Minutes of Meeting— December 13, 2012
The Hudson Board of Appeals met at the site of the Cabot Ridge Apartments, Hudson, Massachusetts. At 7:00 PM, Lawrence Norris called the meeting to order.
Present: Lawrence Norris, Joseph Peznola, Todd Pietrasiak, Jill Schafer, Christopher Tibbals, Dorothy Risser, Jennifer Burke, Planning Director and Teresa Vickery, Clerk.
Petition 1037: 561 Main Street, Special Permit
Present were: Francis Murphy, Applicant
David Sacco, Atty. at Law
Lawrence Norris convened the Public Hearing.
Dorothy Risser read the Right of Appeal.
The applicant is seeking a special permit under section 5.3.3.1 and 3.3.10 of the zoning by-laws to allow for the storage and repair of motor vehicles within the Watershed Protection District in the M-6 Industrial District.
Mr. Norris noted that under section 3.3.10 section 5 the applicant must first get site plan approval as the said property is in the watershed protection district. Atty. Sacco stated that they have not yet gone through that process.
Atty. Sacco explained that Mr. Murphy owns the building located at 561 Main Street. Mr. Murphy has had opportunities to lease the building for motor vehicle repair however has not been able to as there is no special permit. He feels this is creating a hardship for his corporation.
Mr. Peznola stated that he would be uncomfortable with approving a special permit without having questions answered by the potential tenant. The plans are not specific enough to identify issues that are crucial to the watershed protection district. The plans need to represent what will be done to the site not how it currently stands. Mr. Peznola also noted that the storm water management on the site is not sufficient.
Mr. Peznola explained that the plans do not reflect the requirements or upgrades that need to be made. He is requesting more information.
The applicant will seek site plan review before coming back before the Board with the additional information.
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Todd Petrasiak, made a motion to continue the public hearing for 561 Main Street to February 14, 2013 at 7PM.
Vote: 6-0-0, Unanimous
Petition 1038: 141 & 153 Broad Street, Special Permit
Present was: Jack Sargent, Wildwater Development, LLC
Dottie Risser recused herself and left the room.
Lawrence Norris convened the Public Hearing.
Joe Peznola read the Right of Appeal.
The applicant is seeking a special permit under section 3.3.10 and 5.3.2.1(a) of the Town’s zoning by-laws to demolish two existing buildings and construct two multiple dwelling buildings in the commercial zone with a total of 33 apartments within the Watershed Protection District in the C-6 Commercial District.
Mr. Sargent explained that is approximately a 6.5 acre parcel on Broad Street. There are two older houses on the property that will be demolished in order to build the complex. There are existing utilities on Broad Street, including gas, water and sewer. There is an existing drainage easement that comes off of Broad Street which drains into the wetlands.
The existing zoning allows for one unit for every 6,000 square feet of property which would allow for 48 units on the property. The proposal is for two 27 foot buildings; one at the front of the property and the other at the back. The front building has 18 units; they have three bedrooms, two and a half baths and a garage. The back building has five two bedroom units and the rest have three bedrooms.
The drainage on the site is controlled through typical catch basins. Sewer is connected to the front building through Broad Street and the back building through to Overland Street.
There is a 5,000 square foot area in the wetlands area or the buffer zone which is under an enforcement order from the Conservation Commission to be cleaned up. This area will be cleaned up in order to stabilize the habitat.
There are two drain lines that run out from a manhole out in the street that empty out into a ditch in the wetlands. One of the drains is collapsed and the other was installed going up hill instead of downhill. The collapsed drain will be replaced and redirected around the edge of the property. The other drain which does not function properly will also be replaced.
The is an existing odor condition on Overland and Giasson Streets because of low flow the sewage has a tendency to settle out. This condition could be alleviated by increasing the flow in this area.
Mr. Sargent noted that from the abutter notices it sounds as if the entire project is in the watershed protection district however it is only an area of approximately 3,000 square feet and this area does not include where the buildings will be erected.
Mr. Norris read letter into the record from Sandy Bouchard, 18 Overland Street. In her letter Ms. Bouchard asked that the special permit not be granted. She believes that by granting this special permit traffic in this area will be adversely affected and it will also adversely affect the homes that are presently in this area. She also asked that if the special permit is granted that the applicant add shielding from the light as well as the noise that will come from the site by planting fast growing trees around the perimeter of the site.
