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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-09-07 Planning Board Minutes North Andover Planning Board Unapproved Minutes September 7, 2004 E A Regular Meeting i Members present: Alberto Angles,Chairman,Felipe Schwarz,Clerk. John Simons,Regular member,and Richard Nardella,Regular member. James Phinney,Associate member. Member absent: George White,Vice Chairman Staff Present: Julie Vondrak,Town Planner,Mary Ippolito,(Recording Secretary,temp). The meeting came to order at approximately 7:15pm. Informal Discussion: Site Plan Waiver—133 Main Street. Mrs. Vondrak,stated that the petitioner is present tonight,Mr. Taner Gulbus,and would like to address the Board. Mrs.Vondrak stated that public parking is an issue and that she met with Robert Nicetta,Building Commissioner to discuss the bylaw requirements for parking. The 133 Main St.building may also be an historic building, Mr. Gulbus is now present and addressed the Board. He stated that the building is now being used as an antique shop and he wishes to change the use and make it into a cafe and bakery. The building has many entrances; a left hand side entrance of the building is handicapped accessibility. Upstairs there is a real estate agent and a nail salon and a financial services business. Parking is located to the rear of the building to accommodate.parking for six vehicles. The Board discussed if they should look into if a special permit is required for this purpose. The Board discussed possibly reevaluating the parking bylaw. Board members discussed that a change of use requires a site plan review. Mrs.Vondrak read the bylaw regarding restaurant parking,which requires 15 parking spaces per thousand. The restaurant will be 1400 sq. ft. Chairman Angles stated that a site plan review would be necessary because of the parking issue. The bylaw says 5 or more parking spaces so this petition would qualify, signage would need to be addressed also. Mr. Gulbus stated that no major changes are required for the outside of the building;however,he would require a sign to be placed on the outside. He stated that his goal is basically to restore the essence of the look of the building. "The board stated that this is a good thing for downtown to utilize this dwelling and this type of business will be good for the town". Chairman Angles stated that the petitioner should submit a plan to the Board and indicate how the additional parking spaces would be divided up in front or in the back of the building. Board member Nardella stated that the petitioner should give the Board aplan showing what the Board requested to see,also be prepared to come in&explain what Mr.Gulbus wishes to do regarding parking and put it in writing,show the size of the existing building in square feet and inches. He should be prepared to give the Board a rough sketch of the parking area available on the site and the public parking on the street in order for the Board to determine if a full Site Plan waiver is necessary and then the Board will be prepared to waive a site plan review. The Board agreed to continue this petition to the next regular meeting Plarming Board Meeting Sept.7,2004 1 Informal Discussion: Site Plan Waiver—73 Water St.. Mrs.Vondrak stated that the petitioner was not present tonight. The meeting was continued to September 21,2004. 3.Site Plan Review Waiver—SPA Communications. Mrs.Vondrak stated that the Board received a picture of what improvement SPA wishes to make,(see picture for the record). The tower has been in existence since 1958. Mr.Putnam was present and addressed the Board on behalf of SBA. The change will improve the strength of the tower. Mr.Putnam stated that he wanted to make the tower solid,and add reinforcement to make the tower stronger,make the foundation better,as the steel is starting to rust under the soil. The diagonal members will only show to the eye. An old wooden shed is on the site and it is located too close to the Tower. The shed needs to be moved,and an additional shed on the site will be relocated. The tower is getting old it needs to be made strong to avoid any possible crumbling. The foundation point and tower is starting to rust. Making the Tower strong is better than replacing it with a new tower. Chairman Angles stated that he is in favor of waving a site plan. Upon a motion made by Felipe Schwartz and 2nd by Richard Nardella the Board voted to waive a site plan review for Mills Hills, vote was unanimous. 211 S. Bradford St. Mrs. Vondrak stated that she has the plans for construction of an addition and driveway. After a brief discussion by the Board the following motion was made. Upon a motion made by Richard Nardella, and 2nd by Felipe Schwartz,the Board made a motion to release all bond money for 211 S.Bradford Street,vote was unanimous. Continued Public Hearin 1789 Great Pond Rd. Atty.Donald Borenstein was present tonight. Mrs.Vondrak stated that the petitioner of 1789 Great Pond Rd, was previously told to go before the ZBA for a Special Permit for the driveway. The applicant chose to construct a separate driveway and filed a new plan with the Planning Dept. They are now in front of the Planning Board. The site is near the lake,a discussion ensued between the Board regarding disturbance near the lake. Atty. Borenstein stated that Mr.Arnone revisited the issue of ZBA. Currently,they filed and reserved a space on the ZBA's next meeting. Atty.Borenstein stated that he would like a letter of recommendation from Planning Board to the ZBA showing their support in order to allow for a variance Mrs. Vondrak stated that she spoke w/Ellen McIntyre,ZBA Chairperson,regarding an issue of sensitivity to the watershed. Mrs.Vondrak stated that she will write a letter to the ZBA regarding same. Mrs. Vondrak stated that in 1969 the bylaw allowed three houses to be served by a common driveway. In 1984 the bylaw changed to allow two houses for common driveways. Chairman Angles stated that he spoke w/Ellen McIntyre of ZBA and petitioner has gone thru an extensive engineering process for this project. The steep driveway and cutting of the top part of the site is an excessive cut. Mrs. Vondrak stated that she will follow-up with the engineer to reduce the grading and create a slope for proper drainage relative to the down ward slope of the drive way. There are stone trenches along the side of driveway. Catch basins are located at the end of driveway. Board member Schwartz stated that the applicant should come back with a variance in hand. Board member Simons suggested that the petitioner withdraw without prejudice. Atty. Borenstein stated that there would be legal notice fees,application fee,and revised plan fees associated with refilling. Atty.Borenstein stated that he would like to continue until next month so he will have had time to be heard by the ZBA. Board member Phinney stated that the abutters need to be put on legal notice. Board member Simons stated that he would waive the fee for a new application. Much discussion took place between Atty Borenstein and the Board regarding renoticing the petition. Board member Angles stated that he would like to keep the petition open for now and revisit the petition for more discussion later on this evening. Plamiing Board Meeting Sept,7,2004 2 Continued Public Hearin: 492 Sutton St. —Gian uitto Hanger. Mrs.Vondrak stated that no one was present to represent the petitioner this evening. Mrs. Vondrak also stated that the VHB may still be reviewing the drainage,and that the petitioner should get back to her. New Public Hearin 284 Salem St. Mr, William Needham was present tonight and requested an extension of a previous watershed permit because it expired beyond the window of extendable time. The applicant was asked to come back for another permit. There are minor changes on the plan submitted tonight. Reconstruction of retaining wall,widen driveway,convert bottom driveway area to paving and install infiltration system because of flooding and erosion,add fencing in yard,reconfigure brick walkway,and the addition of hemlocks on property line at abutters request. Mrs. Vondrak asked to see a maintenance plan. It was also noted that the new plan has more drainage improvements than the original plan. Upon a motion made by John Simons,and 2"d by Richard Nardella,the Board voted to approve the additional modifications and to waive the engineering review with the condition that drainage calcs be submitted by an Engineer,and closed the public hearing. Vote was unanimous. Wheelabrator. Mr. Scott Emerson was present to represent Wheelebrator. He stated that Wheelabrator requires quarterly testing for dioxin. See legal notice(for the record). He stated that applicant agreed to submit$25,000 on a yearly basis for consulting monitoring of the testing. The Town's consultant(Dana Buske of Tech Environmental)is present tonight to discuss the ongoing monitoring report. Mr. Emerson submitted a summary sheet to the Board tonight,(see report for the record). Mr.Emerson presented a chart tonight with explanation regarding the testing level and that it is well below the limit for the quarterly testing. Mr. Emmerson stated that he now wants to change the testing to every 9 months instead of quarterly testing. Board member Simons wants explanation of how the testing was done. Mr. Tim Porter is present and made a presentation relative to the test. He stated that the test runs for 4 hours and they run three tests once a quarter. Chairman Angles stated that in 2002&2003 testing is regular,but it looks like data is missing in 2004. Board questioned the consultant,Dana,regarding variability over time regarding the data she reviews. Dana stated that the test results are well under the permit number. Mr. Emerson addressed issues of recycled matter such as bags and gasses,matter of continuous emission and combustions, temperature,etc. As a guideline on a regular basis,these are baseline monitor and tests. Dana stated that monthly checks of all information on the web site are done to operate within certain rules,there is no indication of any problems and the tests are within an acceptable range. Wheelabrator would only be required to test one stacking unit per 9-month period if the test levels have been below the number 7 threshold. The Board would like both units tested. Board member Simons stated that the DEP and EPA have set standards based on solid science,if the limit is set at 30 then it's set for certain reasons,if the highest is 7 and the limit is 30 then why do we want to do this level of testing? The Board stated that they needed to review the handout by Dana. Upon a motion made by James Phinney to take this matter under advisement and continue the petition until the next meeting 2°d by Felipe Schwarz,the Board voted in favor. Vote was unanimous. Meadowood Subdivision: Mrs. Vondrak stated that a homeowner Mr.Towle,wants to be reimbursed for a bump in the driveway located on his property in the Meadowood subdivision. Mrs. Vondrak stated that apparently the bump(such as a speed-bump)resulted from the installation of pipe associated with drainage of the subdivision roadway. The road has not been accepted as a public way. The issue of remaining bond money regarding this development was discussed and the Board. The Board agreed that because this Subdivision is approximately ten years old it would not be the responsibility of the Planning Board to decide what should be done regarding Mr. Towle's property. Planning Board Meeting Sept.7,2004 3 73 Water St. Mrs.Vondrak stated the building located at 73 Water St. is for sale. There is a potential buyer who wishes to open a food/luncheon establishment. The potential owner is asking for parking for 6 spaces. Owner will live upstairs. Board member Nardella sated that the petitioner needs to be more specific about what changes he wishes to do to the premises. Board member Simon stated that the Board might be flexible regarding "over regulating" the parking rule as this property it only approximately 400 plus square feet. Water St. is less busy than Main Street because it gets more pedestrian traffic than vehicle traffic. A long discussion ensued by the Board regarding parking issues,and businesses located downtown,and discretion by the Board regarding parking, and what significant impact it would have on 73 Water St.premises. Should the Board waive the site plan review because project is under 400 sq. ft. The Board agreed to continue the petition and to request that a plan should be submitted at the next meeting. Board re-visited 1978 Great Pond Rd. (tonight). 1789 Great Pond Rd. Atty.Borenstein stated that his client is willing to pay the money to do another legal notice. The Board stated that valid issues were brought up tonight that didn't'come before the Board one year ago. The length of the process is a problem. The closing down of this petition protects the applicant,because one year is too long to keep a petition going. Publish a new legal notice. Upon a motion made by Felipe Schwarz and 2"d by James Phinney the Board voted to accept the following Minutes of the Meeting, Both of May 2004,July 6,&August 17,2004. Vote was unanimous. Upon a motion made by Felipe Schwarz and 2°a by James Phinney,the Board voted to adjourn the meeting at approximately 9:45 PM. Vote was unanimous. Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:45 PM. By order of the Planning Board Accepted Mi/Sept7Minutes Planning Board Meeting Sept,7,2004 4