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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-01 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF MAY 1, 2007 MINUTES Board Members Present: Robert Guerette, Chairman Nathaniel Rosenblatt David Clark Laura Mitchell Allie Brown Jeff Barnes City Staff Present: David Gould James Ring Peter Witham Bud Knickerbocker News Media Present: Bangor Daily News Chairman Guerette called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. In the Absence of Board Member Theeman, Associate Members Brown and Barnes were asked to alternate voting on the items beginning with Associate Member Brown. CONSENT AGENDA As no one wished to remove the item for discussion, Chairman Guerette asked for a motion. Mr. Rosenblatt moved that the Board approve the Consent Agenda with the condition that the applicant submit an improvement guarantee for work to be undertaken on East Broadway within 120 days. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion. The Board voted 5 to 0 in favor of the motion. Item No. 1: Final Subdivision Plan re-approval of a Developmental Subdivision Plan for 36 condominium units located at 606V Essex Street in a Low Density Residential District. Maine Capital Companies/Scott LaLumiere, applicants. 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS Item No. 2: Conditional Use/Site Development Plan approval for a kennel use (doggie daycare/grooming) located at 392 Kittredge Road in a Rural Residence and Agricultural District. Hallie Tyler, applicant. Chairman Guerette opened the Public Hearing and asked for a presentation by the applicant. Ms. Hallie Tyler, the applicant, explained that she wished to put in a small doggie day care/grooming center/kennel on the Kittredge Road. The nearest abutting neighbor would be about 980 feet away. The proposed 32’ x 50’ building will be two stories with her business downstairs and her living quarters upstairs. She proposes an outdoor fenced in area for the dogs to play. Presently she has a 15 passenger van in which she picks up most of the dogs and then takes them home so there won’t be a lot of traffic associated with this use. Chairman Guerette asked if there is a building on this property now, if Ms. Tyler owned the property, or if she will doing any breeding or raising of dogs. Ms. Tyler indicated that the property is vacant now, purchase of the property is contingent upon her obtaining approvals and she does not plan to breed or raise dogs. She explained that it would be more like an upscale doggie resort as opposed to a kennel. There would be no outdoor chain linked fencing and caged up dogs and she envisioned approximately 20 to 25 dogs. Ms. Mitchell asked if the dogs stayed overnight. Ms. Tyler said that there could be but it would be mostly daycare. Presently she does take 5 or 6 dogs overnight and when she resides there she proposes to take between 5 and 10 overnight. Mr. Clark asked if she presently runs a day care. Ms. Tyler indicated that she does (Canine Camp) and it is located in Newburgh and she has been doing this for five years. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if the remaining concerns noted by Staff in the Staff Memorandum had been taken care of. Mr. Gould noted that the only element was the issue of the culvert. All of the buffers and lighting information has been submitted. Chairman Guerette asked if there were comments from proponents. As no one spoke either in favor of or in opposition to the request, Chairman Guerette closed the Public Hearing and asked the Planning Officer for his report. Planning Officer Gould indicated that this application is for conditional use and site development plan approvals for a kennel use. When this concept came to the Code Enforcement office they did not see any length of stay relative to kennel versus day care so they determined that this would need conditional use review as a kennel. The parcel is located on Kittredge Road on a lot that the Board recently approved a subdivision plan for. Uniquely, there are no immediate abutters. In fact, the nearest house is up to 1,000 feet away. This is a mixed use with the kennel operation downstairs and a residential use upstairs. The Rural Residence and Agricultural District (RR & A) has two specific standards relative to kennels, that they be 100 feet from any residential district which this is, and 150 feet away from the nearest residential building which is, again, 3 100’s of feet away. There are no immediate neighbors and likely the only amount of traffic on that part of Kittredge Road would be people visiting the City Forest which is at the end of the road. Mr. Gould indicated that this proposal also needs to meet the standard conditional use standards relative to basic requirements of the zone, appropriate utilities for the use; and architectural character that is consistent with buildings within 500 feet (there isn’t anything within 500 feet). It also provides for a well and septic system which is what would be expected for this rural location. Staff worked with the applicant on all of the details about parking lot buffers and parking setbacks and lighting to make sure that it meets the current standards. The one thing that the Engineering Department noted was that the driveway culvert was less that 15 inches and the City’s minimum standard is 15 inches. Mr. Gould indicated that if the Board is comfortable with all of the other details this could be made as a condition of approval. Staff felt that this is a low impact operation in a place that really doesn’t have any neighbors to disturb and would recommend that the Board grant conditional Use and Site Development Plan approval with the condition as to the size of the driveway culvert. Mr. Clark asked that with the pending changes to Hogan Road and Kittredge Road if they might affect this applicant. Mr. Gould explained that it’s the City’s intention to relocate the very end of Kittredge Road where it intersects with Stillwater Avenue and Hogan Road and he did not feel that it would have an impact upon this project. Mr. Jim Ring, City Engineer, indicated that applicant also recently received a preliminary review by the Marsh Mall Commission. The Commission asked a lot of questions about this operation and in the end did recommend approval of it. There being no further comments, Chairman Guerette asked for a motion. Mr. Rosenblatt moved that the Board grant Conditional Use approval for the proposed development at 392 Kittredge Road for Hallie Tyler, applicant. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion. The Board voted 5 to 0 in favor of the motion. Mr. Rosenblatt moved that the Board grant Site Development Plan approval for the proposed development at 392 Kittredge Road for Hallie Tyler, applicant on the condition that the driveway culvert be a minimum size of 15 inches. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion which also carried unanimously. Item No. 3: To amend the Land Development Code by changing part of a parcel of land located at 315 Harlow Street from Urban Residence 2 District to Contract Multi-family and Service District. Said part of a parcel containing approximately one- third acre. Volunteers of America, applicant. C.O. # 07-155. Chairman Guerette opened the Public Hearing and asked the applicant to make a presentation. Mr. Jeff Aceto, Project Manager with Site Lines Consulting Engineers of Brunswick, Maine represented Volunteers of America. Also present was Julia Wilcock of VOA. Their proposal is to rezone a portion of the lot at 315 Harlow Street. Previously it was the site of CE Noyes Tire Company. 4 This applicant was before the Board in November of 2006 to rezone the front portion of the parcel from Urban Service District to Multi-Family and Service District. They propose to redevelop this site into 58 units of low-income elderly housing. They are proposing to demolish the existing building and provide a new site that has access from both Harlow Street and Curve Street. In developing their site layout they discovered that it extended over into the URD-2 zoned area. They are not proposing to rezone a portion of the URD-2 zoned lot to Multi-family and Service District and restrict it for use as parking only. The remaining URD-2 area would remain URD-2 and would preclude the use for multi family back in that area. Chairman Guerette asked for comments from proponents. As there were none, he asked for comments from opponents. Ms. Nancy Garland, 74 Market Street, had a concern about the aesthetic value of her property and how much will be turned into a parking lot as opposed to keeping the aesthetics of having a pretty field out there. Also, she questioned exactly where the City-owned parcel of land was in relationship to the location of her outbuilding. She also asked how close the parcel under consideration was to the back of her house. Mr. Jeff Aceto explained that there is a portion of land 75’ to 100’ wide on their parcel that will not be zoned for the use that they are proposing and they would not be able to put parking or a building in that area. Chairman Guerette explained that her home looks to be quite some distance away. There being no further comments, Chairman Guerette closed the Public Hearing and asked for Staff comments. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the theory held when this property was originally zoned is exactly the issue being discussed. Staff wanted to make sure that the project would not be constructed up into the single-family neighborhood but constructed closest to the Harlow Street side of the property in order to maintain the integrity of the Curve Street and Market Street neighborhood. The application in the front of the Board is for a contract rezoning from Urban Residence 2 District (URD -2) to Multi-family and Service District (M & SD) with the sole contract condition being that the area proposed to be changed can only be used for surface parking. Mr. Gould explained that whatever parking lot that gets built there will largely be obscured by the buffer standards. Any lighting under the Code will be in keeping with the residential character of the property. Staff finds that the Multi-family & Service District contract for the parking to support the project makes sense. Staff recommended that the Board make a positive recommendation to the City Council. Mr. Rosenblatt asked the history of the rezoning on this parcel. Planning Officer Gould explained that originally the lower portion of the parcel was zoned USD and the upper portion was URD-2. The applicant initially, through some less than stellar communication with Staff applied to change the whole property to M & SD. Staff said that they felt that the project has a lot of merit and we would love to see that old building get torn down (former C.E. Noyes Tire) and go away but did not want to end up with the potential that a multi- story, multi-family, building be built up adjacent to the lower density residential end of the neighborhood. The intent to build it down on Harlow Street in what was a commercial area made sense. They were agreeable to only rezoning the USD portion with the idea that if some of the upper level was needed to support that project then the City would look at 5 whatever contract conditions would facilitate that. Given the building and the topography there is a need for some additional parking on the upper part of the lot. The remainder of the lot will act as an open space buffer. Ms. Brown moved that the Board recommend to the City Council that the contract zone change at 315 Harlow Street, for Volunteers of America as contained in C.O. # 07-155 be approved. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion. The Board voted five in favor and none opposed. Item No. 4: Amending the Land Development Code - Chapter 165, Section 165-99C – Permitted Uses in the Low Density Residential District, Section 165-103 – Conditional Uses in the Industry and Service District, and Schedule B – Developing Area Development Standards. City of Bangor, applicant. C.O. # 07-156. Chairman Guerette opened the public hearing and asked for a presentation. Planning Officer Gould indicated that some of these amendments have been long awaited corrections and oversights between the Districts and the schedule. It also includes an A buffer for attached residential in a Low Density Residential District (LDR) as well as a provision for small accessory structures in the LDR with a lesser setback. There was work done in the Industrial districts where the B buffer yard was eliminated from permitted uses. In the Shopping and Personal Service District amendments were made to the required buffer yard to make it consistent with the new buffer standards. Some uses that previously were grouped together like a drive-thru bank or a drive-thru pharmacy was grouped with the same buffer category as a gasoline station and these were split out so that they would have different standards and the automobile service use would have a higher buffer standard than would just a drive-thru bank. The issue of security personnel as a conditional use in the Industrial district will be deleted and this is an item back from the 50’s that is probably not needed any more. Staff put in a clarification under the cluster standard to make sure that small lots in cluster developments could have on-site waste disposal systems in areas where it would be physically impossible to provide public services. Mr. Gould indicated that standards were also added in residential districts to provide for setbacks for churches. Ms. Brown had concerns about the amendment to the cluster standards. Mr. Gould explained that the way it has been set up is that we don’t require you to do smaller lots what we do require you do is set aside more open space. We’re going to get x amount of open space and the lot size can be whatever size you think the market will bear. Relative to this amendment, there are places where physically sewer service cannot be provided but it could be done with on-site waste disposal. Staff did not see why this should be prohibited. Chairman Guerette closed Public Hearing as no one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the zoning amendment. He commended Mr. Gould for a good job of organizing the amendment and indicated that he was in favor of it. Chairman Guerette asked if there were any other comments from the Board. There being none, Chairman Guerette moved to recommend to the City Council approval of the zoning amendment to the Land Development 6 Code amending Chapter 165, Sections 99C, 103 and Schedule B, City of Bangor, applicant as contained in C.O. # 07-156. That motion was seconded by Mr. Clark. The motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Item No. 5: Site Development Plan approval to fill and grade property located at 1549 Broadway in a Shopping and Personal Service District. Grant Realty Corporation, applicant. Because the applicant was not present, Chairman Guerette indicated that it would not be appropriate to entertain a Site Development Plan. Mr. Rosenblatt moved to continue consideration of this item until the Board’s next meeting. Ms. Mitchell seconded the motion, which passed by a vote of 5 to 0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 6: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. Chairman Guerette indicated that the Minutes of the February 6, 2007 were in order. Mr. Rosenblatt moved to approve the Minutes of the February 6, 2007 Meeting. Mr. Clark seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Other Business Mr. Gould discussed a draft amendment regarding lighting standards to deal with decorative lighting or architectural lighting. He did some research to come up with a potential standard that could be used. The Board discussed the language of the proposed amendment. Mr. Rosenblatt pointed out that there may be situations with unique buildings such as the Opera House on Main Street that has upward lighting where a little bit more leeway should be considered. Mr. Clark felt that the City is too dark and the street lights were too dim. He said that he had no problem with regulations as long as it doesn’t make the City darker than it already is. Chairman Guerette felt that what exists is a very basic lighting standard and was pleased that Mr. Gould met with developers to try and to standardize what it is that the City allows for lighting. Chairman Guerette indicated that he was in favor of the proposed changes but wished that the architectural section provided a little bit more leeway. He agreed with the point made by Member Rosenblatt that there may be situations with large buildings or buildings with unique contours where sideways or upwards pointed architectural lumination might be tastefully done. Mr. Gould asked the Board to review this amendment and forward any comments. In other business, Mr. Gould noted that Staff had been working on developing guidelines for open space. He distributed copies for discussion at a later time. Mr. Gould 7 noted that arrangements have been made to obtain the services of Victor Smith, a former MDOT Traffic Engineer to come and spend an evening with the Board to talk about the MDOT Traffic Permitting Process, the standards, the ins and outs of traffic permitting, whether or not it makes sense to have a local standard or not and how best the Board can coordinate its work with MDOT work. Mr. Gould indicated that he would be available on ndth. either May 22 or May 29 It was the consensus of the Board to hold that workshop on May nd 22. Mr. Ring gave the Board an update on the status of the Hogan Road Extension noting that there was considerable discussion and negotiations done in the process of making this work. There were funding challenges and scheduling challenges but they have all been overcome and the MDOT traffic permit has been granted. Improvements as part of that Traffic Permit include adding a fifth lane on Stillwater Avenue, signalization improvements, and extra turning lanes at certain locations to get that turning traffic out of the thru movement lanes to preserve capacity. Mr. Ring indicated that there will be a definite improvement out there. There being no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.