Scheduled:
7:00 PM 1150 Main Street - Continuation of Hearing
Special Permit A3 and Site Plan Review
8:00 PM 229 North Street-Hingham Square Town homes LLC
Site Plan Review for 40B at Hersey House Site
Unscheduled: Old/New Business:
Form A-Weir Street
Discussion of Proposed Roadway through School Depot Site
Discussion of Seal Cove Road Chapter 91 Application
Preliminary Discussion of Zoning Articles for 2008 Town Meeting
2008 Goals
Minutes/Bills/Certificates of Action
Central Meeting Room South
Present: Planning Board Members: Paul Healey Chair, Sarah Corey, Clerk, Susan Murphy, Judy
Sneath and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
Mr. Healey opened the public meeting at 7:10 P.M. at the Hingham Town Hall.
RE: 1150 Main Street Carousel Academy-New Arena Special Permit A3 and Site Plan Review
Present for the Applicant: Jason Younquist, Outback Engineering; Frank DiLuna, Attorney, and Michael Corey, Applicant.
This was the continuation of a hearing which opened on June 11, 2007 relative to an application for a Special Permit A3 (parking determination) and Site Plan Review relative to the issuance of a building permit. At that hearing the applicant described his proposal to expand the operations at the Carousel Riding Academy at 1150 Main Street through the addition of a new 9,680 square foot, 34' high riding arena, parking, paddocks, roadways and manure handling and composting facilities for up to 31 horses. The arena will be located on the eastern portion of the property on a wooded "island" surrounded by extensive wetlands drained by intermittent streams that flow into the public water supply. (The entire property is located in the Aquifer Protection District.) The westerly side of the site is currently developed with a dwelling, two horse barns, paddocks, and an existing garage.
At the close of the first hearing the applicant was asked to return with a plan showing the entire property, to allow the Board to better assess on-site circulation, the adequacy of parking, and other site plan review issues. Since that time, the Planning Board's engineer, John Chessia, and the applicant's engineer, Jason Younquist, met twice to discuss technical aspects of the site plan. Additionally, the Planning Board held a site visit on Saturday, September 8.
Jason Youngquist of Outback Engineering provided a summary of changes to the Site Plan, and provided additional information requested at the last hearing, and in John Chessia's peer review report.
Mr. Youngquist stated that the property has the capacity for 16 horses now, and the riding arena will include ten new stalls. Including potential babies, the maximum number of horses planned for the site will be 30. In term of daily traffic on the site, they estimated that there would be four cars entering and exiting the site per hour at the maximum weekend peak. The different types of classes (1/2 hour, 1 hour and group) do not occur at the same time or overlap. Due to the minimal amount of vehicles entering the site a traffic circulation analyses was not performed. There are 30 total parking spaces provided for the facility excluding parking for the residence.
In response to concerns voiced by the Fire Department regarding the width of the site roadway, the applicant modified the plan to show an 18' paved roadway from Main Street to the house,
and a 15' gravel driveway with 3' strip of Grasspave along the proposed farm road to create a sufficiently wide fire lane.
In terms of site distance on Main Street the posted speed limit is 30 mph, and a stopping site distance has been shown for speeds up to 50 mph.
The applicant provided a manure management plan, indicating that much of the site's manure would be stored in a container near the arena and removed from the site on a regular basis. The rest of the manure would be moved to a location in the northwest corner of the site for composting.
John Chessia summarized his comments and remaining concerns. He noted that the site drive was, indeed, 18' except at the driveway by the northeast corner of the Knox property and at the wetland crossing. He went on to state that it appeared that some of the proposed work would occur in the Town Flood Plain and Watershed Protection District (el. 123) but not in the FEMA floodplain. This would require a Special Permit A1 from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
In terms of meeting the standards for stormwater management, Mr. Chessia noted that the infiltration trenches located on either side of the farm road would be located too close to the groundwater and should be re-designed. He also pointed out some minor inconsistencies between the calculations and plans relative to the new pavement and where it would discharge. In terms of the standard for TSS removal, it is unclear if the 80% standard has been met, and further calculations are required. Finally, in terms of the Erosion Control and Operations and Management Plan, Mr. Chessia recommended that they be modified to include a requirement that inspection reports be submitted to the Boards for review on a regular basis.
Judy Sneath asked how many parking spaces would be provided, and asked whether the projected number of trips in and out of the site was accurate. Mr. Corey responded that there were currently 16 spaces on the eastern portion of the site, and another 14 spaces proposed for the arena area. Mr. Chessia explained that the trip generation numbers provided by Mr. Corey showed the average per hour, not the peak hour. Ms. Sneath asked what the peak hour would be and Mr. Corey said that mid-week evenings, and mid-day Sundays were probably the most busy times. Even at the busiest, however, he felt that no more than 12 parking spaces would ever be used. Ms. Sneath stated that she felt that the number of spaces should be reduced.
