HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-07-01 Planning Board Minutes Town of North Andover
PLANNING BOARD
Eitan Goldberg, Chair •• Sean Kevlahan
John Simons Christopher Koskores
Peter Boynton Kate Kelly,Associate
Tuesday July 1, 2025 (a), 7 p.m., 120 Main Street— Town Hall,North Andover,MA 01845
1 Present/Planning Board: E. Goldberg,J. Simons,P. Boynton, S.Kevlahan,C.Koskores,K. Kelly,Associate
2 Absent:
3 Staff Present: J. Enright
4
5 E. Goldman Chairman: The Planning Board meeting for July 1,2025,was called to order at 7 p.m.
6
7 CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING
8 Rt. 125/11t. 133 Intersection Town of North Andover: Application for a Watershed Special Permit under Article 4 Part 5
9 and Article 10 195-10.7 of the Town of North Andover Zoning Bylaw. Applicant proposes geometric modifications to the
10 intersection of Osgood Street and Great Pond Road, installation of ADA/AAB compliant pedestrian crossings at the
11 signalized intersection with accessible signals,countdown signal heads,and crosswalks at all four intersection legs. Also,
12 installation of new sidewalks and crosswalks,utility system adjustments,drainage system modification and other associated
13 improvements.The property is located in the Watershed Protection District,Residential 1,Business 2,Industrial and
14 General Business zoning districts.
15 Jake Carmody,PE Vanasse Associates: All stormwater documents have been peer reviewed by Horsley Witten Group and
16 accepted;no additional response is required. As a result of that process a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan will be
17 required and all catch basins(existing&new)will have deep sumps and hoods to support the stormwater quality
18 improvements.
19 J.Enright: Board has no additional questions. Peer review is complete; a draft decision has been prepared.
20 J. Simons: Questioned when construction will begin.
21 J. Carmody: Project construction is scheduled for this summer and fall.
22 J. Enright:No public questions or comments were received.
23 MOTION: S. Kevlahan made a motion to close the public hearing for Rt. 125/Rt.133 Intersection. J. Simons seconded the
24 motion. The vote was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
25 MOTION: S. Kevlahan made a motion to approve the Watershed Special Permit for Rt. 125/Rt.133 Intersection. J. Simons
26 seconded the motion.The vote was 5-0, unanimous in favor.
27
28 DISCUSSION ITEMS
29 MassHousin2 Comprehensive Permit(40B)Site Approval Application: East Mill Housing LLC has submitted an
30 application for Site Approval. The proposed development consists of 296 units of rental housing on approximately 6.13 acres
31 of land located at 0 Prescott and 67 High Street. The Planning Board has the opportunity to submit comments and these
32 comments will be considered as part of MassHousing's eligibility review.
33 E. Goldberg: Provided an overview of what a Comprehensive Permit(40B) is and the process for its review. Explained that
34 towns are required to have 10%of their housing units to be affordable(as defined by Mass. General Law under Ch.40B). If
35 towns do not meet that 10%,(NA does not at 8.1%), a developer may submit a project avoiding the Planning Board special
36 permit process. MassHousing is a state agency that determines the appropriateness of the site by criteria review. If the site is
37 deemed suitable for 40B housing by MassHousing,the developer will submit a permit application to the Zoning Board of
38 Appeals(ZBA). The ZBA will hold hearings regarding this,considering items similar to the Dover Amendment or Limited
39 Site Plan Review, i.e.,size, bulk,height,setbacks. This application will not be heard by the Planning Board.MassHousing's
40 review process allows the community to submit comments. Read the"Findings List"by which MassHousing considers
41 comments. The Board is being asked to vote on and submit comments pertaining to criteria items B&C-whether the site is
42 appropriate for residential development meeting affordable housing needs and whether the conceptual project design is
43 generally appropriate for the site it is located on. We can offer provide high level commentary. Showed locus on site.Traffic
44 comments will be considered by the ZBA.
45 P. Boynton: Inquired as to how the 10%is calculated and what happens if a town does or doesn't meet it.
46 E. Goldberg: If this project is approved and constructed,we will be over the 10%.
47 J. Simons: This only counts units that are affordable under a specific definition. There are affordable units in North Andover
48 were built with no subsidies thus they don't count as affordable housing toward our inventory because they were privately
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Town of Noah Andover
PLANNING BOARD
Eitan Goldberg, Chair •• Sean Kevlahan
John Simons Christopher Koskores
Peter Boynton Kate Kelly,Associate
Tuesday July 1, 2025 (a, 7 p.m., 120 Main Street— Town Hall, North Andover, MA 01845
49 built which is seemingly unfair. Units must be formally documented with a deed restriction claiming affordability and exist in
50 perpetuity.
51 S. Kevlahan: Who calculates the 8.1%?
52 J. Enright: Once a year we submit changes or updates to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities;the state
53 produces the Subsidized Housing Inventory(SHI)list.Described site location at the East Mill Parking Garage at the corner of
54 0 Prescott St. and 67 High Street. The East Mill-Pond Building(Avalon Phase II) is adjacent and across High Street is
55 AvalonBay Phase I and Sutton Pond Condominiums.Project eligibility application has been filed with MassHousing for Site
56 Approval.As part of the process,the town is notified; there is no formal application before the town yet.Proposal consists of
57 296 rental housing units on 6.13 acres. The plan is to demolish the existing garage and replace it with two 4-5 story buildings
58 (2-wings)and a 4-5-story parking garage(in the middle of the wings)with 397 spaces which equates to 1.7 spaces per unit;
59 topography rises across the site. The building will appear to be 4 stories from Prescott Street and 5 stories from the interior of
60 the site. 74 of the 296 units will be affordable at or below 80%area median income. Since a rental development is proposed,
61 all 296 units will count toward the SHL Proposed are 49-studio, 123-1 bedroom,93—2 bedrooms,and 31 —3 bedroom units.
62 In Spring 2025 we reported 958 SHI units or 8.1 %which is approximately 230 units shy of the required 10%(noted these
63 numbers need to be confirmed). Until we reach the required 10%,we are subject to a 40B application.Applicant is East Mill
64 Housing, LLC which has the same principal ownership as RCG. Parcel is in the I-S and R-4 zoning districts;zoning boundary
65 splits this lot. It is also within the Historic Mill Area, Sub-District A and it is outside Machine Shop Village. The 40B
66 application will be heard by ZBA and if jurisdictional,the Conservation Commission;site does not appear to be within their
67 jurisdiction. KP Law,an outside Yd party law agency,has been requested to do a 40B refi-esher with the ZBA in July. It will
68 be recorded so others may watch it. There was a deadline of July 16 to submit comments;however, it has been extended to
69 August 15,2025. A site visit was conducted on June 25,2025.
70 J. Simons: The existing garage was one of the major sources of the flooding;water apparently flowed down from there.
71 J. Enright: Runoff from Prescott St. traveled downward across the site.
72 J. Simons: The lot line runs approx.25 ft. past the building.They claim the building should fit where the existing garage was;
73 they need to clear at least 15 ft. beyond that for many reasons,namely fire access.First home on Prescott St. is very close to
74 the edge of the property and Walker Rd. condos. It shows the density and how aggressive they are when you consider the
75 density and units per acre.
76 P. Boynton: The rendering of the project is from the south side;curious what it would look like from the neighborhood side.
77 Questioned why the starting point is 55 ft. height/4-5 floors as opposed to 3-4 stories.
78 E. Goldberg: Commented on the attractive trees on site,tree removal was discussed;prefers to maintain as much of the
79 natural,existing buffer for screening.
80 J. Simons:Noted the original subdivision of the property into 3 pieces.As part of this proposal,the current right of way
81 functions as a driveway and it should be brought up to speed similar to AvalonBay Phase I by clearly delineating the right of
82 way,a similar approach should be taken here.
83 E. Goldberg: This is technically a discussion item;however,public is here to speak. Public should recognize Board's limited
84 role.
85 Kim Pass, 110 High Street: Inquired about easements and the right of way,wondering whether the owner would have
86 exclusive use of those. Wondered if that was a consideration given the overlap in the businesses located there.
87 E. Goldberg: There are a few easements but RCG, or a project subsidiary,owns them. It won't be an issue.
88 K. Pass: Avalon was supposed to do a traffic study after they acquired their Certificate of Occupancy. Questioned whether it
89 done and how would it be impacted by this proposal.
90 E. Goldberg: They have completed two. One each year for West Mill and they came before us a few meetings ago. The report
91 considered the new East Mill Pond Building as well. The ZBA will need to consider a traffic study including everything that's
92 been developed on site.
93 Nancy Reilly, 148 Main Street, Sutton Pond: Exits Avalon's Phase I driveway every day;expressed concern for traffic on
94 High St. Curb bump out at the driveway exit/entrance is problematic to maneuver. Adding another apartment complex will
95 only increase traffic congestion impacting the driveway. Inquired whether Avalon or Sutton St. included affordable units?
96 E. Goldberg: Traffic will be reviewed by the ZBA to make sure traffic in the area is understood and taken into consideration
97 as well as if any additional signalization is needed.Neither AvalonBay nor Sutton St. include affordable units because they
98 were built prior to the new inclusionary bylaw which requires it now. If built today,they would have had to consider 15%
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Town of North Andover
PLANNING BOARD
Eitan Goldberg, hair Sean Kevlahan
g' sr •, Christo her Koskores
John Simons �Peter Boynton Kate Kelly,Associate
Tuesday Judy 1, 2025 (a, 7 P.m., 120 Main Street— Town Hall,North Andover, MA 01845
99 affordable. Encouraged the Board to submit high level ideas based on the findings that can be drafted by 7/10/25. The state
100 has given us until August 15,2025 to submit comments; afterwards they'll do their review,make their permit decision about
101 whether it's suitable,get their plans together,start their studies and submit to the ZBA for public hearings and peer review,
102 etc. carrying well into the fall.
103
104 Election of Officers,Planninjj Board;
105 Chairman,Planning Board: S. Kevlahan nominated E. Goldberg for Chairperson. J. Simons seconded the motion. The vote
106 was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
107 Vice Chairperson,Planning Board: E. Goldberg nominated J. Simons for Vice Chairperson. S. Kevlahan seconded the
108 motion. The vote was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
109
110 Planning Board Representatives: Master Plan Implementation Committee
111 Community Preservation Committee
112 Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
113 Community Preservation Committee(CPC), liaison: E. Goldberg nominated J. Simons for the CPC. P. Boynton seconded the
114 motion. The vote was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
115 Merrimack Valley Planning Commission(MVPV), liaison: E. Goldberg nominated K. Kelly for the MVPC. P. Boynton
116 seconded the motion.The vote was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
117 Master Plan Implementation Committee(MPIC),liaison: E. Goldberg nominated J. Simons for the MPIC. S. Kevlahan
118 seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0, unanimous in favor.
119
120 E. Goldberg: Noted Board member, Christopher Koskores was stepping down from the Board and thanked him for his time.
121
122 MEETING MINUTES: Approval of the June 17,2025 meeting minutes.
123 MOTION: P. Boynton made a motion to accept the minutes for June 17,2025.J. Simons seconded the motion. The vote was
124 5-0,unanimous in favor.
125
126 MEETING ADJOURNMENT:
127 MOTION: P. Boynton made a motion to adjourn the meeting.The motion was seconded by J. Simons. Meeting adjourned @
128 7:49 p.m. The vote was 5-0,unanimous in favor.
129
130 MEETING MATERIALS: Planning Board Meeting Agenda July 1,2025,DRAFT Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 17,
131 2025;Staff Report: 250701 Staff Report;Rt. 125/Rt. 133 Intersection Town of North Andover: Stormwater Peer Review:
132 Response to I"Peer Review: Osgood Comment Langan Response Letter-20250624,Lake C Outfalls Mannings calculation
133 (1),2025-06-20—Osgood Street Intersection Stormwater Management Report,2025_0625 NOI Permit Plans—All Design
134 Sheets,250626_HW_Final SWPeerReview,250609_HW_I"—SWPeerReview—OsgoodSt—Imp,Rev Plans: 2025 0620 NOI
135 Permit Plans—All Design Sheets,20250515-WSP Application-OsgoodSt&GrtPondRd,250701 draft decision—Intersection
136 Rt. 125 - 133. MassHousing Comprehensive Permit(4011)Site Approval Application: MassHousing Findings for Site
137 Approval,250616 Town Comment Request Letter,5a.2025-05-30 DRAFT—ARCH PEL SET-email,4c. East Mill
138 Development_RCG_Site Plan_05-30-25 (003)(1).
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