SHARON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES OF OCTOBER 24, 2007
A regular meeting of the Town of Sharon Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 8:00 P.M. in the Town Office Building, Lower Level. The following members were present: John Lee, Chairman; Kevin McCarville, Lee Wernick; Regular Members and Alternate Members Walter Newman, Seth Ruskin.
Mr. Lee opened the meeting at 8:01 P.M.
Minutes: Mr. Wernick moved to accept the minutes of September 19, 2007, September 26, 2007 and October 4, 2007 as presented. Motion seconded by Mr. McCarville and voted 4-0-1 (Mr. Ruskin abstained).
Appointments:
8:05 P.M. Continued Hearing – Case No. 1591, Rabinovich, 435 North Main Street
Mr. Lee read correspondence received from Peter O’Cain. Atty. Joel Fishman, representing the applicant, was present. He stated he will address retaining walls, landscaping and storm water management at another meeting. Steven Chanard from VHB, Watertown, submitted revised plans showing sixteen parking spaces. He stated the revised plan is similar to the original proposal as there are six valet -type parking spaces, nine other standard parking spaces and one handicap space. He stated the western-most driveway is the entrance driveway and the eastern-most is the exit driveway with a right hand turn only. There are also “do not enter” signs that will be posted. There will be no more than eight cars in a 15-minute period and the nine spaces provided are for these eight cars, although there will be an 18-19 car capacity in the parking lot.
Mr. Lee stated that the town engineer agrees with a “right turn only”. Mr. Lee asked how many students they are expecting and Ms. Rabinovich stated 38. Mr. Newman asked how many families that represents and Ms. Rabinovich stated 28. Mr. Fishman stated that would come out to seven cars every fifteen minutes.
Mr. Lee stated that it appears that some of the vegetated buffer has disappeared on the revised plans. Mr. Charnard stated they have provided a 5’ buffer, which will be shown on the landscaping plan when submitted. Mr. Lee asked the water flow per day and Mr. Fishman stated 440 gallons per day, which includes six staff members and 38 children.
Mr. McCarville asked where they plan on storing the snow in the winter. Mr. Charnard stated it will be stacked behind the last parking space between the fence and the play area. This area has been designed to handle only 2-3” of snow and it will have to be removed periodically to make room for more.
Mr. Lee asked for comments from the public.
George Comeau, Esq.: stated he is representing some of the abutters. Also, tonight is the first time he has seen the revisions and there appears to be improvements relative to the past discussion regarding parking and egress. They are also interested in understanding the run-off and how it will be coordinated. Regarding the curbing, there needs to be a combination of granite with transition into the property. The western driveway is the most vulnerable and needs some attention.
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He asks that VHB look at this as there is concern by his clients. They would like some information on the width of the parking spaces. Mr. Charnard stated they are 9’ wide and 20’ deep, which is deeper than normal.
Mr. Comeau stated he will follow up with some correspondence.
John O’Neil, 437 N. Main Street: how much buffer between the edge of his property and the parking lot? Mr. Charnard stated it starts at 5’ and goes to 6’ and there will be a vegetated buffer as required. Mr. Lee stated this board can say what will be planted there, probably arborvitaes. Mr. O’Neil asked if the existing pine trees will remain and Mr. Chanard stated he is not sure. Mr. Lee asked if they belonged to Mr. O’Neil and he stated half of them do.
Lee Aster, 9 Bayberry Drive: asked what is the footage from the set of lights to where people will be turning into the driveway. Will it affect the present traffic pattern? She is really concerned about accidents, but is not against the day care. Mr. Lee stated that if it becomes a problem, they will have to have a police detail out there. The owner will have to pay for one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Ms. Aster asked why it couldn’t be fixed beforehand. Mr. Fishman stated they don’t anticipate a left turn as there is a double yellow line in the road. Mr. Chanard stated that if there is a double unbroken yellow line, traffic can legally pull into a residence, but not a commercial place. Mr. Lee asked if the curb can be designed so it would be difficult to take a left turn out. Mr. Chanard stated they can make it more difficult to turn left, but the green space will be sacrificed for it. There will be a “no left turn” sign and that should be enforced. The people using the school will be reminded of their drop off times and that they can’t turn left. Mr. Fishman stated that his clients, Mark and Anita Rabinovich, will have to make sure that this is done or there will be a price to pay. Ms. Aster stated she is also concerned about water run-off onto her property. Mr. Fishman stated they will plant additional vegetation and they will try to keep as many trees as they can.
Marie Citron, Bayberry Drive: she is concerned about the traffic also as there is a portion that two cars can’t pass each other by Bayberry Drive.
Mr. Lee asked about a lighting plan. Mr. Chanard stated there will be two lights on at all times and they will have shields. He is not sure what type though. They will be set low on the building and will not spill onto the abutters. Mr. Fishman stated he believes they will only be on during the hours of operation, 7:30 a.m-7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
8:40 P.M. Simpson Housing, Sharon-Walpole LLC Continued Hearing: The applicant was represented by Patrick McMann. He stated that he resubmitted a revised application as they are revising their design based on a number of factors, one of which is the Gutierrez project. The original filing was November 9, 2006. He petitioned the Town of Walpole for sewer, but they will now construct an on-site system. They also met with Eric Hooper and revised the site plan. Originally, there were three different roads, but they have reduced that down. They are not reducing the number of buildings, but they are now more efficient. They are building 45,000 s.f. less than originally planned. They revised the site entry and exits to allow for an easier and more gradual turn. Mass Housing was concerned with the 90 degree turn onto Route 1, so that has now been angled. They will be connecting to Sharon water and will use approximately 32,000 gal/day. They also bought three parcels from Gutierrez and are planning on placing the leaching field there. They have already met with EarthTec.
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Brian Yergatian, BSC Group: stated that the board previously asked for entire copies of the purchase and sales agreement and he is submitting them tonight. Mr. Lee asked if these are still two separate projects and Mr. Yergatian replied absolutely.
Further, their parcel is under agreement and they are subdividing the property. Also, they are still committed to placing a conservation restriction over the wetlands.
Mr. Lee asked about Brickstone. Mr. McMann stated that if they had connected with Walpole there would be a number of fees. Without connecting with Walpole, there is no need to deal with Brickstone. Mr. McMann submitted a revised pro forma and stated this has already been sent to Mass Housing. They also did not add any waivers. Mr. Lee asked if any of the waivers were now not needed and Mr. McMann stated no and that also the affordable housing count went from 46-51.
Brian Yergatian, BSC Group: stated as the project manager and professional engineer he has yet to design the specific treatment process. Mr Lee asked if the primary relief field is located up high and Mr. Yergatian stated yes. Mr. Lee asked if he is concerned about break through and Mr. Yergatian stated no as the soils percolate quickly. The electrical services will be underground and all the roof water will be recharged. Mr. Newman asked if there will be an irrigation system and Mr. McMann stated yes. Mr. Lee asked if they could do a private well and Mr. Yergatian stated yes. Also, they are required to adhere to the Stormwater Management policy and they are providing 2.5 times what is required by the policy. All water will be pre-treated and conveyed through catch basins, etc.
Mr. Lee stated we have contacted town counsel with our highway access concerns. He asked if Mass Highway has given approval yet. Mr. McMann stated no, but they did send a letter dated September 14, 2007 indicating they have reviewed the application and would like all local approvals submitted. They did submit the application on April 27, 2007 and also met with them. They have indicated they like this design.
Mr. Wernick stated he likes the new roadway design and feels it is a tremendous improvement. Mr. McCarville stated he likes the idea that the roof run-off will be used. Mr. Newman stated there could be an underground container to store the run-off. Mr. McCarville stated he thinks they should look into both a storage device and a well. Mr. McMann stated that the grades on this site are all over the place.
Mr. Yergatian stated they have eight retaining walls on site. They have talked to Fire Chief Mann and have designed grass pavers and cul-de-sacs because of the fire trucks. Mr. Lee stated he would like a letter from the fire chief stating he approves of what will be there. Mr. Lee asked the size of the retaining walls and Mr. Yergatian stated they are 15-20’ high. Mr. Lee stated we have concerns with that and we might want smaller ones. Maybe they could be split up.
Gary Gardner and Lauren Jacobs, Shesky Architecture: stated they were originally working as best they could with the contours of the site and felt it was best to step the buildings. They also reduced the impervious cover by 1.2 acres and the new design got rid of a third paved area. They reduced the buildings from twelve buildings to nine buildings with 21 or 24 apartments in each building. The change in footprint is from four units per floor to six units per floor and they have two entrances rather than one. Mr. Ruskin asked if the person on the top floor will still have garage space and Mr. Gardner stated yes if they choose to rent one. Also the stairs will be common to both sides of the building. Mr. Ruskin stated he is questioning this because Building 5 has significantly less parking.
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Mr. Gardner stated the placement of the parking spaces was less than ideal and some of the buildings don’t have garages in the back. Mr. McMann stated that the parking ration is 1.976/unit or 2/unit or 118 total for one bedroom or a 2-1 ratio. Mr. Ruskin asked if this will be a “gated” community and Mr. McMann stated no. Mr. Ruskin asked what will be inside the Club House and Mr. McMann stated that will be the office of the leasing staff, equipment room, great room with couches, fireplace, cyber café. That space is about 2900 s.f. and there will always be someone there. The fitness facility will be for residents only.
Mr. McMann stated that Gary Meister made the recommendation of trying to pull some of the retaining walls away from the wetlands, which was his only recommendation. Also, they will wait to hear from the Zoning Board regarding Mass Highway. However, they are anxious to continue with this board. Mr. Lee stated we need to do a peer review. He asked if these buildings will have sprinklers and Mr. McMann stated yes.
There were no further questions. Mr. Lee continued this hearing to December 12, 2007 at 8:00 P.M.
9:35 P.M. Gutierrez, Carriage Lane and Old Post Road: William Caulder, Project Manager, stated this will be a small 4-unit subdivision. They have been working with the neighborhood and with Simpson to provide for the town’s needs. There were originally eight units that have been reduced to four. They would like to move forward. Revised documents were submitted. He would like to know if the board feels this is a viable project for the town as he is not sure if they will get a denial. He stated that these are two distinct projects: Simpson and Gutierrez and this is a valid proposal.
Mr. Newman asked the size of the lots and Mr. Caulder stated over an acre each. There will be three houses and one affordable housing unit. Mr. Lee stated the board will need a peer review, but it won’t be complicated. He asked if the fire chief is okay with the road access as the only way to get there would be through Walpole. Mr. Lee asked for a consensus from the board and everyone was okay with what was presented.
Mr. Lee asked if they are all right with EarthTec doing the peer review and they stated yes. Mr. Lee stated he will contact them.
There were no questions from the public. Mr. Lee continued this hearing to December 12, 2007.
9:50 P.M. New Hearing - Sharon Commons, Case No. 1599: Mr. Lee read the public hearing notice. Michael Intoccia stated that this special permit is for the back building, which they are proposing to be 135,000 s.f.
Jackie Gobi, an abutter: stated she is concerned with the lighting, noise, and traffic as that will affect everyone. Mr. McCarville stated the board will work with the applicant and Ms. Gobi to obtain a written agreement from Mr. Intoccia. Ms. Gobi stated she would like some assurances. Mr. Intoccia stated her attorney could draw up what she would like and he would sign it. Ms. Gobi stated she doesn’t want to pay her attorney. Mr. Intoccia stated he will have his attorney do it.
Mr. Lee asked if this property will still access out to Old Post Road and Mr. Intoccia stated yes. He stated they have also agreed to move her driveway and re-pave it. He stated he will have it shown on a plan for her review. Mr. Wernick stated the board will tie that to the permit.
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Mr. Lee asked where we stand on the Pinewood Peer Review and Mr. Shelmerdine stated he thought it was paid. Mr. Lee stated no, there is $11,000 outstanding. Mr. Intoccia stated it will be paid tomorrow morning.
Mr. Rudman stated they are now talking with two possible tenants that would be interested in a building of up to 135,000 s.f. Mr. Intoccia stated this building could be built up so it doesn’t look like a single building. He also reminded the board that as the applicant, they have agreed to special use restrictions for this building, such as no home improvement items, no store that would use fork-lifts within the selling area and no store would be allowed that provides on-site auto maintenance and repair services. He stated they are committed to abide by that agreement.
Mr. Ruskin stated this was sold at town meeting with the stipulation that no store would be more than 80,000 s.f., which was a big town meeting issue. Mr. Houston stated that it could be done by a special permit. Mr. Lee stated the people were presented an image at town meeting and this is a change to that image.
Mr. Intoccia stated they had said they would put a limit on the building size unless they had a special type of tenant that needed a bigger building. In that case, they would ask for a special permit. Mr. Ruskin stated the town wanted a more sophisticated mall and he hopes that is what this is. Mr. Lee asked the board if anyone has an issue with a 135,000 s.f. building and no one did. Mr. McCarville stated he understands that things change, but he would like everything kept as consistent as possible elsewhere.
Mr. Lee questioned the vegetated wetlands. Mr. Caputo explained the parking for the various stores and stated there is an elevated boardwalk that connects between the buffers. There will be thousands of feet of resource areas and the small amount of infringement will not affect anything.
Janet Dunlop, Conservation Commission: they have not closed the hearing and the applicant will be coming back on November 1. The applicant has been very responsive and they should be closing at that meeting.
Mr. Newman asked how the stores will get their deliveries. Mr. Caputo stated via their front doors. They will be by box trucks and vans because the stores are so small. He stated this is a life-style center, which means customer space versus service space.
Mr. Lee continued this hearing to November 14, 2007 at 7:30 P.M.
Other Business:
Verizon Wireless, 438 Massapoag Avenue: Mr. Wernick moved to approve the draft decision as submitted with the addition of a condition requiring green plastic coated chain link fence. Motion seconded by Mr. McCarville and voted 3-0-0 (Wernick, McCarville, Newman).
It was moved, seconded and voted to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,