MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Patrick Kennedy, Suzanne Choate, Louise Evans, Bart Pacekonis, Michael Sullivan and Cliff Slicer
ALTERNATES PRESENT: David Sorenson, Daniel Jeski, Viney Wilson sitting for Gary Bazzano
STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Banach, Director of Planning
Jeff Doolittle, Town Engineer
PUBLIC HEARING – COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Evans read the legal notice into the record as it was published in the Journal Inquirer on Thursday, December 28, 2006 and Thursday, January 4, 2007.
1. Appl 06-57P, Design Professionals, Inc. Zoning Amendment – request to add section 4.14 to allow duplexes by special exception in RR zones under certain conditions.
Peter DeMallie presented the application.
DeMallie read the proposed zoning amendment into the record (Exhibit A).
From the 2002 Plan of Conservation and Development transitional uses are encouraged along zone boundaries. Impacts have been considered. An example has been given of an existing multi family building in a similar situation across the street from Rockville Bank’s headquarters on the west side of Clark street. There are three residences. It is a transitional use between the single family residential zone to the west and the restricted commercial zone to the east.
Banach gave a planning report:
Request for amendment to Section 4.14 of the zoning regulations to allow for duplex dwellings by special exception under certain conditions.
The current regulations have no provisions for new duplexes to be built on single family lots. There is an existing provision in the regulations that allows for the conversion of an older home into a two family dwelling when it meets the special exception criteria.
The Town Plan of Conservation and Development includes recommendations regarding housing within Section II, Ongoing Considerations. Section IIA has three recommendations:
Continue to pursue policies that accommodate a range of housing alternatives without sacrificing Town character;
Be mindful of the need to maintain a cross-section of housing types and costs when investigating alternative approaches to residential development; and
Address needs for moderately priced single family homes and housing for the Town’s senior citizens….
Duplexes are generally a more modestly-priced home that could offer more housing choices to residents. There should be no unanticipated infrastructure, environmental or traffic impacts as a result of this amendment.
The Capitol Region Council of Governments reviewed the amendment as required. The CRCOG review indicates that, “The staff of the Regional Planning Commission of the Capitol Region Council of Governments has reviewed this referral and finds no apparent conflict with regional plans and policies or the concerns of neighboring towns.”
There are no other reported staff concerns with the proposed amendments. If the Commission does approve this amendment, you might want to expand the special exception conditions to allow duplexes to be contiguous to other non-residential uses such as schools or places of worship; and/or contiguous to multi-family developments.
Discussion ensued among the commissioners:
Evans: What would prevent the domino effect from taking place where several duplexes were built in a row? DeMallie: You would have to have many undeveloped lots in a row. Evans: Would this be on “no new streets?” DeMallie: This could be added. It doesn’t seem there will be many new streets built. Evans: Another comment: After A, if you simply put and/or B you wouldn’t need C which doesn’t read quite right. DeMallie: I agree.
Choate: Is the minimum lot size a concern? Banach: The minimum lot size in the RR zone is an acre. There is no concern.
The public hearing closed at 7:45 p.m.
2. Appl 06-54P, Deming Plaza, LLC- request for resubdivision to create one new lot and site plan approval for the construction of a shopping center (24,500 sf) on 4.6 acres of land located on the northeasterly corner of Buckland Road and Deming Street, GD zone
Peter DeMallie presented the application:
Ownership and location was discussed as listed in the application wording above. The parcel is 9.43 acres and it is being subdivided into two parcels. Parcel B will remain with the church and will be just over 4.8 acres. Parcel A will be 4.6 acres to be known as Deming Plaza. It required a re-subdivision.
History of Gateway Development zoning was reviewed by DeMallie. In 1995 the Gateway zoning regulations were adopted after determining Buckland Road should be commercial. The Village at Buckland Court; Dental Offices of Robert Grillo; Lowes; Target; Mens Warehouse shopping center; Evergreen Run; Shops at Evergreen Walk; Highland Park market; ECHN; LA Fitness with more to come are examples of what the Gateway Development zone has brought and how it has acted as an economic development vehicle for the town.
DeMallie reviewed the quality of development required by the commission in the Gateway development zone.
A branch bank is proposed along with a small restaurant and ten or fewer retail tenants. Total square footage is 24,500. The site received IWA/CC approval.
Karen Isherwood, project manager with Design Professionals, Inc., noted that currently on the site there is the existing church building and associated parking. There are drainage swales, draining northwesterly into twin 12inch pipes located to the northwest corner, then entering a drainage ditch to the west and ultimately entering the piped drainage system within Buckland Road that discharges into Plum Gully Brook.
