Minutes February 22, 2010
Regular Meeting
Planning Board Agenda for Monday, February 22, 2010
7:00 PM Application for Special Permit A1 and A3 for the Redevelopment and Expansion of Athletic Fields at 0 Ward Street 8:00 PM Continuation of Public Hearing on Proposed Amendment to the Zoning By-Law to Create an Overlay District
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Present: Planning Board Members, Judy Sneath, Chairman, Paul Healey, Clerk, Sarah Corey, Susan Murphy, and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
7:00 PM Application for Special Permit A1 and A3 for the Redevelopment and Expansion of Athletic Fields at 0 Ward Street
This was a joint hearing of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.
Present for the Applicant: Jeffery Tocchio, Attorney; Rick Alfonse and Neal Cheal, Tetra Tech Rizzo.
Before the applicants got into the substance of the hearings, Chairman Judy Sneath provided an outline of which Board or Committee would be reviewing which aspect of the project.
Mr. Tocchio provided an overview of how the project has evolved over time, and presented the current proposed program for the site. He noted that the project was already subject to an MOA with the Board of Selectmen, and were currently working with the Selectmen and the Recreation Commission on issues relative to financing, maintenance and scheduling. He noted that the project was still subject to Conservation Commission Review, particularly relative to compliance with the Rivers Act, which requires a 200’ setback from the high water mark of the Plymouth River. The fields will be used by an array of public and private users for children and possibly adult groups.
Mr. Alfonse presented a project overview. He described existing conditions and constraints, including the location of the Plymouth River, the Zone 2 Water Supply Zone, and intermittent streams. Perc tests are currently being done, and show well-drained gravel soils. The current plan does not include a dome, team rooms, or a connection to the Plymouth River School. There will be no grandstands, though small bleachers will be present.
Paving will be for the heavily travelled roadways; parking areas will be crushed stone. There will be 200 parking spaces, with no overflow parking. The applicant is estimating that 16 parking spaces will be needed per team, and are confident that this will prevent on-street parking on adjacent roadways. Mr. Alfonse also showed a plan showing distances to abutting houses, indicating that the closest house is 340 feet away, and the next closest is over 500 feet away.
Mr. Alphonse noted that a revised traffic report and plan will be submitted for the next hearing.
Nina Welford spoke on behalf of Ward Street Grass Roots, outlining the various reasons that the organization was against the proposal. Also on behalf of the Ward Street Grass Roots, Attorney Steve McLaughlin asked for much more specific information about the proposed uses of the project, to better inform the traffic engineer and provide a sense of actual project impacts.
Other project opponents expressed concern about the health implications of the turf on the local water supply, as well as on the physical health of field users.
Project supporters spoke of the urgent need for turf fields to accommodate the growing demand on existing fields, and the inability of the Town to accommodate athletic activities during muddy and rainy weather.
The hearing was continued to May 5, 2010. In the meantime, Planning Board and ZBA members requested the following additional information prior to the next hearing.
1. Information from the Recreation Commission about exactly who would be using the field, including numbers of users, hours of use, what organizations would be allowed to use the field, etc.
2. A revised traffic study responding to Jeff Dirk’s recent review letter. Ms. Murphy asked whether this study could also include traffic counts and traffic impacts on the intersection at Cushing and Main. Paul Healey noted that an accurate parking determination would also require clearly detailed information about the size of events that would take place at this venue, including tournaments, etc. and the exact number of participants anticipated. Judy Sneath asked for comparative information on numbers of parking spaces at other fields in Town.
3. A revised plan reflecting all of the changes imposed by the Conservation Commission. Ms. Murphy asked whether this plan could include detail information on the proposed fencing. Ms. Sneath asked whether the plan could include information about pedestrian pathways.
4. Joe Fisher asked proponents and opponents for their input on whether the Dover amendment would apply, and what implications that it would have on this project.
5. Information on the extent to which the Board of Health and Conservation Commission would be reviewing issues relative to the impact of artificial turf on personal health of field users.
8:00 PM Continuation of Public Hearing on Proposed Amendment to the Zoning By-Law to Create a Recreational Field Overlay District
The Planning Board continued the Public Hearing on the proposed amendment to the Zoning By-law to create an overlay district encompassing 18.61 acres of Town-owned land on Ward Street. The purpose of the Overlay District would be to establish a district in which certain lighting structures accessory to active recreational sports fields can be constructed.
Steven Von Schiller, Senior Electrical Engineer for Tetra Tech Rizzo presented a draft by-law and answered questions. The hearing was continued to Monday March 22 at 8:00 PM.
The Meeting was adjourned at 10:45 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Katharine T. Lacy, Town Planner