The mission of the Town of Duxbury is to deliver excellent services to the community in the most fiscally responsible and innovative manner while endeavoring to broaden our sense of community and preserve the unique character of our town.
Minutes 10/04/04
The Planning Board met in the Town Office Building Monday, October 4, 2004.
Present: George Wadsworth, Chairman; Amy MacNab, Vice-Chairman; Angela Scieszka, Clerk; Aboud Al-Zaim, and John Bear.
Absent: James Kimball and Rob Wilson.
Staff: Christine Stickney, Planning Director and Barbara Ripley, Administrative Assistant.
The meeting was called to order at 7:38 PM.
OPEN FORUM
Associate Member: Mr. Harold Moody, applicant for the position of Associate Member was present. He described his background as an attorney, primarily engaged in real estate conveyancing law. He said that he has lived in Duxbury since 1996, and is interested in giving something back to the Town. He especially appreciates the open space in Town, and is interested in preserving it. Board members described the duties of an associate member, which include attending all hearings for special permits.
MOTION: Mr. Al-Zaim made a motion to appoint Mr. Moody as an associate member to the Planning Board, for a two-year term expiring 10/4/06. Mr. Bear provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (5-0).
PRELIMINARY PLAN OF LAND: JOHNSON’S WAY/ Bay Road
Ms. Stickney reported that the applicant’s engineer had a scheduling conflict for tonight. He sent a written request to continue the hearing to a future date. He also granted an extension of the decision date to November 1, 2004.
MOTION: Ms. MacNab made a motion to continue the meeting for the preliminary plan of land known as “Johnson’s Way” to October 18, 2004 at 7:45 PM, and to extend the decision date to November 1, 2004. Ms. Scieszka provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (5-0).
The Planning Board signed an extension form, which will be filed with the Town Clerk in the morning.
(At this point, Mr. Wadsworth left the meeting in order to attend a portion of the Board of Selectmen meeting.)
OTHER BUSINESS
Local Housing Partnership (LHP): Ms. Stickney reported that a Chairman (Bill Campbell) and a Vice-Chairman (Diane Bartlett) have been chosen. Ms. Stickney offered to share minutes of LHP meetings with the Planning Board. Board members also asked that the LHP attend Planning Board meetings on a quarterly basis (approximately).
CONTINUED PUBLIC MEETING: DEESUL CORP./ Proposed Medical Building at 104 Tremont Street
Present for the applicant were:
Thomas Tucker, Attorney
Mark Sullivan, Principal of Deesul, LLC
Elizabeth Sullivan, spouse of Mark Sullivan
Eric Eby, P.E., Traffic Engineer with Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Thomas M. DiCicco, P.E., Civil Engineer with Carter-Burgess
William Fornaciari, Architect (Fornaciari & Noseworthy)
Greg Chandler, current owner of 104 Tremont Street
Present for the Town of Duxbury was:
Walter Amory, Principal of Amory Engineering, PC
Ms. Scieska read the correspondence list into the record:
· Mutual Extension Form to continue public meeting to 10/4/04 signed by applicant and Planning Board
· Minutes of the 8/30/04 meeting
· Letter to the PB from Thomas DiCiccio of Carter & Burgess dated 8/30/04 addressing W. Amory prior comments.
· A memo from B. Ripley to Lynn Means, of Greenman-Pedersen dated 9/1/04 transmitting Highway Safety Traffic Data from 2003.
· A technical memorandum dated 9/15/04 from Eric Eby of Greenman-Pedersen to Douglas Benoit, Carter & Burgess
· Letter to the PB dated 9/17/04 from Thomas DiCiccio of Carter & Burgess transmitting various materials.
· Letter to the PB from Thomas DiCiccio of Carter & Burgess dated 9/17/04 addressing C. Stickney prior comments.
· Stormwater Management Study dated 9/17/04 prepared by Carter & Burgess
· Letter to the PB dated 9/20/04 from Atty. Tucker transmitting materials
· Letter to the PB dated 9/21/04 from F/n Architects transmitting architectural renderings.
· A letter to Deesul dated 9/21/04 from Granville and Ruth Baker asking no fence be installed along the property line.
· DRT Minutes of meeting on September 24, 2004
· Amory Engineering site inspection report for 8/12/04 and 8/26/04
· Letter from Amory Engineering dated 9/28/04 re: Peer Review of Plans
· Memo from C. Stickney dated 9/28/04 re: Staff review
Planning Board members were in possession of revised plans, dated 9/17/04. The applicant sent additional revisions to the Planning Office on 9/30/04. However, these have not been reviewed by the Planning Board., so the discussion focused on the 9/17/04 plans.
Mr. DiCicco began by reviewing the list of comments from Ms. Stickney’s memo of 8/24/04. However, Ms. Stickney recommended that, since many of her comments had been addressed, that he refer to her memo of 9/28/04 so that he could discuss items which remain outstanding. One outstanding item, according to Ms. Stickney, is that the quality of the copy of the surveyed plan from the BSC group is poor, and many features are unreadable. She recommended that the applicant return to BSC for the original mylar and for a new stamp. Board members agreed.
Ms. Stickney’s other comments included making a condition that the basement not be used for any other purpose than mechanical storage. Any other use, such as record storage, would require additional parking spaces to support personnel.
Ms. Stickney questioned the proposed location of the loading zone, citing ZBL Section 603.11, which discourages loading zones from occurring in a parking lot aisle. In addition, Ms. Stickney commented that the concerns of the Fire Department have not been fully addressed. Finally, Ms. Stickney said that additional attention is needed with regard to landscaping. A substantial amount of vegetation currently exists in the rear of the property, but will be removed for the drainage system. There may be a need to infill areas that may not be apparent until construction is finished. She commented that it may be wise to review the landscaping again once the building has been erected and a majority of the site amenities are complete.
Mr. DiCicco continued describing revisions which have been made to the original plans. He said that he has followed Mr. Amory’s suggestion, and extended the granite curb at the circular edge of the entrance to Route 3A. He also said that he has added test pit information on the drainage drawings. However, the configuration of the drainage apparatus has not been changed. He said that he has made all changes recommended by the Water Department. The applicant received a road cut permit last week. This will enable the applicant to bring the water main across Tremont Street this fall. Further changes include the use of epoxy paint on the detention basin outlet structure, the elimination of copper piping, and more detail shown for the drainage basin.
Mr. DiCicco said that he has updated the stormwater calculations. He said that no discharge at the property line should be expected, well in excess of a ten-year storm.
Mr. Amory offered his comments on the site plan. First, he said that he is still waiting for hydrographs. (Mr. DiCicco provided them at this point, and Mr. Amory will review them.) Second, the Town is still waiting for the Fire Dept. to be satisfied, specifically with regard to fire truck access to the rear of the building, and an ambulance parking space. Next, he said that sight-distance of 30-feet to the center-line of Tremont Street must be shown. He will work with Mr. DiCicco on how to accomplish this.
Mr. Amory suggested that grate for the detention basin outlet structure should be raised to provide an emergency spillway. This will eliminate the need for a rip-rapped spillway. If the applicant still decides to provide a rip-rapped spillway, more detail on the drawings is needed. Mr. Amory also said that a twelve-inch layer of sandy loam should be placed on the bottom and sides of the forebay, and a six-inch layer of sandy loam on the bottom and sides of the detention basin.
Mr. Amory said that he is concerned about the 2:1 slope from the rear-end of the parking lot to the basin. This could be a safety concern as well as a concern for maintenance. In order to reduce the slope, the bottom of the basin could be raised. However, this might infringe upon the floodplain. There are ways to compensate for this, he said. Mr. DiCicco re-stated his reluctance to cross into the floodplain.
(Mr. Wadsworth returned to the meeting at this point.)
Mr. Bear questioned whether anyone will be likely to venture in the detention basin area, given its location in the rear of the property. Mr. Al-Zaim pointed out that there is a fence and a retaining wall. Ms. MacNab said that she shares Mr. Amory’s concern, because children might find this to be an attractive area for sledding. Mr. Al-Zaim said that the Planning Board might not be ready to define a 2:1 slope as “unsafe”, and he pointed out that maintenance can be performed from the side of the basin, where the slope is softer. It was agreed that Mr. DiCicco and Mr. Amory would meet to discuss the problem further, and reach a possible solution to address concerns.
Next, Mr. Fornaciari described an alternate architectural design which has been developed. This design has a mansard roof with a lower pitch that mimics a hip-roof. Other revisions include a colonial style window, colonial trim details, and a reduction in the third floor office space. This will result in a reduction of the number of medical offices from ten to nine, and therefore reduce the parking requirement by five spaces.
Planning Board members expressed a definite preference for the alternate design over the original one, although Ms. Scieszka said that the second design did not go far enough to reduce the size of the building.
Mr. Al-Zaim returned to the issue of the basement. Mr. Sullivan assured the Board that the basement will only be used for mechanical storage, and to facilitate access to plumbing.
Ms. MacNab commented that the data from previous traffic studies at the site has been worked into the current calculations, and she is satisfied with that.
MOTION: Mr. Al-Zaim made a motion to continue the public meeting for administrative site plan review of the proposed Deesul Medical Building to November 22, 2004 at 8:00 PM, with an extension of the decision date to December 6, 2004, and revised plans & documentation due to the Planning Office by November 1, 2004. Ms. Scieszka provided a second for the motion, which carried unanimously (5-0).
Board members told Ms. Stickney that they will be ready to see a set of draft conditions at the next meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS (CONTINUED)
Webster Point: (Ms. MacNab recused herself from the discussion, since she works for the attorney representing the abutters of this project.) Ms. Stickney said that an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) has been filed on this project, with comments due by 10/15/04. Therefore, the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA) has scheduled a consultation meeting for October 6, 2004. The purpose of the meeting is to receive advice and comments from agencies, officials, and citizens regarding which environmental issues, if any, are significant for the project. Ms. Stickney said that the plan which will be discussed at the October 6 meeting is not the plan that was reviewed by the Planning Board and the ZBA, since the plan has been changed through a negotiation process by parties
involved in litigation. She said that it is important that MEPA realize that the Town has not seen the current plans, and is therefore handicapped in the comment process. Ms. Stickney and Mr. Wadsworth plan to attend the meeting, and also plan to draft a letter to MEPA.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM. The next meeting of the Duxbury Planning Board will be held on Monday, October 18, 2004 at 7:30 PM, in the Duxbury Town Offices.
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