Parcel A will contain three buildings; 1600 sf of retail; 4500 sf building (possibly a restaurant); 4000 sf bank with 3 drive thru windows. There is a by pass lane around the south of this drive thru.
Both parcels meet the bulk requirements. Minimum lot size requirements have been met as well as setbacks. Large open spaces between the front of buildings and public roads with the minimal yard spaces at the rear of the properties are required by the regulations and have been met with the proposed application. The retail building was placed as shown in order to comply with the intent of the regulation. The maximum impervious coverage allowed is 60%; 59.3% provided. The maximum building height allowed is 60 feet, all buildings conform to this requirement.
Parking spaces proposed are 178 spaces; 24 spaces for the bank; 90 spaces for the restaurant; 64 spaces for the retail.
There is no outdoor storage proposed for this site. There are no loading docks. Loading area wording will be removed from the site plan.
Dumpster locations were discussed and all requirements will be met. There will be no satellite dishes proposed.
Off street parking will consist of a shared access drive to be 24 feet in width located between the existing Calvary Church and the new Deming Plaza lot on Deming Street. The parking has been designed to accommodate customer parking as well as delivery trucks and fire vehicles. The minimum corner radius for a loop within the parking area is 25 feet. This loop is capable of allowing larger (WB-50 tractor trailers) vehicles to access the parking lot. Off street parking will be around all three sides of the buildings. Details of parking spaces are shown on the site plans.
At least 10% of the interior of the parking containing 30 or more parking spaces shall be landscaped with trees and continuously maintained. Parking lots located between Buckland Road and/or Oakland Road shall provide at least 12% landscaped areas and the proposed site plans meet these requirements.
Stormwater management is addressed on the plans, including clean water run-off, how it is collected, treated and detained. Additional treatment for the water is proposed above and beyond what is required.
Erosion and sedimentation controls are included with the proposed application and all requirements are met.
ADRC had concerns regarding parking lot circulation and the applicant indicated they have addressed those concerns. Engineering comments were addressed regarding sidewalks and widening the entrance drive as well as issues of the parking lot. Sheet 4A shows a widening plan for Deming Street.
Jim Bubaris of Bubaris Traffic Associates presented the site traffic study dated November 10, 2006. The study area was Buckland Road south of Ellington Road, including intersections serving Evergreen Walk; Deming Street from the east all the way to Slater Road; and Deming Street to the west all the way to Clark Street. Traffic counts were conducted between 4-6pm on Friday and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. Each component was considered (retail, bank and restaurant). Intersections were evaluated and they are all working well. Forty percent of the traffic would be oriented to the north, fifteen percent to the west by way of Deming, fifteen to the east, the remaining thirty percent would be oriented to the south. This is consistent with the traffic flow that Deming Street has experienced with
the other developments that have taken place. The levels of service will remain the same as they are today.
The section of Deming Street from Buckland to the site drive is not wide enough and the west bound approach (left turn lane) is not long enough. It is suggested that a widening be made and that it extend beyond the site drive. Speed studies on Deming Street show the 85th percentile speed at 40 mph. The site lines are adequate for 40mph.
Accident experience: Every Police Department is required to provide their accident data to the motor vehicle department who then gives it to the transportation department. The most recent data collected was October 2002 to September 2005 and showed three accidents on the entire length of Deming Street.
We believe this project will not have an adverse effect on Deming Street.
Richard Boston, Landscape Architect of Design Professionals, Inc presented the proposed landscaping plans for the applicant:
The overall gateway theme will be continued. The street trees will be similar to those already used in the gateway zone. A variety of heights and textures have been used as well as colors. Appropriate evergreen plant materials will be used to screen out headlights between the parking lot and the streets. The Evergreen hedge will be interspersed with dogwood trees and high bush blueberry.
The detention basin will be screened by a shrub hedge. A white oak and red dogwoods will be in the center of the detention basin. An assortment of flowers will be used on the islands and the foundation plantings will provide color throughout the year.
Perennials and ornamental grasses are proposed along the entrance way into the project, which will compliment the retaining wall. The parking entrance to the south of the retail building will have ornamental crab apple trees and magnolias as well as evergreens and dogwoods. Behind and to the north of the proposed restaurant, an evergreen hedge and screening is proposed including approximately 45 plants. Landscape buffers will use a variety of plant materials, eventually reaching 75 feet in height.
