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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-17 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF JUNE 17, 2008 MINUTES Board Members Present: Allie Brown, Chairman Nathaniel Rosenblatt Jeff Barnes David Clark Doug Damon Laura Mitchell Miles Theeman City Staff Present: David Gould James Ring Bud Knickerbocker Peter Witham Chairman Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA As no one wished to remove either item from the Consent Agenda, Chairman Brown asked for a motion. Mr. Theeman moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion, which passed by a vote of 7 to 0. The items approved are as follows: Item No. 1: Site Development Plan and Site Location of Development Modification approvals to construct an 85-space parking lot with an access drive from College Circle and other site modifications at 1 College Circle in a Government and Institutional Service District. Husson College, applicant. Item No. 2: Site Development Plan Revision and Site Location of Development Modification approvals for a revision to a restaurant building site located on Springer Drive in a General Commercial and Service District. GMRI, Inc., applicant. 2 OLD BUSINESS Item No. 3: Site Development Plan approval for construction of a new outdoor display area at 1281 Hammond Street in a General Commercial and Service District. TBA Inc., applicant. Chairman Brown asked for comments from the applicant. Mr. Fred Marshall, Plymouth Engineering and Al Belanger the owner of TBA, Inc. were present. Mr. Marshall indicated that at the last meeting there were concerns about stormwater and permitting. They had submitted some stormwater calculations to City Engineer Jim Ring the day before the Planning Board meeting which were reviewed by Mr. Ring but there were some Board Members who wanted to see those calculations. The other issue was concern as to whether or not they required a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection. Mr. Marshall indicated that they have since submitted an e-mail from Jim Beyer, of DEP, indicating that they did not need to obtain a stormwater permit. Mr. Marshall also noted that the site plan has not changed since the last meeting. Mr. Rosenblatt indicated that one of the criteria for Site Development Plan approval is that the applicant must show that stormwater runoff from the proposed development will not have an unreasonable adverse affect upon abutting properties. Mr. Rosenblatt said that in looking at what was submitted as compared to what was submitted in 2002 he could not correlate the two and asked Mr. Marshall to explain. Mr. Marshall indicated that the numbers do not correlate because they are using a different modeling program. They took the exact same numbers and ran them through the new program and came out with different numbers. Mr. Ring discussed the various modeling packages available noting that some of the earlier models were developed for much larger watersheds such as the Kenduskeag Stream or even the Penobscot River. The newer programs such as Hydro CAD are geared more for smaller individual site analysis and produce more accurate predictions and, therefore, it is very hard to compare the two. Hydro CAD is what is generally accepted by DEP and other reviewing agencies and it is more the standard software modeling package that is used today. As far as the drainage calculations, Mr. Ring indicated that they looked appropriate in terms of the topography and what actually occurs on site. As no one spoke, Chairman Brown asked for Staff comments. Planning Officer Gould indicated that this was held over to make sure everyone had an opportunity to review all of the submittals especially those that were submitted in the few days before the last meeting. Mr. Gould indicated that there has been some continued conversation with the abutter who originally sent an e-mail expressing their concerns. Staff informed them that the information is here and available and they were made aware of when the meeting would be held if they wanted to attend and have further debate. Mr. Gould said that the issue before the Board is whether or not this plan meets the Standards of Section 114. Mr. Gould indicated that the Planning Staff is comfortable that all of the details are in place. 3 As there were no further comments, Chairman Brown asked for a motion. Mr. Theeman moved that the Board grant Site Development Plan approval for 1281 Hammond Street – TBA, Inc., applicant, to construct a 15,800 sq. ft. display area for their existing retail auto use. Mr. Barnes seconded the motion. The Board voted seven in favor and none opposed. OTHER BUSINESS Item No. 4: Draft Provisions for Open Space Parcels and Open Space Banking. Chairman Brown indicated that Staff distributed draft language for provisions for open space parcels and open space banking and was seeking comments from the Board. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the proposed language was developed to allow property owners or developers to set aside open space to meet future development obligations (open space requirements). A property owner may want to set aside open space today but retain the ability to count that open space in a future development. Alternately, a project proposing a phased development may design the open space for the entire project and get credit for the open space reserved as the development is built over time. Presently the Ordinance requires open space with each new application and no credit is applied to open space that may exceed the requirement. The Board commented on the proposed language and raised questions regarding whether or not the proposal for banked open space was city wide or just for the Penjajawoc Marsh Overlay District; if the banked open space could come from more than one parcel, how the open space could be used, and the creation of specific language to identify the uses. The Board also discussed defining the word “development.” Mr. Gould explained that the Planning Board will decide if the land can be considered for open space. As proposed, the provisions are for the Penjajawoc Marsh area. The Marsh Mall Commission felt it was very important for the marsh area and they did not want to jeopardize it if there was concern elsewhere in the City. Mr. Gould indicated that if the Board felt that this should be applied city-wide, he didn’t think that the Commission would object. Mr. Gould indicated that Staff would prefer for the Board to consider the open space banking on a case by case basis but agreed with the suggested changes to the language. However, what replaces it should have latitude within it. Mr. Ring said that he thought that the Marsh Mall Overlay District was a good area to try this concept at this time because there is an ordinance that outlines objectives in that particular area. By allowing a property owner to bank or set aside open space for future use, it would help property owners to better plan what they might want to do with a large parcel of land. Rather than developing it in phases and setting aside open space for each phase, this would allow a property owner to set aside a larger area that would serve the entire parcel. 4 Planning Officer Gould indicated that the next step is for this to be placed on the City Council’s Agenda to be referred to the Planning Board for a Public Hearing and advertised for public comments. After that, the Planning Board’s recommendation will go back to the City Council for action. After some discussion, Chairman Brown asked if the Board Members wished to proceed with this amendment. Mr. Ring noted that at this point he would suggest that the Planning Officer incorporate the Board’s comments into specific language and then distribute it to the Board for their comments before committing to a proposed ordinance change. The Board Members agreed. Other Business st Planning Officer Gould noted that the July 1 meeting had previously been cancelled by the Board. He indicated that there had been inquiries from some of the applicants and agents, who are accustomed to an every two week schedule, as to whether or not the Board would consider holding a special meeting the second week in July so as to not delay their construction schedules. The Board Members agreed to hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. There being no further items for discussion, the Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.