HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board Meeting Minutes 03.16.10
DRAFT
PLANNING BOARD
Minutes of the Meeting
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Town Hall, 120 Main Street
Top floor conference room
7:00 PM
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Members present: John Simons, Chairman
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Richard Rowan, regular member
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Timothy Seibert, regular member
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Courtney LaVolpicelo, regular member
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Michael Colantoni, alternate member
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Member absent: Michael Walsh, regular member
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Staff present: Judy Tymon, Town Planner
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Mary Ippolito, Recording Secretary
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Chair called the meeting to order at approximately 7:10 pm and announced that
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Michael Walsh is absent tonight.
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Chair announced the following POSTPONEMENT:
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CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING:
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T-Mobile Northeast, LLC (formerly Omnipoint Communications, LLC) 15 Commerce
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Way, North Andover, MA is requesting renewal of the following Telecommunication
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Special Permits.
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Renewal of Special Permit for First Calvary Baptist Church
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Renewal of Special Permit for 723 Osgood Street
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Renewal of Special Permit for Johnson Street
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Chair called for the following DISCUSSION:
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Zoning information for Annual Town Meeting.
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Judy: The April 6 Planning Board agenda will contain ten Town Meeting Warrant
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Articles. Legal notices were prepared and given to the legal notice department of the
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Lawrence Tribune to be advertised on March 23rd and 30. Hasn’t received a list of
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warrant articles the PB is going to be asked to make a recommendation for, however,
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should have that list by the April 6 PB meeting.
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Chair: May 11 is Town Meeting date. Make sure if there is any word-smithing on
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articles do it in advance of the next meeting, we don’t want to hold over any articles, a
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few will have citizen input such as wireless bylaw, also have Atty. Urbelis attend the
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April 6 meeting. Get the order of the agenda out fairly early. Put the things that have
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the most public interest on the agenda up front.
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Chair called for CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING:
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Elm Development Services, 1275 Turnpike Street,
Site Plan Special Permit and
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Continuing Care Retirement Center Special Permit to construct a 125-unit apartment
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CCRC within the V-R zoning district.
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Judy: traffic plan was discussed at the last 2 meetings and they were resolved. Storm
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water Plan has been discussed and resolved, Lisa Eggleston recommended the applicant
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to get a storm water prevention plan and PD should review the plan and condition it.
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Con/Com had concern about plant species, but revised list is fine. VHB reviewed all
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issues on civil engineering side which has been resolved. Size of loading area - there’s
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nothing specific required in zoning for CCRC, the loading area they designate is
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sufficient. They need to do ANR application to merge lots back together. Waiver
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requested for number of parking spaces, 125 units, one parking space per unit is required.
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Applicant asking for 97 parking spaces. Options for retaining wall for front and rear will
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be discussed. Frontage requirement is located in retaining wall; PB could minimize the
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parking spaces.
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Jason Robertson: Elm Development Corp. was present to answer questions.
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Chris Huntress, landscaping architect: plan provides for entry sign, street trees every 50
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feet on entry. Front of building has native plant material. Parking area in front - added a
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landscape island, put the retaining wall and planted generous plants and parking lighting.
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State asked for some native plantings to be done. Retaining walls are 6 feet in height on
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the back side. Mr. Huntress handed out drawings tonight. Retaining wall is filled with
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crush stone. Look at the walls located by the Fire Station in Andover, MA they are made
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of pre-cast concrete product witch makes up that retaining wall.
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Chair: on the back of the property, 10 years from now, what will it look like? Mr.
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Huntress: seed mix specified for plants to get 12 feet, dogwood; within 3 years height of
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plant materials will overtake the walls; you might not realize there are 6-foot wall
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terraces there. Benches located along front of drop off area. Eighteen-foot pole lighting
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fixture, other are 12 foot tall fixtures, used around entry ways to accent arrival traffic.
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Dumpster located around the back. The plantings have been reviewed w/Jennifer Hughes
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of Conservation Dept.
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Chair: Judy did our engineer look at the retaining wall? John Burrows, Engineer from
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Marchionda, put together a generic plan showing cross sections of that area, there is
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preliminary engineering done regarding the wall. The vendor will submit drawings and
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engineering plans to go along with their product.
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Chair: talk about parking. Mr. Huntress: 97 parking spaces proposed, 125 units
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proposed, require 125 parking spaces. Parking demand is significantly less for
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Alzheimer’sunit. Requires a waiver for 97 parking spaces. If he went above that
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number he would have to push further against the slope. Chair: is there a spot on this site
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to put 10 more parking spaces? If we did 97 spaces and needed another 10 where would
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we put them? Mr. Burrow’s: there is a stretch of an island where we could put more
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parking spaces.
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RR: if 97 is not enough what would you do? Mr. Burrows: would have to have
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something at lower left side of the site, but there is drainage there, there is a5% grade but
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couldput some extra parking there. Mr. Huntress: based on this use the parking ratio is
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.5 to .6 spaces per unit, we’re significantly higher than that with the 97 spaces. Chair;
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wants to make sure this is documented, and also employees may have to park off-site.
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RR: don’t want more than required for the facility, but it doesn’t look like there is any
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room for error. .Four and .six are those the requirements for this facility? Section 8 off-
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site parking is a different calculation. Chair: go to were there is a more specific use
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directly for what you have.
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Chair; include to go w/level one to say you’re in compliance. RR: if you have a nicer
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facility w/one-half dozen fewer parking spaces then leave it that way.
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Mr. Huntress: will work w/Judy to come to some arrangement that would be
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agreeable.
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Judy: set aside a few spaces for public parking for access of open space. It’s a tight spot
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at western corner where wetland replication is. Flood mitigation is in that corner. Put in
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the slopes exactly the way you have them on the plan.
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Judy: Photometric plan was submitted, address the lighting. Eighteen- foot poles across
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the front - the cast of the light is on the direction of the building, they will be on a timer
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to shut down 10pm or 11pm at night. Parking lights will be turned off. Driveway comes
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in back of the building, dumpster, service area.
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Chair: look at building architecture. Mr. Huntress: elevation will be seen from Turnpike
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Street, brick and clapboard. First floor is about 15 feet above the street. Chair: Building
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material roof? Engineer: specific selections have not been made. Mixture of brick,
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clapboard, shingles, roof is asphalt shingles.
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Chair: window treatment what is the style? Engineer: handed out a drawing containing
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Metal windows - heavy duty.
similar character of proposed windows/structure.
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Engineerwill ask architect and get back to the PB
. Chair: doesn’t want an
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institutional look, but we want to be sure that what we see is what we get.
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Judy: talked about parking waiver, earth removal is not required; phase development is
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not required, requested waiver of community impact and fiscal analysis.
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Chair: will you continue to pay real estate taxes on the property? Applicant: stated his
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company is not developers and flippers.
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Chair: Judy contact the
Judy: ANR approval will be a requirement of the decision.
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Trustees about who owns open space. Judy: do we want to hold a conservation
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restriction, or ask trustee if they want to take it over? Get a clear direction before
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decision is done.
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Mr. Huntress: trying to get this hearing closed, but hopefully you will be willing to draft
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a decision. Chair: why? This would put PB in an awkward position if something comes
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up. RR: applicant submitted everything there are no open issues he’s not in opposition to
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closing public hearing.
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Motion by RR to close the public hearing tonight 2 by CL, vote was unanimous.
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Henry Fink, abutter, looks at this project every day, water completely flooded the area.
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When this gets done that will be impervious material and there will be very little
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impervious soil to stop a lot of water from coming down. Water washed his dirt into the
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stream. Find a way to let the water come slowly. Chair; discussed this the last time. Mr.
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Marchionda said he would make the post development situation better not make it worse.
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Mr. Fink: wants to put the building up on stilts 10 feet or 15 feet.
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John Burrows, engineer: underground tension area and recharge area has been designed
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underneath the parking area, he is mitigating storm water for this project. Did a
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watershed study coming down to culvert and combined that with his study to make sure
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the peek flow coming off the site doesn’t have other impact. Four or five peer reviews
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have been done by engineers on this project.
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Judy: Con/Com required a maintenance plan on this project.
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DISCUSSION:
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Chair: referring to a letter to the editor in the Citizen newspaper by Mr. Tryder that
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castigated the PB for all sorts of things, but went further than that. Wanted to respond
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specifically, very carefully, so that he will read these remarks and PB can talk about what
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we put in the newspaper, this is the proposed letter.
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Steven Tryder’s latest letter to the editor criticizes the North Andover Planning Board for
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the Board’s open meeting discussion of an application filed for a wireless
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communications facility. However, Mr. Tryder also wrote: “Please be careful not to
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refer to the minutes of the meeting, which are coincidently written up without a tape
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recorder by the Planning Department secretary, who just happens to be the wife of a
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member of the ZBA who consistently votes against responsible regulation of cell
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towers.” Criticizing the Planning Board whose meetings are broadcast on local
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television, because he does not agree with the Planning Board’s decision is one thing.
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However, he is totally out of line to impugn the integrity of a valued town employee. To
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insinuate that she would alter the minutes of a televised meeting to conform to her
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husband’s actions on another volunteer Town Board is outrageous, demeaning and
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insulting and requires an immediate written retraction by Mr. Tryder.
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Chair: we can send this as a PB or by himself. Upset, this has gone well beyond the pale
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but he wants to be very careful and measured in our response because he doesn’t want to
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engage in arguments unlike other people, he wants to stick to the facts but this is really
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the kind of a personal attack that can’t go un-responded to.
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RR: listened to what you just said and thinks it appropriate, thinks that Mr. Tryder’s
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behavior here and in the newspaper is disingenuous, cowardly and it’s flat out wrong…he
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doesn’t understand why he chooses to harm people knowingly, to further an agenda that
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factually has no basis on many occasions, the letter as you wrote it is appropriate and
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sticks to the point and says what you need to say and stops – it should be sent by the PB
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and as Chairman you can send it and we can all agree with it. RR: thinks this one needs to
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be addressed.
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TS: in all Mr. Tryder’s letters he constantly pulls out bits of information and presents it in
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a way that portrays us in his words as unethical - should we stand up and say that’s not
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true?
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RR: thinks PB has done that, honestly, doesn’t believe as many times as we can respond
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to Mr. Tryder by letters to the newspaper it’s an exercise in futility, when he’s been here
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the facts don’t matter to him. RR: not suggesting that PB is going to sway him. RR: not
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convinced that a never ending battle of letters in the Citizen is the answer. This one is
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necessary - it’s clear and to the point in addressing a specific instance, we need to maybe
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decide for ourselves as a Board or individually how we are going to approach continued
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misstatements and characterizations that he puts forth that PB believes is false, if need be
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we may consider stronger action other than a letter to the newspaper because that’s just
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pure folly.
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MC: agrees it’s an appropriate response, also agrees that we don’t want to have a one for
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one exchange in the newspaper at least not now, there are other avenues.
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Chair; we have a public hearing processes, we’re very transparent in the way we do
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things, we’re very open, despite what he may say, it’s a very open process and thinks
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we’re fair. Mr. Tryder has a constitional free speech right to ask questions, he can point
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out issues, but in the public hearing process that’s where we deal with merits of the facts
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and that’s the venue in which we should respond, but when it becomes personal that’s
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where we have to step out and this is very personal and it’s uncivil and it’s not the
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appropriate way you deal with people in the community like this.
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RR: there are people who have disagreed with our decisions and that’s their right, there
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are many people in this particular issue who absolutely, positively believe that we’re
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wrong, that is their right to believe that, overwhelming majority of people who believe
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PB is wrong is quit civil in their criticism and are sticking to the facts of the issues where
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we debate the relative merits of PB decision, has no problem if anyone disagrees with the
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decision he has made. That’s their right to free speech and the right to their thought
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process and we interpret Bylaws differently and that’s ok, if they are not clearly enough
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written and there is room for interpretation then different people can interpret it in
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different ways and has found that the over-whelming majority of people who have
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disagreed with us have done so honestly, openly, fairly and in a spirit of, if disagreement,
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of trust, and respect and that’s perfectly fine but not the way Mr. Tryder is going about it
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because it’s absolutely wrong.
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Chair: will send the letter tomorrow.
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Approve March 2, Minutes of the Meeting.
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Motion by RS, 2 by CL to approve March 2 Minutes, vote was unanimous.
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Motion by RS to adjourn 2 by TS, the meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 pm.
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By order of the Planning Board
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Approved
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Please note: The Planning Board reserves the right to take items out of order and to
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discuss/or vote on items that are not listed on the agenda
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