Ms. Murphy stated that her primary concern had been potential conflicts between horses, cars and pedestrians on the narrow portions of the farm road. At the site visit, however, she had been reassured that the only real point of conflict was at the stream crossing. At that point there was sufficient upland to create separate routes for cars and horses. In terms of parking, she felt that there was too many parking spaces on the site and proposed the elimination of the parking spaces behind the barn, and the use of that area for trailers instead. She also recommended that the remaining parking near the arena should be reserved for employees only, which would reduce car traffic across the narrowest portion of the road.
Gary Tondorf-Dick stated that he felt that 30 horses was simply too much for the site. He expressed concern over impacts to the water supply and wetlands on the site. He pointed out that the amount of waste produced by this number of horses would put too much nitrogen in the water supply, and that Aquarion Water Company had no ability to treat nitrogen. He noted that the number of horses proposed for the site appeared to violate recent Board of Health regulations limiting the number of horses on the site per acre. Mr. DiLuna stated that they were challenging these regulations.
Susan Murphy noted that, while she cared deeply about Nitrogen levels in the water, that she felt that this was the purview of the Conservation Commission and Board of Health, and should be left to them to regulate. Mr. Tondorf-Dick reiterated his concern with the project's potential impacts on ground and surface water.
Mr. Tondorf-Dick noted that many of the building on the site were not properly permitted, and were in violation of Conservation Commission regulations. He also noted that the Coreys were preventing people from walking around on paths in the rear of their property that were traditionally open to the public. Mr. Corey responded that he had no problem with people walking back there, but that he posted the area to avoid liability should someone trespassing get hurt.
Mr. Tondorf-Dick pointed out that the arena was denied by the Board of Health because they did not meet setbacks to the surface water supply. Also the run-off from the detention basin was too close to the surface water supply. It was also denied by the Conservation Commission due to impacts on Wildlife, and impacts on the public water supply.
Paul Healey asked John Chessia whether he felt that the proposed site drainage would work. Mr. Chessia responded that, aside from the corrections he noted in his report, that it would meet DEP's standards for stormwater management
Board members asked whether Captain Damstra was satisfied with the narrow width at the stream crossing. Mr. Corey said that his sense was that Captain Damstra was satisfied, but Ms. Lacy indicated that she was not sure, and would follow up with him to find out.
Dr. Tino Fernandes stated that he felt that 30 horses were too many for the site. He asked that the Board get additional information on proposed site lighting, and numbers of trailer and truck trips in and out of the site, and their impact on traffic and traffic safety on Main Street.
Paul Healey asked for additional information on the Board of Health regulations regarding farm animals.
The hearing was continued to September 24 at 8:00 PM.
RE: 229 North Street-Hingham Square Town Homes LLC Site Plan Review for 40B at Hersey House Site
Applicant Tom Hastings presented an overview of his proposed townhouse development at Hersey House property. The project includes 16 two and three bedroom townhouses on a 3.3 acre site. Mr. Hastings has the land under agreement after an RFP process with the Selectmen and will be developing it as a LIP 40B. The Selectmen have issued a statement approving the approved density of 4.8 units per acres.
The existing Hersey House will remain as a non-age restricted single family home on its own lot, but included in the homeowner's association. The rest of the units will be attached 2-family, with one 3-family. The site-drove will be 18' in width, with grass emergency-access routes leading out to Hersey Field and to Thaxter Street.
The units are quite large-starting at 2,300 sf, and will each include an enclosed two-car garage. The applicant included a traffic study indicating minimal increases on North Street stemming from the development. Mr. Hastings showed elevations of the 3-unit building, which showed a shingle-style structure with large porches and low roofs. Each unit will have an enclosed two-car garage, and two driveway parking spaces. Four of the units will be "affordable" in accordance with Department of Housing and Community Development regulations.
Mr. Healey asked if the project would require a lot of fill, and Mr. Hastings responded that it should be a balanced site.
The Board received a letter from Captain Damstra outlining several concerns regarding fire safety.
Board members discussed how large the unit footprints looked on the plan, especially in comparison to the nearby homes on Thaxter. Even the adjacent church building had a smaller footprint than the proposed townhouse units. Mr. Hastings responded that this was what the market was seeking. He said that every person that had signed up to move into the project currently lived in the Square area.
Ms. Murphy asked whether Mr. Hastings was planning on presenting civil engineering and traffic information. She went on to say that perhaps the Planning Board could join the ZBA for an initial joint hearing on the project. Ms. Lacy said that she would coordinate with the ZBA to set this up.
Unscheduled: Old/New Business:
Discussion of Proposed Roadway through School Depot Site
Selectmen Laura Burns, Jim O'Brien and Jim Watson joined the Board for this discussion.
