sheet if the Board wanted to know the exact wattage and/or lumens. He added he expected the brightness could be adjusted after installed if the Board thought they were to bright. Directional Signs The Board noted there were no directional signs mentioned in the application. Mr. Batten said they would be changed to show the "Eastern Bank" name, logo, and colors but he did not include them in the application with the wall sign replacement because he did not think it necessary and the signs would not be illuminated. He added he did bring have the plans for the directional signs with him if the Board would like to see them. The Board briefly reviewed the plans which consisted of pictures of various parking lot entrance and exit signs, "customer parking only" signs, and a "caution pedestrians sign between the two lanes of the drive-through. The consensus of the Board was the "Enter" and "Exit" signs were fine if they were the proper size but the Board would need more information about the dimensions "customer parking only" signs which appeared to be too large. Mr. Batten said he was sure the bank would be happy to change the sizes of the signs to meet bylaw requirements. The Board also directed that a large freestanding sign at the north edge of the site be removed. Adjacent PropertX Mr. Batted said the building in the adjacent property (on Haven closer to Main Street) is the bank's administration building and it has one small sign above its entrance that needs to be replaced. The Board said because the second building was at a different address, a separate request for a Certificate of Appropriateness would have to be submitted. JS moved the Board approve a Certificate of Appropriateness for the wall sign and directional signs at 123 Haven Street as shown in the plans presented tonight with the following conditions. • The signs on the fences will be removed and replaced with appropriately sized signs and the plans for these signs will be resubmitted to the Board for approval. • The freestanding sign at the north edge of the site will be removed. • This approval is for signs specified at address 123 Haven Street only. Signage for any other address will have to be submitted for the Board's approval separately. JW seconded. Voted Approved: 4:0:0. Request for Minor Modification: 25 Walkers Brook Drive Stop & Shop Page 2 of 4 CPDC Minutes of 9/22/08 NS moved the Board approve the proposed site changes as described both in a letter from the applicant dated 9/17/08 and a memo from the Conservation Administrator dated 8/22/08 as minor modifications to the site plan review decision of 25 Walkers Brook Drive (Stop & Shop) dated 5/8/2006. JS proposed as a friendly amendment the Board wants to see climbing vines planted on the parking- lot side of the fence in lieu of planting grass in the area of the swale. JS seconded. Voted Approved: 4:0:0. Request for Minor Modification: 1349 Main Street, White Hen Pantry The applicant was not present. No one representing the applicant was present. The applicant is requesting latitude in the disposition of certain trees which may have to be removed to provide for a second dumpster. The Town Planner suggested that the CPDC would want to allow a modification that A) retained the trees, allowed for one dumpster, and entertained the possibility of a second dumpster; or B) required one dumpster only with a stipulation that the one dumpster would be emptied more frequently. The consensus of the Board that it was amenable to one or two dumpsters but the trees should remain and if the applicant wants a second dumpster then the applicant must come back before the CPDC. Furthermore, the use and frequency-of-dumping should be specified. Gateway Smart Growth 40R District Update The Town Planner reported that National Development should before the Board soon - probably October with a site plan review for the Addison-Wesley site. She noted that National Development had submitted a more detailed application form which could also serve as a progress checklist. The submittal would not include the offices or town houses. Downtown Smart Growth Downtown 40R District The Town Planner reported there were no new developments. She is still awaiting the consultant's report. She and the Staff Planner have taken photographs of neighboring towns' downtowns as graphic examples the consultant could use in preparing the district's design guidelines. South Main Street Design Guidelines The Board was in agreement that the latest draft looks great. The next step is to decide what can be done through the guidelines and what would require zoning changes. JS suggested a handout should be prepared from the guidelines to be distributed at Town Meeting. The Board agreed. JS further suggested that the Board should provide specific dates of when the Board will schedule zoning workshops on particular changes to South Main. NS suggested booking a table at Town Meeting. The Board agreed this was a good idea. Page 3 of 4 CPDC Minutes of 9/22/08 Review of ZBA Cases The only new case was 7 Bradford Road which concerns the non-conforming setback of a porch. The consensus of the Board was that it would defer to the judgment of the building inspector. Other Business The Board agreed to schedule a new meeting - a planning subcommittee meeting - on October 6, 2008. The meeting is to be devoted to design guidelines and preparing for Town Meeting. No minutes were reviewed by the Board. JS moved to adjourn. NS seconded Motion Approved: 4:0:0. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM. These minutes were prepared by Michael Schloth and are a faithful representation of the 9/22/2008 CPDC meetin . Recording Secretary Page 4 of 4