One basic type of architectural area lighting, identical to that used in Evergreen Walk, will be installed. Fixtures will be full cut off. Heights and watts were presented. This project is 65 feet lower than Grand View Avenue which may alleviate concerns of the residents regarding lighting. Bulbs will not be seen and there will be no glare.
David Holmes of Capital Studio Architects presented the architectural designs of the proposed application. He noted that Evergreen Walk and other existing buildings along the Gateway Zone have been used as models while designing Deming Plaza. The buildings have been tied together with archways, color and textures. The buildings have a feeling of being firmly rooted to the ground. The façade of the buildings and their materials were described along with roof screening and color schemes. Earth tones will be used.
The retail building is the largest of the three. It has been designed to appear as three separate buildings. A fabric awning system will be used. Going from shop to shop, patrons will always be covered. Deming Street elevation will have a stucco finish with stylish windows. Service and emergency entrances will have awnings.
The bank building will have a raised roof at the entrance with stucco on the façade. The main element of the building will be a tower making the entrance a focal point. The Deming Street elevation is mostly glass and the east elevation is the service entrance. The three buildings have different characteristics but work well together.
Banach gave a planning report:
Request for resubdivision and site plan approval to construct a small retail plaza on the northeast corner of Buckland Road and Deming Street, Gateway Development zone. Lot size is 4.6 acres; minimum lot size required is 3 acres. Maximum impervious coverage allowed is 60%, 59.3% proposed. Front yard setback is 65 feet, 65 feet required. Proposed building heights vary from 30 feet to 44.5 feet; the height of all three buildings conforms to zoning requirements, but the zoning data table should be altered to reflect correct building heights.
The stated purpose of the Buckland Gateway zone is to create an attractive entrance to South Windsor. One of the general concepts is that site planning is an essential criterion of the Buckland Gateway zone. Sites developed under this zone are intended to be carefully planned, both within the site’s own boundaries and in relation to surrounding properties and the entire Buckland Gateway zone. There are several design aspects that concern Town staff. These concerns include:
· The Deming Street frontage has several of the less attractive site elements, including the receiving area on the retail building; one set of dumpsters, and the bank drive-up windows. Shipping receiving areas and trash collection areas are prohibited from being visible from public streets (section 5.8.6.c.1 & 3);
· The majority of the parking is in front of the main building, which does not appear to meet the requirements of Section 5.8.6.d.1(c), which requires that off-street parking shall generally be distributed around buildings;
· All vehicles are required to pass by the back of the main retail building, which has very few distinguishing architectural features;
· The parking lot circulation pattern is not altogether straightforward and may lead vehicles unintentionally into the bank bypass lane;
The application includes plans for Deming Street improvements. Access management provisions are satisfied by having the entrance on Deming Street rather than Buckland Road, and by including a shared driveway with the Calvary Church site. The entrance ramp has a retaining wall between the ramp and the back of the building, and drops about 20 feet in elevation from Deming Street to the end of the ramp.
Sidewalks are shown along the entire length of both Buckland Road and Deming Street.
The parking requirement for the proposed uses is 178 spaces; 178 spaces have been provided. The parking spaces in front of the main retail building abut the 8’ concrete sidewalk. It is unclear from the site plan how much sidewalk will actually be available for pedestrians, with bumper overhangs onto the sidewalk and what appears to be architectural bump-outs shown on the site plan.
Architectural and Design Review Committee reviewed this proposal on December 7. The ADRC was pleased with the architecture; however, there was no guarantee that either outbuilding would actually have the proposed facades, depending on the future tenants, so they must return to ADRC. ADRC also requested more sidewalk/pedestrian linkages between buildings and noted that traffic circulation was not intuitive and had potential conflicts. The Committee questioned how service trucks would load & unload. They also requested that lights be dimmed at the close of business at night.
The architectural elevations show rooftop unit screening in some areas. Staff are concerned that rooftop unit visibility from Buckland Road and/or Deming Street could be an issue due to the site topography.
There are two different types of light poles proposed, a decorative fixture that is 15’ tall, and a shoebox fixture that is 24’ tall. The decorative fixtures are shown around the perimeter of the site, with the shoebox fixtures in the center of the main parking lot. This site seems too small for two different types of lighting fixtures. Staff suggest that the shoebox fixtures be eliminated and decorative fixtures used for the entire site.
Parking lot landscaping for the Gateway zone requires 12% landscaping in any parking areas between Buckland Road and a building. The landscaping plan indicates that the 12% requirement is met; however, the landscaping within the parking lot islands appears to be rather sparse.
