Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PB - 07/14/2004 COHASSET PLANNING BOARD MINUTES DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 14,2004 TIME: 7:00 PM PLACE: COHASSET TOWN HALL-BASEMENT MEETING RM 41 HIGHLAND AVENUE, COHASSET,MA 02025 Board Members Present: Alfred S. Moore, Chairman Peter J. Pratt,Vice Chairman Stuart Ivimey, Clerk Michael Westcott Board Members Absent: Robert H. Sturdy Recording Secretary Present: Jo-Ann M. Pilczak Town Planner Present: Elizabeth B. Harrington, Town Planner MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT: 7:06 PM 7:06 P.M. FORM A—APPLICATIONS • Otis Avenue, APP: Erik Kupperstein, DATE: July 8,2004. Applicant seeks division of a tract of land in such a manner as not to leave any lot so affected without sufficient frontage. The Planning Board noted that Otis Ave. is a private way and cannot therefore be used as frontage. MOTION: By Member Ivimey to deny this Form A-Application SECOND: By Member Pratt VOTE: 3—0 MOTION APPROVED 7:28 P.M. BOB POULIOT,BOARDWALK DEVELOPMENT,L.L.C.,INFORMAL DISCUSSION Mr. Pouliot was not present,therefore, this informal discussion was not able to proceed. 7:30 P.M. PLANNING BOARD ADMINISTRATION MOTION: by Member Pratt to accept minutes from April '02—July`02 SECOND: by Member Ivimey VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED MOTION: by Member Ivimey to accept June 23,2004 minutes SECOND: by Member Pratt VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED 7:36 P.M. 154-156 KING STREET, CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING, SITE PLAN REVIEW APPLICATION, APP: THE NAUSET GROUP, OWNER: LEE REALTY TRUST, DATE: JUNE 7,2004. Attorney Richard Henderson; Michael Tack,Applicant; and, John Cavanaro, Engineer in attendance. Henderson reviewed highlights of booklet distributed about the project: signage improved, landscaping,green space inproved/increased,drive-thru speaker does not point towards residential abutters so sound will have no impact on them, lighting will not be anymore compelling than that existing lighting,traffic report indicates that the maximum of 7-10 cars at busiest time does not come close to the 16 car queue before causing back-up onto Rt. 3A and, long delays are not anticipated. Menu sample shows emphasis is on food,not alcohol,restaurant will close at 1 Opm(earlier than existing restaurant). Letters of reference from tenants and abutters of other locations provided indicating Michael Tack and Helder Garcia have impeccable reputations and are more than willing to work with neighbors. Also noted that the reason for Planning Board Meeting 2 of 4 July 14,2004 a drive-thru is for speed of service and that if the queues are too long,the purpose of drive-thru is defeated. John Cavanaro highlighted design changes including: addition of more significant landscaping; changed painted islands to landscaped islands; added distance to residential abutters; improved fire department access by designating zone in back of facility and adding room for trucks to turn; elimination of left turn onto Rt. 3A during morning peak to ease/speed up exiting; added 4' post/rail fence to prohibit vehicles cutting through abutters' property;plans to work with abutters to select species of plants to buffer. Attorney Henderson pointed out that section 12.6(2)a-f of the zoning bylaws look for 5 things in the Site Plan Review and that this project is compatible with those 5 things: • It is harmonious with and not harmful to or injurious to the area, or to present and future uses • Natural resources are not exhausted,but rather increased • Erosion is not an issue here as construction is minimal • Drainage from site is not changed • No change in the use is proposed that would affect/change groundwater • Movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the site in relation to access will be improved/more convenient and better controlled with the proposed changes Member Moore points out that the Planning Board whole heartedly welcomes the proposed improvement to the site but that the singular issue that causes great concern is the drive-thru and the implications it poses for traffic and for the neighborhood. He pointed out that the Planning Board is trying to look at the needs of the developer and the needs of the abutters and meld the two to work. Open to Public Comment: As with the past public hearings, public comment continued to center around traffic and noise issues created by the drive-thru. Lisa Kefallinos, 203 Fairoaks, asked if post analysis of traffic studies have been done to validate the proposed traffic study? Not known,however,John Cavanaro pointed out that numbers are weighed in a conservative manner. M. Tack pointed out that: figure of 187 cars is a very,very conservative,worst case estimate; the average wait according to traffic studies is 18 sec in peak time and 12 sec. in non peak time so back-ups should not occur; traffic consultant concluded that left hand turn is not a problem at hours other than the 7:00-9:00 AM; and, cars that want out of queue have room to leave queue and exit Paul Quintin,239 Fairoaks, expressed concern about