Ms. Lacy explained that in the planning phases for the Depot area an access roadway had been envisioned that would enter from Beal Street, link the Housing Authority site, the Selectmen's parcel and, potentially the Adams Court development, and also provide emergency access out to Fort Hill Street. At this point the Selectmen have entered into an agreement with Affirmative Investments to develop the area known as the Selectmen's parcel in the School Depot, and they are looking for more direction on the layout and legal status of this proposed roadway.
Earlier this summer, Selectmen Burns had convened a meeting of all of the various groups involved in the development of the School Depot, and since that time Gale Associates has produced a comprehensive map showing how all of the projects are interrelated, and showing a connector road leading through the various projects. This map, while helpful, has brought to a head the various issues that must be resolved relative to the roadway.
Easement
Mr. O'Brien noted that there was currently a restrictive easement running along the Beal Street side of the property that was controlled by the Shipyard for the purposes of running a train. This easement needed to be abandoned by Sea Chain, which will require approval by the Federal Transportation Commission.
Adams Court
Everyone agreed that this is an opportunity to resolve the existing situation at Adams Court. Jeff Dirk has identified two possible solutions, 1) to eliminate the egress through the School Depot out to Fort Hill and modify and relocate the Adams Court site drive to be a safe, two-way, right-in and right-out on West or 2) to keep the Adams Court site drive one-way in, but provide an alternate exit route through the Selectmen's parcel back out to Beal Street. Adams Court has an access easement through the adjacent Town property and that would need to be addressed.
Ms. Murphy pointed out that the right-in right-out restriction could provide problematic for residents coming from Fort Hill Street, who would have to go through all of downtown to get back to the entrance to the development. Board members concluded that the best approach would be to modify the terms of the Adams' Court easement so that residents either entered in through Adams Court and out through the Selectmen's parcel or even in and out of the Selectmen's parcel, which would depend on the ability to create some kind of turn-around within Adams Court.
1. Sidewalks
The developer has proposed a roadway with no sidewalks to minimize impervious surface, stating that the reduced cost of construction could also result in greater affordability. The Planning Board stated that they would like a sidewalk for pedestrian safety and to encourage walking in and out of the site. Jim O'Brien and Laura concurred that sidewalks would be required.
2. Public vs. Private Road
Jim O'Brien and stated that the Trust would like the roadway to be an accepted roadway so as to reduce plowing and maintenance costs and thus increase affordability. Planning Board members noted that a private roadway would allow for much more flexibility in the design and layout, and that accepting a roadway that was not designed to Town standards would set a bad precedent for future development projects (including 40Bs) that want to sidestep Town regulations. Board members also expressed concern that this would be problematic for residents on other non-accepted roads in Town who would like to get their roads accepted. Mr. O'Brien noted that, as a developer he could attest that annual roadway maintenance, plowing and eventual rebuilding was a very expensive prospect. He said that it would be smarter to have the developer pay up front to build a high quality roadway, and then have the Town accept it. Board members talked about what waivers would be required in order to get a roadway that was appropriate for this kind of residential community. Mr. O'Brien pointed out that the precedent would not be problematic because this project would be 60% affordable, and therefore quite distinct from other projects, even other 40B projects.
Board members asked Ms. Lacy to look into what kind of waivers had recently been granted for recent subdivision projects, so that they could avoid setting new precedents in the design of this roadway.
Vehicular Access to Fort Hill Street
There is still some interest in developing the roadway so that it leads through the two projects, picks up the Adams Court traffic and then leads out to Fort Hill Street. Board members determined, however, that this would create a tempting cut-through from Beal to Fort Hill, and needlessly increase the amount of traffic passing through the two residential roadways. The compromise position is to leave the existing roadway in place to provide emergency and pedestrian access.
Other Board comments included a request that the entrance into the site from Beal Street be moved as far from West Street as possible for traffic safety purposes. They also asked that the project include an appropriate amount of guest parking.
Ms. Burns explained that once they have gotten the Planning Board's input, the Selectmen should discuss it and give direction to the Trust and ultimately the developer to determine what to design on the Selectmen's parcel.
Form A-Weir Street
This Form A carves a lot out of the back of the Glastonbury Abby Site for the creation of a single family house for a long-time employee at the Abby.
It was moved, seconded and SO VOTED, unanimously, by all present to endorse the Form A entitled, "Plan of Land Weir Street Hingham, Mass.", dated August 31, 2007, prepared by William Rainey Land Surveyors, Kingston, MA for the Benedictine Fathers, Inc., 16 Hull Street, Hingham, MA, owners and Kurt Gondveer, 185 A South Street, Cohasset, MA, applicant.
Minutes/Bills/Certificates of Action
Other
The Board entered into a discussion of communication and meeting protocol.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:55
Respectfully submitted,
Katharine Lacy