HANSON GARDENS
ARBOR HOUSE
Minutes of Public Hearings of
December 11, 2002
I. Call to Order - 8:05 p.m.
Members Present: Philip Lindquist, Chairman
Gerard LeBlanc, Vice Chairman
Joan DiLillo, Member
David Nagle, Member
Others Present: Town Planner Noreen O’Toole
Administrative Assistant Barbara Ferguson
Chairman Philip Lindquist advised all present that there would be a combined update from Baran Companies on what had transpired since the last public hearing sessions on the Hanson Gardens and Arbor House special permit applications for the former Plymouth County Hospital site under the town’s Adult Communities Zoning Bylaw. The hearings opened on November 6, 2002, were continued to November 20, 2002 and then, due to the absence of one Board member, were continued to December 11, 2002. He advised the hearings were being tape recorded. Board Clerk Gordon Coyle recused himself and sat in the audience.
II. Presentation by Baran Partners
David Alexander of the Baran Companies presented the Board with a Special Permit Project Timeline outlining the dates meetings had been held with various boards and commissions as well as the dates of relevant communications from those boards and commissions regarding the projects and also how the issues raised at those meetings and in that correspondence had been addressed.
Among the changes to the original plans dated September 11, 2002 that resulted from those meetings and communications, he noted, was a change of access for the Arbor House assisted living facility from Pierce Avenue to High Street which appeared on the October 22, 2002 plans submitted for the November 6, 2002 public hearings. Parking concerns were also addressed with new spaces spread throughout the site and all parking on the street was eliminated as recommended by the Fire and Police Chiefs. Fire access roads were also added as requested by the Fire Department. Concerns from the Water Department relative to design were also addressed, he said.
Issues raised by those in attendance at the November 6, 2002 public hearings, Mr. Alexander noted, were drainage, lighting, and the location of walking trails. At that point, Mr. Alexander turned the presentation over to Bryan Lynch, assistant chief engineer, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. of Watertown, Baran’s engineering company for the project, to explain the modifications that had been made to the plans relative to catch basins and other drainage issues.
Mr. Lynch said that the basin near Pierce Avenue had been enlarged and a berm modified as a result of concerns raised by the residents at the November 6, 2002 hearing. The flow that had been going into the catch basin previously, he said, has been redirected to a level spreader and the remaining property that flowed off site to that location has been kept in its original condition. The modifications, he said, have decreased both the volume and the rate of runoff resulting in an improved condition. All other issues regarding drainage raised by the Board’s engineer, P.M.P. Associates of East Bridgewater, had been addressed, he said.
Another change that had occurred since the last hearing session, Mr. Alexander said, had been the elimination of a walking trail behind homes on High Street and the design of a new walking trail on the opposite side of the property that will follow the contour of the land. Chairman Lindquist asked if there were a cross section for the trail, and Mr. Alexander said that it had been submitted to P.M.P. in late November. The trail will be four feet in width and will have a wood chip cover, Mr. Alexander said. He promised to work closely with the Hanson Trails Committee and the neighbors. Chairman Lindquist said there should also be some signage, and Mr. Alexander agreed to the request.
Chairman Lindquist asked the length of time the basins have been designed to hold water, and Mr. Lynch replied that they would be drained in 24 to 48 hours following a 100 year storm. Chairman Lindquist noted that there is an apparent flooding problem on Pierce Avenue. Michael Perrault of P.M.P. said existing problems on Pierce Avenue will not be made any worse. If there is an existing problem on Pierce Avenue, he said, it is a town problem.
Pierce Avenue residents said there is a pipe that comes out of the hospital property, goes under Pierce Avenue, and discharges onto their property. Mr. Lynch said that a town catch basin is discharging onto their property. Paul Ferreira of Baran Properties said an attempt will be made to locate any pipe that might be coming from the hospital property which could be contributing to the problem. If there is a pipe, he said, it will either be removed, when the catch basin is excavated, or capped.
Chairman Lindquist then asked about lighting and Mr. Alexander presented the Board with written information on the type of lighting to be used. The poles, he said, will be to 10 to12 feet in height and positioned at 110 foot intervals. He noted some additional low lighting had been incorporated into the plans at the request of the Fire Chief. Noting that the issue of trash removal had also been raised, Mr. Alexander said it will be done through a contract between the assisted living facility and a private contractor.