whether the drive-thru would continue to exist if Dunkin' Donuts left the site, felt traffic would get worse as more exotic items are added to menu which will cause longer queue and felt that total number of customers should be looked at—walk-in and drive-up, as they all have to enter/exit the site. Jennifer Warshu, 152 King St.,Maggie's Bakery, is concerned that: traffic is already horrendous without the Dunkin' Donuts; adding Avalon and the ever growing number of locations adding traffic trying to take left hand turns will further exacerbate the traffic problem; and, that cars will cut through her driveway. She pointed out that the issue is not with the restaurant but with the impact on Rt. 3A traffic by the drive-thru. Roger Hill, 19A Highland Ave.,noted that cars exit his plaza next door all day long and that while difficult,it has not been scene of major accidents in the 7 yrs. he has owned it and he does not think Dunkin Donuts will be detrimental to the traffic situation. Michael Kent, 3 Mendel Road, also noted that Atlantic Bagel is leaving the plaza next door and the new restaurant moving in will not be open for breakfast so traffic at that spot will be eased. Helder Garcia further noted that he plans to open a Dunkin Donuts location in the Village which will further reduce the traffic through the 154/156 King St. location. Chris Lund, 193 Fairoaks, stated concern that residential abutters property will be used a short cut producing a trespassing and safety issue as well as concern about fast cars, loud noise,motorcycles etc. in the parking lot. Roger Hill, 19A Highland Ave. noted that this is commercial property that has to be treated as such as it will have patron traffic one way or another and that the commercial owners will work with residential abutters. Michael Tack noted that the design of parking lot/circulation path encourages parking closer to building and that his group will add fences, landscaping etc. to reduce noise,trespassing. Richard Henderson noted that the peak hours for the donut shop and the restaurant are drastically different so they won't be contributing to traffic or competing for the 58 parking spots at the same time. Sandy Driscoll,240 Fairoaks expressed concern about the grade change of the driveway and the subsequent headlight light line on abutters to which Roger Hill noted that the grade is less than that at Marylou's or Starbucks and Michael Tack noted that trees/large arborvitae shrubs will shield against the light. Member Pratt pointed out the wide range of values in traffic studies during peak hours and felt that agreement on peak traffic flow needs to be reached and inquired as to whether non-proprietary Planning Board Meeting 3 of 4 July 14,2004 Dunkin Donut data can be obtained for this store that might give baseline traffic data. Richard Henderson noted that register receipts could provide this data and can be obtained. Michael Tack noted for the record that data directly from the Staszko location for a two week period was incorporated in the Rizzo Traffic Study findings and that the data can be made available. Bruce McKinnon, 70 Fairoaks presented his own, informal drive-thru/walk-in traffic count(data is filed in Planning Board file)and stated that the two week period presented in the Rizzo Study may not present trends in traffic during specific time periods and suggests that a 12 or 24 month period should be examined to look for traffic trends in various months/seasons and that this proposed location is away from signal and controlled location like the Staszko location which could double/triple the through put and asks whether the data will be shared and what kinds of trends and volume will it show. Member Pratt asked John Modzelewski to come up with parameters to open dialogue between Rizzo Assoc. and John's traffic engineer. Member Ivimey asked applicant to address the scenario of road rage building when cars cannot back out of parking spaces because drive-thru queue is sold line of traffic. Helder Garcia stated that employees park in back spaces—which,public attendees disagreed with. Otello Sturino, 179 Fairoaks, asked if there is a Dunkin Donuts' study data which looks at year to year growth in sales,traffic etc? His concern is that the number of vehicles could easily grow to over 200 vehicles per hour if sales increased 10-20%/year. Richard Henderson pointed out that as each store peaks and maximizes its customer level, a new location is opened nearby so the quick drive-thru purpose is not defeated and that available data will be shared and that people should be aware of the fact that improving your community has some consequences such as traffic. Member Moore points out that by right,this location could be developed into a business that does not need approval which could create huge traffic problems all day long—for example, a Christmas Tree Shop. Member Moore polled the Board members as to their feelings at this time—general concensus was that the Board does not have all the data to make a decision at this time and that it would be in the interest of the applicant for the Board to see more traffic data (peak