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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-07-17 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF JULY 17, 2012 MINUTES Board Members Present: Andy Sturgeon, Vice Chairman Paul Bolin Charles Boothby, Alternate Member Doug Damon John Kenney John Miller Julie Williams City Staff Present: David Gould Jennifer Boothroyd Vice Chairman Sturgeon called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. In the absence of Chairman Theeman, Alternate Member Boothby was asked to vote. CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Kenney indicated he had a conflict of interest on Item No. 3 on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Damon moved that Mr. Kenney be excused from voting on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Bolin seconded the motion and the Members voted unanimously to excuse Mr. Kenney from the Consent Agenda vote. As no one wished to remove the items for discussion, Vice Chairman Sturgeon asked for a motion. Mr. Damon moved to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bolin, and it passed by a vote of 6 to 0. The items approved are as follows: Item No. 1: Site Development Plan approval to remove one parking space to accommodate a pylon sign located at 102 Haskell Road in a General Commercial and Service District. Jori Brothers Family LLC, applicant. 2 Item No. 2: Site Location of Development Modification approval to modify the approved plans for construction of 23 duplex buildings with a total of 46 units located at Mt. Hope Avenue and Chickadee Lane by eliminating one building, adjusting the location of two buildings, and reducing the size of one building ending up with 22 duplexes with 44 units. Meadowbrook Ridge, LLC, applicant. Item No.3: Site Development Plan approval to reconstruct and expand a 60-space parking lot into a 97-space parking lot at 354 Hogan Road in a Government and Institutional Service District. Eastern Maine Community College, applicant. PUBLIC HEARINGS Item No. 4: To amend the Land Development Code by changing a parcel of land located at 311 Hammond Street from Urban Residence 2 District and Government and Institutional Service District to Contract Multi-family and Service District. Said parcel containing approximately 21,655 sq. ft. John Karnes, III, applicant. C.O. No. 12-239. Vice Chairman Sturgeon opened the Public Hearing and asked the applicant to make a brief presentation. Mr. John Karnes indicated that he had recently purchased the Old Commons building on the former Bangor Seminary Campus and was seeking to renovate some of the space in the building for his use as professional office space. There were no other proponents or any opponents to the rezoning request. Vice Chairman Sturgeon asked for Staff comments. Planning Officer David Gould indicated that the sale of the Seminary property in 2007 forced the City to look at the Land Use Policy for that portion of the City that had been in the Seminary’s ownership for decades. The area extends from the edge of the downtown core to some well established single-family neighborhoods. While there was a good deal of discussion about commercial reuse, concerns of the available parking and historic fabric called for a slow and thoughtful approach. Many of the structures had been renovated into apartment units for housing for Seminary students. These properties were suited to a low to moderate density district that would allow for rental dwelling units. The large Maine Hall building was rezoned Contract Multi-family and Service District to suit the redevelopment needs of Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) which used contract standards to regulate density, housing type, and parking. The Moulton Library was acquired as a “last edition” repository. Finally the Masonic Lodge acquired the bulk of the campus to replace their building which was lost by fire. 3 Mr. Gould noted that he has been very pleased with the success of the redevelopment so far. The contract rezoning proposed by Mr. Karnes will allow the six existing units to remain and provide the ability to use a portion of the building as office space. Ms. Williams did note that Mr. Karnes had appeared before the Historic Preservation Commission and had received approval for numerous renovations of the existing structure. The Board asked questions about the office use and available parking at the site. Planning Officer Gould noted that as a home occupation (a dwelling unit where a person resided) could be permitted by the Code Office provided it met the applicable criteria. In this instance, the Multi-family and Service District will allow office use as a Conditional Use and the proposed contract limits that space to 900 square feet. The provision does not require the operator to reside on the premise. Mr. Gould further noted the subdivision plan of the Seminary Campus, of which Mr. Karnes’ lot is a part of, has specific conditions as to the shared use of the parking to meet the needs of the developments on the campus. Again, to date the arrangement has worked out very well. At the time that Mr. Karnes seeks to add office use he will need to return and we will have to review the supply and demand for parking in that application the same as was done in the redevelopment of Maine Hall. Mr. Kenney moved to recommend to the City Council adoption of the proposed Contract Zone Change request contained in C.O. # 12-239, 331 Hammond Street, John Karnes, III, applicant. The motion was seconded and it passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Item No. 5. Planning Board Discussion of Process and Procedures. Assistant City Solicitor Paul Nicklas provided the Board with an overview of various issues related to the operation and procedures of the Board and Board Members. Mr. Nicklas noted that the City has a specific Code of Ethics that provides guidance as to conflicts. The Code does require Members deemed to have a conflict to leave the meeting room where the deliberation and action is taking place. The Code also prohibits Board Members from representing third party interests before the Board. However, a Board Member may represent their own personal interest before the Board. Mr. Nicklas reviewed bias, due process, potential concerns when conducting site visits and associated issues surrounding electronic communication (email). 4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 6: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. Vice Chairman Sturgeon indicated that the Minutes of the June 19, 2012 meeting were in order. Mr. Bolin moved to approve the Minutes of the June 19, 2012 Planning Board Meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Boothby and passed unanimously. There being no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m.