The detention basin is located along Buckland Road. The basin is a partially wet basin, and will be partially planted with wetlands plantings, thus part of it will have the appearance of a marshy area. A low fieldstone wall along Buckland Road could help to improve the appearance.
There is a freestanding monument sign proposed near the corner of Buckland Road and Deming Street; the location is shown on the landscaping plan. Signage on the stores themselves will contribute either positively or negatively to the appearance of the retail building. Staff suggest a coordinated signage plan for the site.
There is a buffer required on the west side of the Calvary Church property. Buffer plantings are shown as required. There is a street trees easement along Buckland Road as required. The street trees easement does not continue along Deming Street due to a sanitary sewer line and easement that already occupies the Deming Street frontage. The applicant has included street trees located just behind the sewer easement.
There are regulated wetlands just off site on the northwest corner. IWA/CC approval was granted on December 20, 2006, with a bond in the amount of $25,000 to ensure compliance with the erosion and sedimentation control measures, and a bond in the amount of $25,000 to ensure establishment of the stormwater structure.
The Police Dept has reviewed the plans and expressed the same concerns as the Planning and Engineering depts. regarding internal traffic flow. They are also looking for the Deming Street improvements to be constructed.
The Fire Marshal has reviewed the plans and indicated where he requires hydrants to be located.
Public water and sewer are available. Water Pollution Control Authority approval is required.
The site owner is reminded that outdoor storage is not allowed in the Gateway zone. All business must be conducted within completely enclosed buildings.
The dumpsters are shown on concrete pads and screened with PVC fencing. The fence detail appears to be stockade-style which, for dumpsters on the street in the Gateway zone, does not seem to represent the high standards set elsewhere in the Gateway zone (such as Evergreen Walk and Evergreen Run).
If this application is approved, the Planning Dept requests that the above-noted items be addressed, and also that the traffic engineer provide the average daily traffic in the traffic report.
Doolittle gave an engineering report:
1. Widen the radius of the driveway at the intersection of Deming street to better accommodate trucks turning right out of the site and left into the site.
2. Widen the main driveway to 26 feet to make it easier for cars and delivery trucks to pass, especially on the turns into the site.
3. Where is the main traffic circulation route around the inside of the site? Are cars and trucks expected to regularly use the bypass lane around the bank drive-thru?
4. The dumpster locations proposed will require the garbage trucks to back up a fairly long distance (50-100 ft) through the parking lot to be able to turn around. The dumpster location on the north side of the site will probably result in the garbage truck backing up thru a main intersection with the site driveway which is a safety concern. The dumpsters should be relocated to places where they are more easily accessible to garbage trucks but are also more removed from the main areas of vehicle and pedestrian traffic on site. The dumpster locations should not require garbage trucks to back a long ways in areas where there will possibly be
conflicts with other vehicles and/or pedestrians.
5. What type of delivery trucks will be using this site? The site layout proposed works ok for smaller straight delivery trucks like UPS trucks. However, the site layout is very tight for a typical tractor trailer truck (WB-50). These trucks will have difficulty getting in and out of the site without infringing on other traffic lanes at all turns and intersections. It will also be very difficult for these trucks to back into the designated loading zone on the south side of the main retail building. It appears they will have to pull in toward the bank drive thru the wrong way and may run over the curbed islands on one or both
sides of the main aisle. I suggest the loading zone be moved to the north side of the building.
6. Show stop signs and stop bars at the intersection on site between the proposed restaurant and retail building.
7. Label the top and bottom elevations of the retaining walls on the plans. A scale plan and elevation of the actual wall should be provided. A railing may be needed on top of the wall. If there is a wall on the Buckland Road side of the parking lot, this needs to be labeled also.
8. Is the line with circles along the western edge of the parking lot a fence or guiderail? Please label this line.
9. A guiderail is needed along the parking lot by the top of the detention basin due to the steep slope. Another guiderail is needed along the western edge of the entrance drive south of the big building due to the steep slope there also.
10. Show the necessary sight line distances along Deming Street from the driveway.
11. Also show any necessary limits of clearing along Deming Street for sightlines.
12. Additional ROW or an easement along Deming Street must be given to the Town of South Windsor for the sidewalk where it is proposed outside the existing ROW.
13. The sidewalk shown conflicts with the traffic control equipment and possibly other existing things at the corner of Deming Street and Buckland Road. The sidewalk or traffic control equipment needs to be relocated to eliminate these conflicts. No handholes, manholes, utility valve boxes, poles, signs, etc area allowed to infringe on the sidewalk. A sidewalk easement may be necessary here also.
14. Move the proposed handicap ramp to cross Deming Street, instead of Buckland Road at their intersection.
15. Show swales graded to the proposed catch basin in the northeast corner of the site from both the south and east to channel surface water running down the hill to this catch basin inlet.
16. Where is the roof leader/foundation drain for the proposed restaurant?
17. Show an external grease tank with the sanitary sewer connection for the proposed restaurant unless other means of collecting the grease are planned.
18. The twin 15” pipes should be inspected, and cleaned to insure they are functioning properly. I suggest these pipes be replaced with a 24” pipe at a flatter slope to reduce the storm drainage outlet velocities while maintaining the same flow capacity.
19. Include a rip rap emergency overflow spillway on the north side of the detention basin toward the existing drainage ditch. The top elevation of the spillway should be at least 6 inches below the top of the berm
20. Show construction details of the berm around the northwest side of the detention basin. Does this need to be permitted as a dam?
21. Regarding the Stormwater Management Plan:
a. Include mowing the vegetated side slopes of the detention basin at least twice yearly.
b. In Appendix E, include all sheets of the Hydrograph Reports for all storm events so the peak inflows are shown.
c. More information is needed on the Hydrograph Report for Hyd. No. 14. How are hydrographs 12 included here? Where are Hydrographs 10, 11, and 13?
d. Update the storm sewer design calculations to reflect the current site layout (CB10 to CB8) and existing twin 15” drainage pipes.
22. Include another sheet showing the road widening layout, lane widths, pavement markings, and signs for the Deming Street widening
23. The topographic plan and the widening plan are difficult to read because of small text, overlapping labels, elevations and notes. These plans need to be reorganized so they are easier to read.
24. End the painted median island to the west of the Calvary Church driveway.
25. Taper the road widening so the road is at least 30 feet wide to the east of the Calvary Church driveway.
26. Add a note/dimensions to the plan showing that the front of the sidewalk along Deming Street and Buckland Road is a minimum of 5-6 feet behind the curb.
27. Show utilities that need to be relocated for the road widening.
28. A drainage analysis of Deming Street is needed to verify that 15” diameter drainage pipes will adequately handle the storm drainage flows from this road. This analysis may also show that larger pipes are needed.
29. On the widening plan the permanent pavement patching detail and the road widening detail should conform to the Town’s details for permanent patching and for the roadway section for collector roads respectively.
30. On the detail sheet, the pavement section should show 6” processed stone base.
31. Include details for the detention basin berm, rip rap emergency overflow spillway, and sanitary sewer manhole.
32. The Town is planning on resurfacing Buckland Road next summer (mill and overlay) and we want to avoid utility cuts in the road after it is redone for as long as possible. The sanitary sewer lateral and any other work that may impact Buckland Road needs to be done early in the spring so it does not interfere with the planned road work.
33. The plan sheets show three drive-thru lanes for the bank, however the architectural elevations only show two. These should agree.
34. WPCA review and approval is required for this proposed site plan.
35. The sewer connecting to the manhole in Buckland Road will be very close to the bottom of the 42” drain pipe that it must cross under. Some of the structure elevations on the plan differ from the Town’s record information so the vertical clearance is uncertain.
36. The sewer from MH 3 to MH 4 appears to conflict with the drain crossing from CB 12 to CB 13.
37. The sanitary sewer on the site is considered to be a building sewer and a review of the flows should be provided to confirm that the flow velocities are all at least 2 ½ feet per second.
38. Elevations are needed for the inlet and outlet pipes to the sediment structure.
Public had comments and concerns:
Tom Stedman, 247 Felt Road, spoke in favor of the application. Sullivan Ave/Buckland Rd is the retail corridor of South Windsor. Evergreen Run is hard to navigate in an SUV and what is being proposed here is larger so will be easier to navigate. He indicated this proposal will meet the needs of the town and urged the commission to approve this application.
Attorney William Broneil: Representing the Calvary Church located on the site. This proposal is the most commercially viable plan that will allow the church to continue and possibly expand its ministry. The Church wanted to feel comfortable with their selected developers. The Church will be an ideal buffer between the commercial and residential, so he urged the commission to grant approval.
Susan Jenny, 614 Foster Street: Spoke in favor for the proposal.