hours,number of cars/hr. etc.)based on the total number of transactions per hour. John Modzelewski agrees as he feels the data before them presents an unstable traffic situation. Richard Henderson disagrees feeling the data is a conservative estimate and asked if there is a certain number that would make the Board comfortable? Kevin McCarthy, 155 Fairoaks, questioned who enforces the"No Left Turn"regulation and offered that the Board obviously does not have data to vote on this tonight and therefore urges the Board to take the time needed to decide properly as the town will have to live with the decision for decades. Member Ivimey asked if there was any new information that addresses environmental pollution problems caused by idling vehicles. Member Pratt asked John Modzelewski to contact the Commonwealth about potential State, DEP regs etc. for idling vehicles and pollutants. Richard Henderson again asks what the number is that would make the Planning Board comfortable with the fact that there will not be large queuing or a back-up onto Rt. 3A because, if there is not a number that is acceptable, everyone's time is being wasted. He asked what the objective of knowing a number is. Town Planner Harrington pointed out that the objective is to ensure that development of the site is not detrimental. Member Ivimey further noted that the applicant has to provide numbers that make mathematical sense so the Board can determine if there will be an increase in traffic and will it be safe. Richard Henderson asked if the site plan could be approved in its present for to avoid spending more money on it. Member Moore replied that this is a very difficult decision because the applicant has a great plan and everyone would like to see this site developed but the Board must be comfortable with the data and have endorsement of the data by John Modzelewski before they can make a decision. Board requested 12 mos. of data(register receipts) showing traffic through location during peak times. (Application was filed June 8,2004. August 21,2004 will mark 75 days) MOTION: by Member Pratt to continue this Public Hearing to August 4,2004 at 9:00 PM SECOND: by Member Ivimey VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED Member Pratt noted that with the exception of Dunkin Donuts drive-thru at Leo's Exxon, all other drive- thrus existed before the fast food requirement was put on the zoning by-laws so the town did not have the level of control over them. Member Moore noted that currently,while there is a requirement for a special permit for fast food,there are no zoning bylaws for drive-thrus and that it is becoming an issue that should be brought before Town Meeting,perhaps this fall. Planning Board Meeting 4 of 4 July 14,2004 MOTION: by Member Pratt to vote Member Ivimey to be Planning Board representative for the Water Resources Committee SECOND: by Member Westcott VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED 10:30 P.M. REVIEW OF DRAFT TOWN MASTER PLAN. Review/discussion postponed until August 11, 2004-Master Plan will be the only agenda item. 10:45 P.M. ZBA RECOMMENDATIONS • 5 Oak St., Special Permit Application, APP: O'Connell Family Realty Trust, DATE: July 9, 2004. Applicant seeks to create an accessory dwelling unit. MOTION: by Member Ivimey to recommend denial of this application for a Special Permit citing Section 15.2 of the Zoning ByLaws. SECOND: by Member Pratt VOTE: 3 -0 MOTION APPROVED • 49 Hull St., Special Permit Application,APP: Paul&Lillian Emmanuello, DATE: July 5,2004. Applicants seek to construct an addition. The Planning Board determined that although there was not sufficient data to determine exact measurements, it appears that the applicant has exceeded lot coverage limits and actually needs a variance. MOTION: by Member Ivimey to recommend denial of this application for a Special Permit SECOND: by Member Pratt VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED • 19 Lighthouse Lane, Special Permit Application,APP: Cohasset Sailing Club, DATE: July 8, 2004. Applicant seeks to repair/renovate, increase deck&porch. MOTION: by Member Ivimey to recommend approval of this application for a Special Permit SECOND: by Member Pratt VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED • 20 Bow Street, Special Permit Application, APP: Helen &Ethan Arnold,DATE: July 5,2004. Applicants seek to demolish and reconstruct dwelling at 20 Bow St. The Planning Board determined that this clearly falls within the parameters of a Large Home Plan Review as the total dwelling size is 4,800 sq.ft. which exceeds the 3,500 threshold. MOTION: by Member Pratt to recommend that the ZBA suggest to the applicants that they request to continue the ZBA hearing,file an application for Large Home Plan Review with the Planning Board and return to the ZBA for special permit hearing after Large Home Plan Review. SECOND: by Member Westcott VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED MOTION: by Member Ivimey to adjourn. SECOND: by Member Westcott VOTE: 4-0 MOTION APPROVED MEETING ADJOURNED AT: 11:00 PM NEXT MEETING: August 4,2004 at 7:00 P.M. MINUTES APPROVED: DATE: