Minutes
December 10, 2007
Regular Meeting
Planning Board Agenda for Monday, December 10, 2007
7:00 PM 165 Beal Street Special Permit A3-Parking Determination
7:45 PM 120 South Pleasant Street Site Plan Review relative to Application for
Special Permit A2-Earth Removal
8:30 PM Review of Proposed Changes to Subdivision Regulations- (Sections 4 and 5) with Paul Brogna, peer review consultant.
Old/New Business
Present: Planning Board Members, Paul Healey Chair, Sarah Corey, Clerk, Judy Sneath
and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
Mr. Healey opened the public meeting at 7:00 P.M. at the Hingham Town Hall.
RE: 165 Beal Street A3-Parking Determination
At the start of the hearing, Judith Sneath disclosed that the applicant, Richard McManus, was a member of the Hingham Downtown Association, of which she is the executive director.
Richard McManus, of Beal Street Academy, came before the Board seeking a Parking Determination (Special Permit A3) in accordance with Section V-A of the Zoning By-Law for the introduction of a school use in the former Nobles building at 165 Beal Street.
Mr. McManus explained that the building in which the Beal Street Academy will be located is owned and occupied by Fanueil Kitchens. Mr. McManus is currently already a tenant in the building, where he leases 2,458 square feet of office space to run his tutoring business, the Fluency Factory, during afternoon and evening hours. Other portions of the building are leased to the Tiny Steps day care center, and Cargo Ways, which serves as the business office for an ocean shipping business. The Beal Street Academy is a small, private school for special needs children K-12. The program, which is currently working to obtain Department of Education approval as a 766 (special education) provider, has three students at this time, and Mr. McManus anticipates that it will not exceed 20 students.
Currently the combined uses on the site require 35.5 parking spaces, and 36 are provided. Per a previous zoning decision, the Fluency Factory has 8.6 allotted spaces based on a calculation of 3.5 spaces per 1000 square feet for general business use. The applicant proposes to operate the Beal Street Academy in the same space occupied by the Fluency Factory. The Fluency Factory is currently used from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The proposed Beal Street Academy use would run from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM.
Since there is no prescribed amount of parking for a school in the Town's off-street parking regulations, the application is seeking a determination that the current amount of parking available is sufficient for the proposed operation.
Board members asked whether there currently appeared to be sufficient parking on site, and Mr. McManus responded that there did appear to be. Ms. Sneath asked whether the current students at the Academy drove to work, and Mr. McManus responded that the current three students were too young, but that they might have high school students in the future. Mr. McManus stated that he would be willing to prohibit students from driving and parking at school if any high school students enrolled.
Board members expressed concern about the lack of a formalized drop-off/pick up sequence. Currently parents of children using the tutoring service drive into the site driveway, which is located along the west side of the building, drop their kids off at the side door, and turn around in the rear parking lot. Some parents, however, drive in and then back out onto Beal Street, which is dangerous. Mr. McManus noted that of the three students now enrolled in the school program, two were dropped of by parents, and one arrived in a van. He said that he could discourage parents from backing out on to Beal Street. Gary Tondorf-Dick asked about potential conflicts between the school use and the light manufacturing in the building. Mr. MacManus noted that deliveries, on the days that they occurred, happened around 9:00 after students were inside the building. He also noted that Fanueil Kitchens only produced and delivered a limited number of kitchens per year.
It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED, unanimously, by all present to grant the Special Permit A3 based on the determination that there was sufficient parking at 165 Beal Street to accommodate the Beal Street Academy use, subject to the following conditions:
1. The back parking lot shall be striped to show a designated turn-around area.
2. Students at Beal Street Academy shall be prohibited from parking on site.
3. At the time that the Beal Street academy has 20 students, the applicant shall contact the Town Planner to determine whether the on-site parking is sufficient. If the Town Planner determines that there is insufficient parking on site, the application shall be required to return to the Planning Board to seek necessary relief.
RE: 120 South Pleasant St. Site Plan Review/Special Permit A2-Earth Removal
Jim Robichaud of Pleasant Street Development, and Gary James, Engineer, came before the Board to present an application for Site Plan Approval in association with a Special Permit A2 (Earth Removal Permit) in accordance with Section V-C for the removal of 23,000 cubic yards of gravel from a 6.44 acre-site on 120 South Pleasant Street.
The applicant is developing the property at 120 South Pleasant Street formerly owned by Terry Geoghan into five residential lots. The lots were created through a Form A process. The existing house lot has frontage on South Pleasant Street and the four new house lots have frontage on Lazell Street. One of the new homes will be accessed via the existing driveway. Three new ones will have curb cuts on Lazell St.
Most of the gravel (1500+ dump trucks full) will be gleaned from the rear of the lots far from the house sites, and will be sold for profit. Mr. Robichaud said that the purpose of the gravel removal was to create flat back yards for the residents.
Before the hearing got too far, Ms. Lacy pointed out to the Board that they needed to determine, based on this preliminary information, whether this project constituted a minor modification to the site plan, and they could waive the requirement for a posted public hearing. Board members determined that the extent of the work seemed significant, and that they would prefer to have a public hearing with proper notice. Board members expressed particular concern about the number of truck trips that would be required, especially in light of the fact that this portion of Lazell Street was very narrow, and only one-way traffic was permitted.
Board members asked if they could visit the site, and Mr. Robichaud agreed to meet them out there on Saturday December 15 at 8:00 AM.
Board members also informed the applicant that the project will be subject to the Scenic Roads Act, and that no work involving destruction of portions of the stone walls or removal of trees in the right of way can commence without written consent of the Planning Board.
RE: Review of Proposed Changes to Subdivision Regulations-(Sections 4 and 5) with Paul Brogna, peer review consultant
Board members met with Paul Brogna to strategize about how to best go about incorporating the changes suggested by Horsely and Witton into the Hingham Subdivision Regulations. Paul observed that some of the Low Impact Development strategies suggested by the consultants were not fully tested yet.
Old/New Business
Minutes/Bills
It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED, to accept the minutes of October 22, 2007, November 1, 2007, November 5, 2007, November 15, 2007 and November 26, 2007.
Form A - Kilby and Summer Streets
This form A is a simple land swap between the owners.
It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED, to endorse the Form A plan entitled, " Kilby and Summer Street Plan of Land in Hingham, Mass.", dated October 1, 2007, prepared by James Engineering, Inc, Hanover, MA for William Litwin, 235 Summer Street, Hingham, MA and William Sullivan, 4 Kilby Street, Hingham, MA, applicants and owners.
Dennis Road Subdivision
The Certificate of Action for Dennis Road Subdivision was signed by the Chairman.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Katharine Lacy
Town Planner