AnnaMae Davis, 9 Ridge Road: Moved into town in 1957 when the town was very rural. The north side of Deming Street was vacant and a snow fence would keep snow off the street. For the most part, growth has been managed fairly, however, traffic and road management is a very different story. The choices of business in this proposal are in conflict with this area. Condominium offices are what she was led to believe would be developed in front of the church property. The driveway cut into Deming Street is preposterous. The traffic study needs to be done again. Walking on the street during the day is hard. The curb cut must not come off of Deming Street. The size of the site plan is also a concern with the amount of building taking place on the location. She
asked the Commission to please consider these concerns very seriously when making their decision so the Town can continue to be proud of its continued growth.
Vince Atonese, 33 Sealy Drive: Asked the commission to strictly uphold the regulations in the Gateway Zone and consider the impact to the residential area. The application meets some aspects of the regulation but he is opposed to it because of the content. Concerns are with increased traffic. This past summer a car flipped over in front of a home on Deming Street. Lighting is another concern. LA Fitness is not aesthetically pleasing at night and can be seen from the residential area. Noise can be heard (dumpsters being dropped off) from the residential zone. Odor is a concern. There are other areas along the Gateway zone where this would be ideal, but this close to residents will have an impact. This application does not fit the intent of the
regulations.
Vicky Margiotte, 32 Sele Drive, noted that the intent of the gateway zone was to create an attractive entrance to South Windsor. The gateway to South Windsor is comparable to the Berlin Turnpike. This specific location of this application was previously requested by Stop & Shop but noise, safety and traffic concerns led to a denial. The widening of Deming Street is a concern. The church claims to be the most impacted by this application but they have already sold one parcel and there is no guarantee that they will remain. They have taken down their sign so please listen to the residents who will be impacted. Signage is a concern. Internally lit signs should be banished from gateway zone. LA Fitness has signage that is unsightly. If there is a restaurant allowed,
the odor is a concern. The parking lot layout is a concern because 18 wheelers service restaurants and will be sharing space with shoppers. The traffic study was done before ECHN was established and referenced accident data from 2002-2005 timeframe stating that there were little or no accidents. She challenged this data based on the fact that she sees glass on Deming Street constantly. Regulations for traffic require a smooth flow of traffic. The Buckland/Deming intersection is not a smooth flow. The lighting is another concern. Even if it meets regulations, look at the lighting at the ECHN site glowing. Please cover the entire light. There is too much being put on this site and it will impact the residents.
Linda Cutler, 58 Sele Drive: The land size is a concern. She notes that she needs to have more acreage for horses than what is needed for a 10 store shopping center. Drainage is a concern. The left turning lane is a concern and how it will impact traffic. Safety with speeding and school children on Deming Street as well as trucks using the street are a concern.
Linda Zajack, mother of Anne Gagliardo of South Windsor: Safety is a concern on Deming Street. Buckland Road is 4 lanes and flat. Deming Street is winding, with hills and two lanes. Traffic reports were done during slow hours and should be done during peak shopping hours. Growing up she experienced many accidents on Deming Street. The visibility on Deming Street is already poor and the volume has increased since development has taken place. The restaurant will attract parties which may include alcohol; and the patrons will then use Deming Street according to this application. She fears for her mother’s safety leaving her driveway.
Ron Merrick, 48 Sele Drive: The lighting from LA Fitness is irritating and ruins the skyline at night. Deming Plaza lighting will only make this worse. Traffic is a concern for school children waiting for busses on the street. Patrons going to the proposed plaza raises additional safety concerns. More buildings can be put into 4 acres than horses can be put onto the same amount of acreage.
Sue Larson, 350 Deming Street: Concerns are with the church being part of the 75 foot buffer. This is a terrible precedent to set. A building should not be a buffer and the road should be moved. The plaza looks like a strip mall. We want something more attractive for the gateway zone. The church driveway should be connected into this driveway. The mechanical devices on the buildings need to be carefully looked at. A sign restricting trucks should be placed on Deming Street. The parking lot should be better designed for trucks and the loading zone should be better defined. The landscaping plan needs more landscaping in the parking lot islands, with low landscaping at the ends of the aisles.
Lee Santos, 513 Deming Street: He has young children who wait on Deming Street for the bus and the traffic is backed up now. Deming Plaza being accessed from Deming Street will put the school children in danger.
Steve Ickenbocker, 65 Cardinal Way: The driveway on Deming Street will cause many more accidents. Even before Deming Plaza something needs to be done about the traffic and safety on Deming Street. Turning left off of Buckland onto Deming Street is very difficult and the light does not work as it should.
Mike Adomo, 50 Cardinal Way: The impact of this development is on Deming Street and raises concerns for the residential area. The traffic report is highly suspect. Concerns are with safety and traffic on Deming Street. Demographics should be researched in more detail and what shops go into this site should be closely looked at.
Anne Burgess, 373 Deming Street: As the project is proposed she is opposed. The quality of life for children in the neighborhood is a concern. Safety and overall appearance is also in question with this development. The look of the area is what drew residents to live on Deming Street.
Discussion ensued among the commissioners: (responses in italics)
Sullivan: What would the remedy be in regard to the Church being the buffer? Larson: The road will need to be moved over.
Sullivan: It is hard to imagine a development not having an impact on a residential area in regard to lighting, traffic, etc. Absent from the presentation is how the applicant is going to handle rooftop screening. The peaks of the roof can be raised and also used as screening. We can minimize the mechanicals as well. We are conscious of this as an issue. Requirements are that rooftops mechanicals are to be screened. Previously we have had applicants show 3-D presentations showing how screening will be done. Concerns are also with the building materials and what has been presented such as vinyl and aluminum. Samples would be appreciated and would give a better understanding of how this development would give the appearance of a village and not a typical shopping
plaza. We would be happy to assemble a sample board.
Sullivan: Residents have been concerned with the lighting at ECNH and LA Fitness. Are the planning comments geared towards the type of light fixtures that would minimize the spill over of light? Banach: There is no spill over light in the gateway zone. Spill over light does not mean you can’t see it from a distance. It is impossible to prevent seeing light unless you put up a wall. The fixtures are full cut off but residents will see a lighted area that was not lit before.
Residents believe that they can see the incandescent fixture. It is my intention to follow up on this.
Sullivan: Residents are concerned about the driveway access being on Deming Street. Banach: Putting the driveway on Buckland raises issues of crossing over four lanes to access Deming Plaza rather than an easy turn off of Deming Street. Perhaps if the driveway was closer to Deming Street it would be further from residents and also get the site to look less like a strip mall. The developer is following zoning requirements by not placing the driveway on Buckland.
Sullivan: Residents are concerned with the traffic report and feel that this application may indeed make traffic conditions worse on Deming Street. Bubaris: When Evergreen Walk was proposed I was hired by the Town to estimate what would happen to traffic. I thought they should show more traffic using Deming Street, east of Buckland Rd. after retail goes in, but the developers did not agree. Now that I have gone back and actually measured Deming Street, I find they were right. Deming Street has 200 vehicles per hour during peaks (3 per minute). Deming Plaza will bring some more traffic, but I don’t think it will exacerbate the situation. There should be something to discourage trucks from using Deming Street and the road should be improved.
Sullivan: Do you believe that this plaza will increase truck traffic on Deming Street?
Bubaris: Not knowing what is going into the space, I can’t answer that. The majority of traffic that is using Deming Street is probably people living on Deming Street. Also, the ECHN building is in the study.
Pacekonis: What provisions have been made in regards to safety for mass transit, such as bus turnouts? Bubaris: Mass transit or public transportation is not built into our traffic report. Doolittle: The town does not have any requirements as far as bus turnouts. The routes are set by Connecticut Transit according to need. The regulations include provisions for necessary off site improvements.
Pacekonis wanted clarification from Isherwood concerning the parking area and the revisions made based on town comments. Concerns of trucks and loading zones brought up by residents are valid as well as dumpster locations. Isherwood: (Exhibit B) The site plan approved at Evergreen Run is an example how garbage disposal has been achieved in the past. We can schedule garbage to be taken out before retail activity will occur. Dumpster enclosures will be modified.
Pacekonis wanted clarification of the landscaping on the west side of the parking lot. Boston: The west side will have some perennials, an evergreen hedge for screening and other low flowering bushes. Concerns are with snow storage. Plans need to be shown for a retaining wall as well. Existing trees 6” or larger need to be tagged. There are 3 that will remain and we will be losing some at the swale.
Pacekonis: At the Deming/Buckland intersection are improvements for pedestrians going to be made? Doolittle: There are no plans at this time, but plans could be implemented.
Pacekonis: Concerns are with having a three lane drive-thru and not expecting this in the gateway zone as well as metal roofs in this area. The safety on Deming Street is a valid concern and a plan for widening Deming Street is important. Doolittle: There is a conceptual plan to widen Deming Street up to Grand View Terrace. Odor is another concern of residents, this could be discussed at the next meeting as well as drainage concerns.
