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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMPIC Minutes 3-15-21 Minutes: Master Plan Implementation Committee, March 15, 2021 In Attendance (via Google Meet): Members Kelly Cormier(Chair), Stan Limpert (Vice-Chair), Chris Nobile, Meredith Barnes-Cook, Sean McDonough, Jon Strauss, Hollie Williams, JayDowd, and George Koehler Absent: None. Staff: Andrew Shapiro (Director of Community and Economic Development), Jean Enright (Planning Director), and Dan Beckley(Staff Planner) Immediately prior to calling the meeting to order at 5:OOpm, Kelly Cormier read aloud the following statement: Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law,G.L. c. 30A, §18, and the Governor's March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitations on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Master Plan Implementation Committee will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Specific information and the general guidelines for remote participation by members of the public and/or parties with a right and/or requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the Town's website, at www.northandoverma.gov. For this meeting, members of the public who wish to watch the meeting may do so on their televisions by tuning to Comcast Channel 99 or Verizon Channel 28 or online at www.northandovercam.org. No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the Town of North Andover website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. If the public would like to participate in public hearings please email your question/comment prior to or during the meeting to ashapirognorthandoverma.gov. The question/comment will be read during the proceedings and responded to accordingly. Public Comment Ms. Cormier asked Andrew Shapiro if he had received any comments from the public. Mr. Shapiro said that no comments had been submitted as of the start of the meeting. Approval of minutes of the February 1, 2021 meeting Mr. Shapiro noted that he forgot to link the minutes from the previous meeting. He suggested that the Committee vote on the minutes at the next scheduled meeting. Presentation and Discussion: Propgjtq Ro t Plan The committee welcomed three members representing the proposed redevelopment of the Royal Crest Estates property: James Keefe and Michael Lozano of Trinity Financial and Greg Lane of NextGen Strategies - a public affairs firm representing Trinity. Meredith Barnes-Cook recused herself from the meeting as a direct abutter who felt a conflict of interest in discussing the project as a member of the MPIC at 5:10. According to Michael Lozano, the project began as a renovation of the existing 77 acre apartment complex. It was soon clear that improving the 55 buildings and dozens of garages and carports was not economically feasible. Few cared about conserving energy or preserving wetlands, when the project was built in the early 1970's. Today it suffers from poor vehicular and pedestrian circulation. There are no sidewalks. With so much impermeable paving, poor drainage abounds. Single pane windows and asbestos tainted insulation call for costly renovation in buildings that were rigidly designed two and three bedroom units for the 70's renter. Several buildings encroached on wetlands, as part of a meandering woodland layout that defied drivability. Mr. Lozano moved quickly to the amenities his company planned for a complete rebuild of the site. He described a live /work/play environment open during the day and evening for public use. He called the design endurable/walkable/ sustainable. The plan includes new multifamily residential units, commercial space, office space, student space and hotel space. All of the project will organize around a new town green. The hotel's design is reminiscent of the Hanover Inn in Dartmouth and the Vicking Hotel in Newport. Buildings close to the street will be mixed use residential with 75k square feet of retail on the first floors. Buildings will step down in height as the project moves from its Route 114 frontage to the wetlands buffer in the rear. The goal is to fit those perimeter buildings into existing neighborhood designs as closely as possible. Many of these buildings will be available for single family ownership. Mr. Lozano touted the wide buffer between the project and the neighborhood. The plan is to preserve all of the older forest growth and rebuild the wetlands based on current conservation law. Plans for the buffer call for walking trails that provide residents and visitors with a brief encounter with nature after a meal served in one of the cafes or restaurants planned nearby. Walkability was the developer's mantra. Cycling, as well, figures into the design which reimagines life along route 114. Mr. Lozano then addressed the relevance of the Town's Master Plan in the proj ect's design. He used a number of the Plan's elements to outline his remarks: First and foremost was Housing. Families of all means will be afforded the chance to join the new community which will include 96 units of affordable housing, 135 units for seniors, and townhouses for families who prefer to own. Additionally, the number of students who already occupy Royal Crest units will grow from 800 to 1,000 involving a management partnership with Merrimack College. He used the term "friendly 40-B"to describe the relationship the Town could soon enjoy with the State of Massachusetts and its required 10% affordability of the housing stock. With new favorable affordable housing numbers, the Town can retain control of density in reviewing future development proposals. Housing density for this project is detailed on the Town website home page; click Royal