Vice Chairman Gerard LeBlanc asked how many parking units there were over and above the two assigned to each unit and was told there were 29 additional spaces.
III. Questions and Comments from the Public
David Soper of 176 High Street asked how bright the lighting would be and was told he should not be impacted by any lighting from the property. He also asked how close the nearest building would be to his property and was told it would be 50 feet from the property line. Member Joan DiLillo asked about the community building and was told it would a single story building with eight parking spaces.
A resident asked for a description of the basins and was told by Mr. Lynch that the basins will be about five feet deep. They will fill with water only during storm periods, he said, and then they will drain away. At the request of the Board’s engineer, he said, the basins will have sand and stones on the bottom that will be covered by grass. After a storm, he said, the basins will drain within 48 hours.
Mr. Soper also asked how many trees in the buffer zone behind his house were going to be cut down and was told by Mr. Alexander that as few trees as possible will be removed. At the tightest point, Mr. Soper was told, about 35 feet of the existing area of trees will be maintained. There will also be some new plantings, he was told, to shield houses both inside and outside the complex from the hospital building.
Chairman Philip Lindquist noted that the most recent set of plans the Board had was dated October 23, 2002. Those plans, he said, did not reflect any of the changes under discussion. The normal procedure, he said, would have been for the applicant to submit revised plans prior to the next hearing so that they could be distributed to other town offices for their final review. Mr. Alexander said he thought he only had to send the revised plans to the Board’s engineer and that had been done.
Mr. Alexander said that the most recent revision of the plans had been done just within the past few days. The only things the Planning Board had not seen, he said, were the new walking trail and the slight increase in the size of the detention basin. Philip Clemons, Chairman of the Hanson Trails Committee, expressed his pleasure with the relocation of the trail.
High Street residents David Bonney asked about the existing tower on the site and was told by Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis that it is scheduled for demolition by the county once all of the components have been moved.
Arthur Brasill of County Road asked it the town would be providing water for the project and, if not, would there be wells on the site. Mr. Alexander said that the Water Department and the Department of Environmental Protections have communicated on the issue of water and that the DEP has requested that the Water Department supply water for the project.
Lila Coyle, Chairman of the Board of Appeals said that she had just come from a meeting of the Water Department and had been told there was still a local moratorium on new hookups because there is no water for new projects including the Chapter 40B projects before her board.
Mary Salters, of The Enterprise, asked about the walking trail and was shown its location on the plan and told that it will be located on the easterly side of the property and be between 1,200 and 1,300 feet in length from Pierce Avenue to the portion of the former hospital property being retained by the town.
Al Hanscom, a consultant for the Board of Selectmen from VHB, said water will continue to be a problem until legal problems connected to the Pleasant Street wellsite can be resolved. Work on the existing wells will improve the situation, he said. The people at DEP are researching the City of Brockton’s obligations to the Town of Hanson as well, he said. Mr. Hanscom said that he was hopeful that the improvements to the local system and the results of the research will enable the DEP to increase the size of Hanson’s water bank significantly in 2003.
Thomas Dahlberg of Hillcrest Road, a former water commissioner, said there is a down side to requesting a revision. With the new Rivers Act, he said, the town could be allowed to draw less water during the summer months than is allowed under the present withdrawal permit. Chairman Lindquist said that whether the project receives water or not will be the decision of the Water Commissioners.
Betty Dahlberg of Hillcrest Road asked how many acres the town had given to Baran Partners for the two developments and also whether the granting of an easement by the town for a second access off High Street will require a town meeting vote. Mr. Alexander replied that the total acreage was 23 acres, and Mr. Hanscom said that the easement was shown on the plan already approved by town meeting.
The issue of snow plowing a private road was raised by Margaret Hansen of Cross Street, and Chairman Lindquist said that, although the Board has not received from the Selectmen’s office a copy of the memorandum of understanding between the town and Baran Partners, the Board had been told the town had agreed to do the plowing in exchange for a higher percentage of affordable housing units. Gordon Coyle, as a private citizen, noted that the zoning bylaws call for the plowing to be done by the permittee. Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis said that anyone can ask the Board of Selectmen to have their private road plowed.
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole said there seemed to be some confusion regarding the Planning Board’s job. She noted that the Board had not received a narrative. She said there are some things missing from the list of requested waivers. The Planning Board wanted to make sure that the site worked first, she said. She recommended to representatives of Baran Partners that they confer with their legal counsel to make sure no additional waivers are needed. Seven have been requested, she said. David Alexander of Baran Partners said that the bylaw had been reviewed thoroughly, and he was pretty sure that all the waivers required had been requested.