Ms. Bouchard explained that granting this special permit will disturb the wildlife and it’s habitat in the area. Another concern cited by Ms. Bouchard is that this will negatively affect the water table in this part of Town. She urged the Board to require the applicant to reduce the size of the project if these issues cannot be alleviated.
Jason Kinicki, 135 Broad Street also submitted a letter. In his letter Mr. Kinicki urged the Board to deny the special permit citing the same concerns as Ms. Bouchard.
Sam Wong submitted additional comments regarding this project. Dr. Wong noted that he had further concerns regarding this project. As these proposed buildings are close to the wetlands and there is an increased prevalence of west nile virus and EEE in Hudson and it’s surrounding communities, the Board of Health is very concerned about an new residential development so close to known mosquito breeding areas.
The last letter read into the record is from Carol Guerard, 58 Forest Ave. Ms. Guerard owns property in the area and has concerns regarding how this will affect the storm water run off.
Stuart Ervin, 10 Overland Street noted his concerns for the excess overflow as well as concerns for the lighting that will be emitted from this development.
Tammy Ducey, 16 Giasson Street asked if the age of the pipes would be an issue. She also noted concern for the traffic, especially with the impending construction on the Washington Street Bridge.
Steve Caragian, 157 Broad Street asked what type of buffer is going to be used between his property and the driveway to the new development. Mr. Sargent said there will be a 6 foot stockade fencing erected along the edge of the property.
Sandra Austin, Atty. for Sandra Bouchard, 18 Overland Street has reviewed the lighting plan and noticed that there is not any shielded lighting on the back of the building. There are lights, however they are not shielded. She asked if shields could be added to the lights in the back. She also noted that there are not any trees that would screen Ms. Bouchard’s property. Mr. Sargent said he didn’t have a problem planting some trees along that side.
Mr. Kinicki asked about the number of parking spaces. He feels that with three bedroom units there will be 3 cars per unit and the plans show 2.5 cars per unit.
Eileen Hamm, 31 Giasson Street expressed her concern for the traffic.
Dorothy Doyle, 135 Broad Street feels that this new development will adversely affect the resale value of her property.
Elaine Fallon, 135 Broad Street feels that the parking will not be sufficient.
Dan Hanon, 17 Overland Street is concerned about the adding 33 units to the sewer infrastructure.
Mr. Petrasiak asked for clarification of the work that will be done in the wetlands. Mr. Sargent explained that the area needs to be cleaned out and get down to the soil. Another area has two existing drain lines that need to be replaced. The last area will have a new 6 inch water line installed. Two trenches will be dug to add the sewer line and the water line.
Mr. Tibbals asked for the dimensions of the wetland areas. Mr. Sargent stated that together they total 3,000 square feet that they will be disturbing.
Mr. Peznola would like that the decks and patios be added to the plans.
Mr. Norris would like to continue the meeting in order to give the Board time to review all of the information.
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Joe Peznola, made a motion to continue the public hearing for 141 & 153 Broad Street to January 10, 2013 at 7 PM.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous.
Ms. Risser returned to the meeting.
Petition 1036: Cabot Road, Comprehensive Permit, Cont.
Present were: Paul Giannetti, Esq.
Paul Feldman, Esq.
Joseph D. Lynch, Senior VP, Conroy Development Corp.
James J. Devellis, Engineer, Devellis Zrein, Inc.
Imad Zrein, Devellis Zrein, Inc.
Shaun P. Kelly, Senior Project Manager, Vanasse & Assoc., Inc.
John Blood, Fire Chief
Don Garcia, Economic Development Commission, Chairman
Alan Wells, Kleinfelder Consultants
Mr. Norris stated that the comments from Kleinfelder have been received by the Board as well as the applicant. Mr. Wells briefly summed up the comments. The majority of the comments are requesting additional information for the waivers with respect to the size of the lot based on the number of units they are proposing. Mr. Wells is looking for additional information regarding the height of the retaining walls and pedestrian walkways. He is also asking that a photometric plan be submitted. Information on the dimension of the turning movements throughout the site is being requested as well as utilities, percentage of open space, sewer and storm water runoff. The rest of the comments are simply restating the requested waivers.
Mark Howland, P.E., traffic consultant for the Town spoke about the traffic study. He feels that most of the study was done well and was appropriate. There were some parts of the study that he noted could have included more information. The study does not take into account the traffic generated by Forestvale Road. Mr. Howland believes it plays are large role in the traffic of this particular area. The intersection of Cabot Road needs to be scrutinized further as the study does not show any accidents occurring in this area however Town police logs show there have been. When exiting Cabot Road the site distance off to the right is challenging as Technology Drive follows are horizontal and vertical curve in its approach to Cabot Road. This should be taken into account and studied further.
Within the study there is a trip distribution that does not match the calculations in the appendix, this should be corrected. Finally, as the housing is being built near a retail location this creates a demand for pedestrian traffic where currently there is not. This should be incorporated in the study.
Mr. Peznola asked Mr. Howland if would typically look at occupancy vs. capacity in preparing a traffic study. Mr. Howland stated that not usually, however as he is working for the Town this was something he considered.
Atty. Giannetti stated that there were several questions raised at the site walk and have all been addressed by the applicant and they are prepared to discuss them.
Mr. Devellis explained that they have met with the Fire Chief and some of his safety staff. They looked at the travel lanes around the buildings. The lanes have been widened from 22 feet to 24 feet. A turning radius test was performed at this meeting. The entrance to the site has been widened as the Fire Chief had requested. There was an initial concern that the fire apparatus would not be able to reach the top of the building. A diagram was prepared with the proper dimensions in order to illustrate that the size of the apparatus is sufficient to reach the top floor of the buildings in an emergency situation.
Mr. Devillis stated that more information is being gathered regarding the sewer issue. Meters have been installed to establish what the flow capacity is and they will submit the data to the Board.
Mr. Kelly addressed the traffic issues that had been previously raised. The traffic study is in the process of being updated. The traffic counts have gone up as the original study did not include school traffic. Counts from Forestvale Road are being taken into account in the new study as well as the vacant retail spaces in the area.
The applicant is proposing 1.75 parking spaces per unit; however the Town would like 2 per unit. When applying this number to the 176 which bring the number of spaces to 271 however Mr. Kelly stated that they are proposing 308 spaces.
Another issue raised was that of pedestrian access. The applicant is proposing a new sidewalk system that would connect the site all the way down to the extension of Cabot Road and along Technology Drive. Mr. Kelly does not feel that the cross walk should be moved from its original location as there are good site lines at this location.
Mr. Norris asked if Mr. Kelly thinks signalizing this intersection is a good idea. Mr. Kelly stated it would be something they could take a closer look at.
Mr. Lynch spoke in regards to the discussions regarding the Wal-Mart access. Mr. Lynch has spoken with Stephanie Glass, Regional Manager of Wal-Mart. Aerial plans have been prepared and Ms. Glass is reviewing them.
The site will generate approximately 20 school aged children. These numbers were provided by CHAPA.
Mr. Peznola asked the applicant to consider moving the retaining wall to the other side.
Mr. Peznola asked if the team has looked into the issues of the sewer and I & I fees. Atty. Feldman explained that the I & I numbers as well as waivers be all be revisited. The DPW has noted the importance of the I & I fees.
Mr. D’Amelio, 9 Edgewood Drive noted that will the reduced aisle widths, reduced number of parking spaces and drive aisles and travel lanes there is 45,000 square feet of reduced pavement. Mr. D’Amelio believes reducing the amount of paved area does not work well in apartment complexes.
Mr. Norris asked that the applicant come back with a more up to date list of waivers for the next meeting.
There were no abutters present.
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Dorothy Risser, made a motion to continue the public hearing for Cabot Road until January 10, 2013 at 7:00 PM.
Vote: 5-0-0, Unanimous
Minutes
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Dottie Risser, made a motion to accept the minutes of September 13, 2012, as written.
Vote: 6-0-0, Unanimous
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Dottie Risser, made a motion to accept the minutes of November 8, 2012, as corrected.
Vote: 6-0-0, Unanimous
Lawrence Norris, seconded by Dottie Risser, made a motion to accept the minutes of November 23, 2012, as written.
Vote: 6-0-0, Unanimous
Adjournment
At 10:00 PM, Lawrence Norris, seconded by Joe Peznola, moved to adjourn.
Vote: 6-0-0, Unanimous
Document List December 13, 2012
Document |
Location |
Special Permit Application 561 Main Street |
Planning Office |
Special Permit Application 141 & 153 Broad Street |
Planning Office |
Minutes of September 8, 2012 |
Planning Office |
Minutes of November 8, 2012 |
Planning Office |
Minutes of November 23, 2012 |
Planning Office |
| 