Crest. Regarding the Transportation element he called attention to efforts to enhance public transportation by connecting the project with the train station in Lawrence and bus routes to Boston. Negotiations to expand connections with MVTA are ongoing. And Mr. Lozano discussed the developers' collaboration with the Mass DOT $25M improvement project designs for upcoming renovations of the Rt. 114 and Rt. 125 intersections. Work focuses on drastically improving safety of the intersections with both Merrimack College's and the proj ect's entrances and exits. New and widened sidewalks on both sides of Route 114 as well as useful bicycle lanes are a priority. Considering the element of Economic Development, Mr. Lozano noted that he expects the project to broaden the Town's tax base by a factor of 6 based on the current revenue generated by Royal Crest. The project will create hundreds of construction jobs and strengthen demand for local businesses. Addressing the Open Space and Recreation element, Mr. Lozano again touted the no-build buffer doubling the conservation land and creating passive recreation opportunities. The drawings show wooden bridges criss crossing the restored wetlands connecting nature trails. Better stormwater management means all season access. Once again walkability was the operative word. He expects the town green, which will be open to the public, to get people out of their cars for a refreshing walk. Questions: Jon Strauss asked if the buildings would be LEED Certified. The partners' collective answer was no, but. They explained the electric systems for heat and air will operate with appropriate levels of insulation, double glass, and high efficiency HVAC. The roofs will be solar ready and low VOC materials used to build will assure healthy indoor air quality. Trinity/Aimco, we were assured, takes great pride in its multi family green buildings that reflect their concern for environmental sustainability. Jon also asked about sidewalks. The DOT and Merrimack plan a shared use path along the entire boundary of the college along Rt. 114 as a part of the intersection design. As far as "our side" is concerned, the partners explained their plan to allow DOT to encroach to accommodate a wider path. The traffic plan includes all means of safe walking, cycling, car sharing, and public transit. Hollie Williams asked if a pedestrian bridge might take the place of the existing crosswalk with signals. James Keefe informed us the answer was no. The only design acceptable to the State will have to be 16 feet high with hundreds of feet of ramp access. He described a bridge, he felt, no one would use given the effort it would take a pedestrian to cross it. Hollie referenced the heavily used bridge over Rt. 125 between the High School and McDonalds. Mr. Keefe acknowledged the bridge but made no comparison. George Koehler asked the development team to explain "activating 114." They used the recurring theme of walkability to answer. There was much detailing of sidewalks and cycle lanes made possible with "vastly improved infrastructure"which included storm water run off, and new sewer, water and drain pipes. To address his question of how the diagrams of Routes 114 and 125 they presented are different from the existing configuration, they described improving the line up of the project driveway with Rt. 125 to eliminate the existing jug handle. Stan Limpert asked for a comparison of projected tax revenue and how many new students will need seats in North Andover schools. The team reiterated the expected multiple of 6 times current revenues but advised it best to wait for financial impact studies and school capacity studies, which are in progress, to better answer the question. Jon Strauss asked if Merrimack has a financial interest in the project. The team described the planned student housing as a"public private partnership." They did not call it a college dormitory; rather, a "Merrimack facility." Kelly Cormier asked if a partnership with North Andover youth sports was in the making. The answer was no. Jay Dowd asked if Town officials had a read on abutters' support of the project given the developers' emphasis on the significantly wider, conservationist minded buffer. The answer is simply it is too early to tell. Public hearings will identify abutters' concerns. In a matter unrelated to the project, he asked if the recommended"Complete Streets"policy will affect Columbia Gas funded street repairs scheduled for the upcoming building season. The answer is no. Meredith Barnes-Cook returned to the meeting at 6:32 PM Report out on quarterly report presentations Ms. Cormier noted that she, Mr. Strauss, and Mr. Limpert provided updates to the Planning Board and Select Board through presentation of the Committee's last quarterly report. The recommendation of having the Town adopt a Complete Streets policy was presented and was well received. Mr. Dowd asked about leveraging Complete Streets funding against the Columbia Gas funding available for street and sidewalk construction. Mr. Shapiro explained that the Town now needs to adopt a Complete Streets policy, after which time it will have to bring on a consultant to develop a priority list of projects to undertake. After that process is complete, which will take some time, the Town can pursue Complete Streets funding for capital projects. New Business Kelly Cormier asked that the subcommittees meet to discuss the project in regards to the Master Plan elements they are reviewing. Next MPIC meeting: Monday April 12. Adjournment Motion: Kelly Cormier made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Chris Nobile. Motion approved by a vote of 9-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM.