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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-17 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MARCH 17, 2015 MEETING MINUTES Board Members Present: Paul Bolin, Chairman Charles Boothby John Kenney Julie Williams John Miller Pete Parizo, Alternate Member City Staff Present: David Gould John Theriault Chairman Bolin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 1: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. Planning Officer Gould noted that the Minutes of February 3, and February 17, 2015 Meetings were ready for Board consideration. Mr. Boothby made a motion to approve the Meeting Minutes for February 3rd and 17th. Ms. Williams seconded the motion, and the Board voted unanimously to approve both sets of Minutes. Item No. 2: Planning Board review of Land Development Code Amendments to Low Density Residential High Density Residential and Conditional Uses. Planning Officer Gould noted that Staff had reviewed the Board's comments from the prior meeting and incorporated them, as needed. If the Board is on-board 2 with the proposed revisions then they can introduce it for a public hearing. Ms. Williams moved that the Board introduce the revision for review and hearing. Mr. Boothby seconded the motion. Mr. Gould outlined one of the basic problems of amending the Land Development Code. An amendment is drafted, it is introduced, and it scheduled for a hearing. If during the course of review substantive changes are made, the process must restart. By working with the Board it is hoped that some mutual agreement can be reached. That being said members or the entire Board can recommend that the proposed language not be adopted by City Council. It is our hope that we can address questions and resolve any issues prior to that point. Chairman Bolin asked if the Board had any questions or comments. Mr. Kenney noted there are many minor changes to the dimensional requirements, setbacks, building heights, and minimum acreage. He was uncertain as to why some many changes were being proposed. Secondly, as written, if a larger building is proposed the base minimum acreage makes a substantial jump such that you could build more buildings with fewer units and arrive at a better density. Mr. Gould noted that one of the basic elements we deal with is the size and bulk of multi-unit buildings. While many duplex units tend not to raise concerns, a single twelve-unit building does. Presently, a building of more than 10-units requires a five acre parcel minimum. The new language will reduce that amount by more than half but still gravitates towards larger buildings on larger parcels. Ms. Williams asked why there were two versions of the conditional use language. Mr. Gould noted in developing the Staff's preferred version we wanted to share the other option with the Board. Hopefully, we will discuss that item next. Ms. Williams noted there still appears to be some inconsistent language concerning single-family homes and buildings containing one dwelling unit. Mr. Gould noted that the term used to deal with a one-unit dwelling was guidance provided by Legal, unfortunately it was not consistently changed in every location, especially in the Low Density Residentail District. The Board unanimously moved to introduce the proposed amendment for the Low Density and High Density Residentail Districts. Item No. 3: Sylvan Road Final Plan Planning Officer Gould noted that the Final Plan was approved but no Mylar's were presented for signatures. Plans are now available for the Board to sign so they can be recorded at the Registry of Deeds. 3 Chairman Bolin noted the Board Members could sign the plans at the conclusion of the meeting. Item No. 4: Other Discussion. Chairman Bolin stated the intent was to try and describe the changes in drive- thru uses that would be significant with some specific numerical standard. Mr. Bolin asked Planning Officer Gould to update the Board. Mr. Gould noted that since the last discussion, City Engineer John Theriault has calculated trip generation for various drive-thru uses. Staff has provided the Board with a draft of what we think is an improvement in sorting out what should be reviewed. Secondly, a draft was included that requires any change to return to the Board. City Engineer John Theriault provided the Board with an overview of the trip generation characteristics of various drive-thru businesses. The lowest were banks and drive-thru pharmacies with fast food and drive thru doughnuts and coffee the highest. Mr. Miller asked if the language should also look at queuing. City Engineer noted that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) has a queue requirement for Dunkin Donuts of 14 cars due to experience with many locations throughout the State. Mr. Gould indicated that Staff would look queue standards if the Board wanted them to do that. Mr. Kenney noted that even if the number of trips generated does not increase by 50 trips, if the peak hour changed it would come back to he Board. Mr. Theriault was comfortable that as drafted it catches all the major changes in drive thru and even if it did not get to the Board the Staff would be able to evaluate the changes as a minor revision. Mr. Miller asked what would happen if a drive-in use did not operate for 12 months or more. Mr. Gould indicated to reconstitute the use would require an application to the Board. Chairman Bolin noted that Board Members should sign the Mylars before they leave. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.