The question of the addition of an Alzheimer’s component was then raised by Ms. O’Toole, who noted there had been no mention of it when the project was first proposed. Paul Ferreira of Baran Partners said that assisted living facilities often have an Alzheimer’s unit because it is just a more acute condition of assisted living, but no final decision has been made regarding inclusion of a unit. In response to a question from Board member David Nagle, Mr. Ferreira said that all residents of an assisted living facility including Alzheimer patients are evaluated periodically and, when it is determined that they need nursing home care, they are transitioned out of the assisted living facility in accordance with the terms of a signed residency agreement. The decision, he said, is made by the executive director.
Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis said that the Selectmen’s office first heard of the Alzheimer’s component when reading about the Planning Board’s last hearing in a local newspaper. After speaking to Baran Partners, he said, he asked town counsel to review the documentation and was advised that an Alzheimer’s unit would fall within the parameters of an assisted living facility.
Lila Coyle, Chairman of the Board of Appeals, noting she came in late, asked if both applications were being handled simultaneously and was advised that they were.
Speaking as an Appeals Board member as well as a registered nurse, she argued the point that Alzheimer’s patients should not be allowed in an assisted living facility. Noting that she had worked in geriatrics for a number of years, Mrs. Coyle said that people with Alzheimer’s need 24-hour care. The town zoning bylaw, she said, specifically prohibits a nursing facility. David Nagle said that a lot of Alzheimer’s patients would take issue with her statement that they need 24-hour care. Those that do, he said, would not be appropriate for assisted living. Paul Ferreira said that the residents with Alzheimer’s will be in a coded access secured area of the building. The facility and the care of its residents will be
scrutinized on an annual basis by several state agencies, Mr. Ferreira said.
IV. Comments from other Boards and Departments
Chairman Lindquist noted letters dated November 20, 2002 from the Police Department, Fire Department, and Building Department stating that their concerns outlined in prior letters had been addressed to their satisfaction. He also read November 20 and December 10, 2002 letters from Water Superintendent Glen Doherty. The first indicated the water lines appeared satisfactory. Both letters stated that the Water Commissioners were not allowing any water connections to the town’s water supply. He also noted December 11, 2002 letters from the Board of Appeals with numerous comments on both projects.
V. Comments from Board’s Engineer
Chairman Lindquist then called upon Michael Perrault of P.M.P. Associates of East Bridgewater, the Board’s engineer for both projects, for his comments. Mr. Perrault first referred the Board to letters from P.M.P. on both projects dated November 19, 2002. Since that time, he said, meetings had been held in his office and agreement had been reached on incorporating his comments onto the revised plans. He also referred the Board to December 10, 2002 letters from his office to the Board of Health, noting that his firm has been also been retained by that board as its review engineer on the waste water disposal systems for the two projects. Both letters indicated that multiple items needed to be addressed and corrected and then specifically outlined the
issues that need to be addressed. The only impact on the plans before the Planning Board, he said, could be contour changes.
Chairman Lindquist noted that several pieces of information were missing including the submittal of the most recent set of plans. Paul Ferreira said that the only two changes from the plans previously submitted to the Board were the relocation of the walking trail and some slight modifications to the detention basins. He said that, in his opinion, the Planning Board had sufficient information to render a decision.
Town Planner Noreen O’Toole said that she had reviewed all of the information submitted to date and had not found anything that would address the concerns raised by the Board of Appeals such as number of employees, visiting hours, transportation, deliveries, and signage. Those items would normally be included in a narrative which the Board has never received, she said. Mr. Ferreira requested that those items be included in the conditions for the granting of the permits.
Planning Board member Joan DiLillo pointed out that the current application was the first one received under the new Adult Communities bylaw. What the Board does for Baran Partners, she said, will be what the Board will have to do for every other applicant that comes before it. Town Planner Noreen O’Toole said that the Board could not write its decision without all of the documents in order. Mr. Ferreira said that the public and all of the boards had ample opportunity for input at the many meetings listed in the special permit project timeline distributed. She indicated that everything could be wrapped up at the next hearing session.
Mrs. Coyle said there were issues that needed to be addressed before the hearing could close, and Mr. Nagle indicated a preference for addressing them at the current session. The items listed in the Board of Appeals letter, Ms. O’Toole said could be addressed, but the fact that the final plans have not been distributed to other town boards was a problem.
