These minutes are not verbatim – they are the secretary’s interpretation of what took place at the meeting. – Open Meeting Law – Section III.
Board Members: Marc Garrett, Malcolm MacGregor, Paul McAlduff, Larry Rosenblum, and Bill Wennerberg
Planning Board Alternate: Timothy Grandy
Staff Members: Valerie Massard, and Howard Coppari
Recording Secretary: Eileen Hawthorne
Administrative Notes:
The Board approved the minutes of August 13, 2008 as presented.
The Board approved the minutes of August 18, 2008 as presented.
The Board approved the following ANR plan:
A4310 – E. Bradford and Joanne Buttner, State Road, Map 42, Lots 47-3 (0.92A)and 47-4 (1.27A) – Lot line adjustment plan to create lots 47-7 (0.99A) and 47-8 (1.20A)
Paul McAlduff moved to approve the Administrative Notes as presented; the vote was unanimous (5-0)
Paul McAlduff moved to take “Other Business” out of order: the vote was unanimous (5-0).
Other Business:
Discussion: A.D. Makepeace – Tihonet Village
Judy Kohn, A.D. Makepeace, updated the Board on the MEPA process for the Tihonet Mixed Use Development which is comprised of land in Plymouth (1,800 acres known as Frog Foot), Wareham and Carver. The project is a total of 6,000 acres. A. D. Makepeace has filed an expanded ENF which is a baseline document that describes the environmental conditions for the entire project and looks at development in phases. The first phase would be a 40,000 sq. ft. medical office building and a 115,000 sq. ft. manufacturing/office building in Wareham. Phase B would be the Business Development Overlay District in Wareham consisting of 1,200 acres; Phase C is comprised of land in Carver, Wareham and Plymouth. There are no plans for the land in Plymouth at this time, it is described as an “as of right” development
in the filing with a residential unit count of 437. The 437 units is a place holder for the maximum impacts that could occur on the Frog Foot site. The MEPA comment period ends on September 5, 2008.
Valerie Massard informed the Board that the DPW, Town Engineer and Environmental Management Departments have reviewed the expanded ENF. Ms. Massard presented a draft of a favorable comment letter to be sent to MEPA if the Board is supportive.
Larry Rosenblum asked for a brief update on River Run and whether Makepeace has being following the studio’s presentations and if they had any concerns.
Ms. Kohn replied that the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was filed on August 15, 2008, the notice will be in the Environmental Monitor on August 27, 2008, and the comment period will end September 26, 2008. The EIR includes more information regarding traffic, water, and wastewater than what included in the Board’s special permit. She stated that Makepeace has been following the progress of the studio and hopes for a positive outcome. They do not have any concerns at this time.
Paul McAlduff moved for the Board to approve the draft comment letter to MEPA; the vote was unanimous (5-0).
BOA 3500 – 12 Resnik Road LLC
12 Resnik Road, Map 103, Lot 14K-156, Special Permit to modify or waive off-street parking requirements including but not limited to street setbacks.
Atty. Larry Winokur began the presentation for a revision to the parking lot at 12 Resnik Road. The property was previously approved for an additional 30 parking spaces which would have required relocation of utilities and disruption to the tenants. That plan was never implemented. The current plan would add an additional 18 parking spaces, but requires setback relief. The Design Review Board and the West Plymouth Steering Committee have reviewed the plan and are supportive. Copies of the proposed plan were also mailed to the abutters and the tenants in the building an no objections have been received.
Bill Shaw, Associated Engineers, Inc., presented the plan. The darkened areas indicated the changes to the existing parking. Parking has been added in what was previously a drainage area. There will be minimal impact. Jon Henson has been hired to take inventory and to increase screening where appropriate. The site will be well screened from Resnik Road.
Marc Garrett stated that the Board had a schematic planting plan when they have requested at a previous meeting that landscaping plans include a planting schedule and specifications.
Mr. Shaw stated that he would submit the planting schedule and the specifications to the Board.
Mr. Garrett commented that the proponent is asking for more parking spaces while there are materials being stored outside in existing parking spaces.
Mr. Shaw explained that an area on the plan has been provided for storage.
Mr. Garrett asked whether the storage area would be screened or under cover.
Mr. Shaw replied that it would not be undercover, but would be screened from Resnik Road.
Larry Rosenblum moved to recommend approval to the Zoning Board of Appeals subject to the following conditions:
Prior to an Occupancy Permit being issued, a final landscaped plan with specific tree and shrub species and a scheduled timeline will be reviewed by the Planning Board with review with final approval by the Board of Appeals.
The outdoor storage of material shall be fully screened and buffered in the area designated on the plan (reference plan) with no storage of any kind on existing or proposed parking areas.
Prior to an Occupancy Permit being issued, a Registered Landscape Architect or other qualified licensed professional must certify to the Building Inspector that the required landscaping has been properly installed in accordance with the approved site plan, the Zoning Bylaw and acceptable landscape practices.
Prior to an Occupancy Permit being issued, a Registered Professional Engineer must certify that the drainage system, driveways, curbing, and parking areas have been installed properly and in compliance with the approved plan and the Special Permit.
The vote was unanimous (5-0).
MEPOD Workshop
Bill Wynne, Plymouth Rock Studios (PRS) reviewed where they are in the process. They met with the Precinct Chairs last week and painted the picture of what the studio will look like, feel like and what impacts it will have. They met with several Town departments to work on the fiscal impact study and they hosted a site visit last week. Tonight’s presentation will focus on proposed landscaped buffers with special attention to those closest to Long Pond Road and Bump Rock Road.
Paul D’Angelo, stated that his goal was to create a sensitive and sustainable plan for landscape buffering. They focused on the visual impact analyses and mitigation; use of earthwork and strategic vegetation to buffer potential visual and audio impacts, and integrated LEED certification requirements into the proposed landscaping. There will be a 500 ft. buffer along Long Pond Road with a 150 ft. buffer along Bump Rock Road. The landscaped berms will screen the proposed development from both roads and abutting neighbors. They will maintain existing stands of trees where possible and supplement existing stands of trees with native understory planting. New earthwork berms will be installed and populated with transplanted existing trees and new native nursery stock. Mr. D’Angelo reviewed the
existing species of trees and understory plantings. He showed the existing site features at several locations and presented the proposed landscape buffers. Mr, D’Angelo presented cross sections of what would be visible from several different locations, what the landscaping would look like and how it would fill out over a ten year time span and how the buildings would be screened from the roads and abutters. He also presented pictures of areas in the Pinehills Development where trees and vegetation have been successfully transplanted and used for slope stabilization.
Public Comment – none.
The Board expressed their appreciation of the presentation on Landscaped Buffers.
Mr. Wynne stated that PRS is also looking to reduce the building impacts by lowering some of the buildings into the ground. The fill that is being removed will be used elsewhere on the site, they are reconfiguring the parking areas to accommodate the proposed berms and will save as many trees as possible. They are trying to make the project fit into the topography of the land. He stated that Long Pond Road is at elevation 208 ft. and the berm along Long Pond Road will be 235 ft.
Steve Newbold, Gensler Architects, outlined the coordination of the legal documents that will be required for the project: the creation of the Movie and Entertainment Production Overlay District (MEPOD) section for the Zoning Bylaw; a Memorandum of Understanding that addresses traffic and financial studies and peer review; and the Design Guidelines. The documents will establish what the community wants and the Planning Board will utilize them during the site plan approval process. The goals and purpose of the site plan and guidelines is to define the project parameters to insure the use of appropriate land planning techniques and to provide appropriate protections for the community in regards to controls for visibility, noise, light, roads, traffic, buffers, landscape, materials, etc. and for protection of the environment.
Mr. Newbold stated that the guidelines are written to contain both goals and define requirements, and the requirements can either be performance-based or prescriptive. The guidelines have been drafted with input from the Town Boards and Departments, staff and the community; modeling from previous Design Guidelines (adopted in the Town) and with negotiations between the proponent and the design team. The goal is to create a quality development while minimizing auto trips, preserving open space and the natural environment, preserving ground water systems and limiting wastewater impacts, create a distinct “Place” of modest scale that is functionally diverse, create a community, encourage low impact development that is pedestrian friendly, sustainable, and encourages alternate transportation, uses a combination of traditional New England building materials, encourages high quality architectural design that blends with local architecture, allows for
variation of exterior detailing to promote village scale and site plan, provides a landscaped design that uses native drought tolerant plantings and screens parking areas and off street parking, and outlines the dimensional requirements for setbacks, buffers, maximum structure height limits and maximum lot coverage. The Design Guidelines will only apply to this property. They define the parameters which the Planning Board will use to define compliance during the site plan review process.
Alex Fernandes, Gensler Architects, reviewed the design vision which includes: stewardship of the land and surroundings, creates a modern facility that embraces Plymouth’ s best qualities, develops the site with the best sustainable strategies, and creates the next chapter in Plymouth’s history by planning and building for the long term. The guiding principles for site planning include low impact design principles, sensitivity to rural residential character, relate to the rural residential character, creates a cohesive campus through open space strategies, define sequences, outlines the landscape design character, defines the hierarchies among the site elements, blends regional architecture and historic local architecture with modern, promotes a mix of uses, provides adequate parking and service areas, and uses sustainable
strategies at all scales. The guiding principles for building design include: designing buildings that engage the landscape, using architecture to activate public spaces, promoting diversity of building forms, accommodating modern services in a discrete fashion, maintaining craftsmanship and visual appeal, providing aesthetics in response to scale and context. Mr. Fernandes showed pictures that exemplify the guiding principles.
Mr. Rosenblum complimented the proponents on the substance and quality of the presentation.
Mr. McAlduff stated that both the Nathaniel Morton and Hedge Schools have lasted for over 100 years and suggested that the proponents think long term, more than 20 to 30 years out.
Mr. Newbold stated that it is important to get the basics right.
Mr. MacGregor thought the presentation was terrific and encouraged the proponents to fashion the rules guiding the project so the principles come to reality.
Bill Wennerberg felt it was exciting to see the project come together and evolve into something that is invisible from the abutting neighborhoods.
Tim Grandy praised the presentation and stated that it was a big step forward and he was pleased that the architecture throughout al of Plymouth was being reviewed in the considerations by the studio.
Mr. Garrett applauded the strides of PRS that are being made in a short period of time and for integrating the suggestions of the Board and the community in their plans.
Mr. Newbold asked that the Board review the draft Design Guidelines and provide specific comments for improvements to the document.
Ken Tavares, Board of Selectmen, stated that he was looking forward to reviewing the financial impacts of the project. He was impressed with the presentations and recognized that refining the details is an ongoing process. This project could become a model for other development in the community.
Joseph Desilva stated that he was pleased with what was seen in this evening’s presentation. He asked if the sound stages would have parking underneath.
Mr. Newbold explained that the sound stages would not have parking underneath. They are only considering parking underneath for the hotel, the education complex and a portion of the office space.
Cheryl Dempsey asked for an explanation of the Silver LEED certification vs. the Gold LEED certification.
Mr. Newbold explained that the LEED certification is based on a numerical scale and ranges from Bronze to Platinum. They are confident that they will reach the Silver certification, but will also strive to make the project better.
Jim Concannon thought the presentation was impressive and asked about the buffers closest to the school site.
Mr. Garrett replied that the buffers adjacent to the school site would be treated in a similar fashion to the other buffered areas on the site.
Steven Taylor, PRS, stated that they are planning an outreach with the public to host a “Green” charette to find ideas that can be implemented immediately and in the future to “reduce and reuse”.
Mr. MacGregor stated that the access is an important issue and requested an onsite to walk the area where the proposed access road would be created.
Kevin O’Reilly stated that PRS would be meeting tomorrow with the Wildlands Trust to draft ideas on where the road could be constructed and they could host an onsite later this week. Mr. O’Reilly offered to coordinate with staff to organize an onsite.
Mr. MacGregor suggested that a Saturday morning onsite might be beneficial.
Mr. McAlduff stated that there is an opportunity for a spectacular entrance with a winding road through the woods.
Mr. Rosenblum stated that he still had two concerns with the proposed project; the approval process (site plan review vs. special permit) and the access.
Mr. MacGregor expressed his concern with setting a precedent by allowing a 45 ft. building height and suggested lowering the building height to 35 ft. with a potential to vary the height. Mr. Rosenblum expressed his concerns in regards to the technical discussion of the project. He moved to continue the public hearings and thevote of MEPOD to September 15, 2008 given that he will be absent on the 8th and can enact Mullen’s Rule to be able to vote on the 15th with the Board; the vote was unanimous (5-0).
Bill Wennerberg moved to adjourn at 8:40 p.m.; the vote was unanimous (5-0).
Respectfully Submitted,
Eileen M. Hawthorne Approved: September 8, 2008
Administrative Assistant
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