Choate wanted clarification of the location of the buffer on the church property and also opened discussion regarding the detention basin and the location. Banach: Detention basin issues are usually with aesthetics. Our park superintendent suggested a low fieldstone wall along Deming Street. Richard Boston: The stone wall is not appropriate for the design and very expensive. There is a berm along the side of Buckland Road buffering the detention basin.
Choate would like a cross-section visual of the buffer. Boston: Presented an elevation showing the lots and the buffer in relation to landscaping, lights, elevations, buildings and retaining walls.
Choate: Does the dumpster enclosure have a gate? I would think it would. Rooftop screening needs to be shown better. Deming Street frontage is not spruced up as well as it could be. Sidewalk connections are a concern and dimming lights after hours. There will be security lighting only after hours. The church drive should come off of the access drive which would eliminate an access point on Deming Street. Crosswalks and a handicap ramp are a valid consideration at this point.
Evans: What size are the retails stores going to be? Until we know how many, we do not know what the sizes will be. Will there be parking around all sides? Isherwood gave examples at Evergreen Run and LA Fitness that do not have parking on all sides.
Evans wanted clarification on what would prevent cars from going into the detention basin. Wood guardrails would be on the pavement side of the bushes. How much standing water will be in the swale to the east of the site? The water will go straight through. The detention basin will have some standing water.
Evans: Will there be signs on the back of the building? No.
Evans discussed the possibility of the assisted living clients walking over to Deming Plaza.
Slicer: Concerns are with the fact that the applicant has a responsibility to attract high quality tenants/businesses to this site and has not made an attempt to include this in the presentation. Another concern is with the lack of rooftop screening on the site plan. Attorney Harold Cummings: What goes into these buildings is economically driven. Looking at Evergreen Run will be a good point of reference. By regulating what is necessary for a high quality project we will attract high quality businesses to this site.
Slicer: Large truck traffic should be minimized on Deming Street due to it being narrow and sloping.
Jeski: Concerns are with the 85 percentile being 45mph on Deming Street and what can be done to improve the road as well as deter truck traffic. I would put traffic calming measures away from the intersection in the town’s improved section of the road.
Kennedy: Can the building be on the west side with the parking on the east side? Isherwood: It would cause drainage problems based on the slope of the land. Will the site be serviced by tractor trailers? If there is a restaurant, there will be tractor trailers. The site is capable of handling the WB-50 movements.
Kennedy: Does engineering agree that the tractor trailers can maneuver in this site? Doolittle: When they make the first left turn around the north end, it will use up both lanes and then both lanes making the turn out of the parking lot. Kennedy: Could we make a condition that deliveries are limited to off hours? Deliveries can be made between 7am and 10am.
Cummings: The applicant grants an extension to the 28th of February.
Sullivan made a motion to keep the public hearing open. Evans seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
The public hearing was held open.
REGULAR MEETING – MADDEN ROOM
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Kennedy called the meeting to order at 11:45 p.m.
Choate made a motion to extend the meeting past 10:00 p.m. Jeski seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
None
NEW BUSINESS:
Discussion/Decision/Action regarding the following:
Alan Lamson and John Finguerra of Evergreen Walk LLC spoke briefly about an updated Evergreen Walk General Plan. An element they are trying to bring in is a gathering place where people can live, work and play. Evergreen Walk LLC realizes they made several mistakes with the previous housing amendment and would like another opportunity to discuss with the Commission what the Commission would require to bring a residential component into Evergreen Walk.
Sullivan: What is the status of the hotel? Finguerra: We have been approved for a 250 room hotel and are in negotiations with a 125 room hotel. We are pursuing all avenues.
Pacekonis: Will there be a bandshell? The original plan had a band-shell in a town square hoping bands would participate.
The discussion will be rescheduled to the next meeting, January 23, 2007, due to the late hour.
BONDS: Callings/Reductions/Settings
1. 01-24P, Strawberry Fields Site bond
Evans made a motion to reduce the site bond for the application referenced above in the amount of $57,130 leaving a balance of $106,100. Choate seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
IWA/CC Bonds
2. Appl 02-22P, Berry Patch I
Choate made a motion to reduce the IWA/CC bond for the application referenced above in the amount of $10,000 leaving a balance of $10,000 for the swale. Slicer seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
3. Appl 03-83P, Berry Patch II
Choate made a motion to release the IWA/CC bond for the application referenced above in the amount of $20,000 for stormwater structures. Evans seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
MINUTES: The minutes for November 28, 2006 and December 12, 2006 were approved by consensus.
ADJOURNMENT:
Sullivan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:10 a.m. Pacekonis seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
Respectfully Submitted:
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Recording Secretary
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