Executive Secretary E. Winn Davis emphasized the urgency of the issuance of a decision. He said that the town was attempting to accomplish an important social public goal through its partnership with Baran. The project, he said, will require financing from the federal government, state government and even some assistance from the town. Baran has a signed commitment for financing from MassDevelopment, which is a quasi-state agency, he told the Board, but that commitment will expire on December 31, 2002. Based on the financial condition of the state, he said, there is some question whether funds will be available in 2003. He urged the Board to meet again before the end of the year, if a decision had to be deferred.
Chairman Lindquist said that the Board had not been given information on a timely basis on a very complex project. There were still elements missing, he said. Mr. Davis said that he and Ms. O’Toole could pull everything together in a few days for another session the following week. Ms. O’Toole asked Mr. Ferreira what he needed from the Board by December 31, 2002, and he said that he needed the Board’s approval of the special permits for the $15 million project. The conditions could come later, he said. Mr. Alexander said that the missing information would have been provided, if it had been requested.
Mr. Perrault said that the special permit could be granted and the hearing closed with the conditions of approval imposed later as long as it was clearly stated that the appeal period would not begin until the decision was filed with the Town Clerk so that the abutters would have an opportunity to file an appeal if they were aggrieved by the decision. Mr. Ferreira said that type of approval would satisfy the financing source. The only risk would be to the applicant, Mr. Davis said, because the applicant’s only option, if dissatisfied with the conditions imposed, would be an appeal.
Selectman Daniel Webster noted that the project had been put before the Board of Selectmen, the Planning Board, and Town Meeting on numerous occasions. He said that he could understand the Board’s conservative approach but asked the Board to consider the impact that recent economic changes within the Commonwealth have brought to bear on the project. Baran needs to take advantage of the financing while it is available, he said. He noted that the property has not produced tax revenue for 85 years. For the good of the community, he urged the Board to approve the special permit with the understanding that there would be conditions.
Stating that history has proven that if a project is not done right, it is not worth doing it all, Thomas Dahlberg urged the Board to get all of the facts it needed before rendering a decision.
Chairman Philip Lindquist then asked the Board members whether they wanted to render a decision with conditions or have another meeting the following week to receive more information. Finding a date when all parties could attend was not successful.
VI. Comments from Board Members
David Nagle said that he did not want to rush into a decision on specifics, but he noted that a delay could cause the project not to happen at all. He said he did not see a downside to approving the permit which would allow the Board sufficient time to address conditions.
Gerard LeBlanc said that there seemed to be no doubt that the project would be approved. All that was left, he said, were technicalities that could be ironed out at future meetings.
Joan DiLillo said that she agreed, although she added that she did feel rushed because of the time constrictions placed on the Board for making a decision due to the funding deadline.
Chairman Lindquist said that there were a lot of questions that were open but no questions that could not be answered.
Lila Coyle said that the public had a right to know if any waivers from the provisions of the zoning bylaw they approved at town meeting were to be granted. The public, she said, also had a right to know things like hours of operation and delivery hours. She suggested that the public be advised when the issues were scheduled for discussion by the Board so they could be present.
Paul Dias noted that the project will use 18,000 gallons of water per day and the Water Department has indicated that only 8,000 gallons are available and asked how this issue would be handled. Chairman Lindquist said the water supply issue belonged with the Water Department.
Michael Perrault said that the purposes of the public hearings, to hear the presentation by the applicant and receive input from other town boards and the public, had been met. Decision making regarding the conditions of the permits and the waivers requested could be made, he said, after the public hearing is closed, with technical questions addressed with the developer during the process. He noted all meetings of the Planning Board are open to the public. If anyone is aggrieved, he said, an appeal can be made within the 20 day period allowed after a decision is filed.
VII. Findings by the Board
Board members determined that they could take a vote on whether or not to grant the special permits and close the public hearings and then impose conditions and consider the requested waivers during the 90 day period from the date the hearing is closed to the date a written decision is filed with the Town Clerk.
Motion to approve the special permits for Hanson Gardens and Arbor House subject to conditions and waivers to be determined: David Nagle
Second: Gerard LeBlanc
Vote: 4-0
Motion to close the public hearings for Hanson Gardens and Arbor House: Gerard LeBlanc
Second: David Nagle
Vote: 4-0
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