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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-04-04 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF APRIL 4, 2006 MINUTES Board Members Present: Robert Guerette, Chairman Hal Wheeler David Clark Nathaniel Rosenblatt Alice Brown Jeffrey Barnes City Staff Present: David Gould James Ring Lynn Johnson News Media Present: Bangor Daily News Item No. 1: Election of Officers for 2006. Chairman Guerette opened the meeting and asked Planning Officer Gould to moderate this part of the meeting. Mr. Gould reminded the Board Members that the Board generally nominates a Chairman, Vice Chairman, and directs the Planning Staff to act as Secretary for the Board. Mr. Gould also noted that all Members of the Board are allowed to vote. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the first item was the election of a Chairman. Mr. Wheeler, noting that this will be his final opportunity to do this, said that it was with great pleasure and a sense of privilege that he nominate for Chairman, Mr. Guerette. Mr. Rosenblatt seconded the motion. Mr. Gould asked if there were any other nominations. There being none, Mr. Wheeler moved that the nominations be closed. Mr. Rosenblatt seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion to elect Mr. Guerette as Chairman of the Planning Board for 2006. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the next item was the election of a Vice Chairman and opened the nominations. Chairman Guerette indicated that 2 he enjoyed the composition of the Board noting that Vice Chairman Wheeler had been extremely helpful in keeping the meetings focused and providing the necessary direction for having a successful meeting. With that, Chairman Guerette nominated Mr. Wheeler as Vice Chairman. Mr. Rosenblatt seconded the motion. As there were no other nominations, Mr. Rosenblatt moved that nominations cease. Planning Officer Gould called for a vote. The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion to nominate Mr. Wheeler as Vice Chairman for 2006. Chairman Guerette then moved that the Planning Officer and Staff act as recording Secretary for the Board for 2006. Mr. Rosenblatt seconded the motion. The Board voted unanimously in favor of the motion. PUBLIC HEARINGS Item No. 2: Conditional Use/Site Development Plan approval for construction of a 9,000 square foot building for warehouse use and approximately 33,000 square feet of access drive and vehicle maneuvering area located at 1243V Hammond Street in a General Commercial and Service District. Epstein Properties, LLC, applicant. Chairman Guerette opened the Public Hearing and asked for a presentation by the applicant. Mr. Fred Marshall of Plymouth Engineering, representing the applicant, Epstein Properties, LLC, explained that this proposal is for construction of a 9,000 square foot warehouse located on Outer Hammond Street. A portion of this property was developed for what is called the “Frito- Lay” warehouse and at that time an access road was cut into the overall piece of property. His firm has worked with the applicant for close to 9 months trying to figure out how to fit this proposed project onto the site because there is a substantial amount of wetland. The parcel is bordered on the eastern side by Fed-Ex and on the western side by TBA or the Tire, Batteries & Accessories. This lot runs between the old Hammond Street and Route 2 and access would be through the shared driveway. Also, there is approximately 33,000 square feet of access drive and vehicle maneuvering area. The configuration, while unusual, was driven by the desire to minimize the wetland impact and putting all of the development allowed on the upland area. Mr. Marshall indicated that the applicant has applied for a wetland permit which should be issued in the next few weeks and they have applied for a stormwater Permit By Rule which has been granted. Mr. Rosenblatt asked Mr. Marshall to discuss the stormwater plan and indicate where the stormwater would be directed. Mr. Marshall explained that 3 the topography goes from old Hammond Street in a southwesterly direction to Hammond Street (Route 2). The majority of the stormwater flows down and is caught by the loading docks where there is a gradual paved swale that directs it around the building into a pipe and eventually into a wetland area. Mr. Clark asked where the access to this site would be. Mr. Marshall explained that access would be through the same drive into the Frito Lay warehouse. Chairman Guerette asked if the stormwater output is subject to the State Stormwater regulations or if different regulations applied. Mr. Marshall explained that this project falls between the threshold between no permit, a permit by rule and a stormwater permit, therefore, it does get treatment by erosion control and the grass swale which is probably more than what most stormwater permit by rules are obligated to do. A Permit by Rule is between 20,000 sq. ft. and an acre of impervious surface on any new project and it requires that one comply with the basic erosion control standards and make sure that the site is stabilized. In this project, the applicant went a step further because they are creating an area which will filter the stormwater but not to the extent that it would be filtered with a full Permit where one has to do bioretention cells, soils media and gravel, or underlying detention ponds that have drains underneath them. It more than meets the Permit by Rule standards, but it does not nor does it have to meet the standards of a full Stormwater Permit. Ms. Brown asked about ownership of the right-of-way that is proposed to be used for access. Mr. Marshall explained that Frito-Lay leases the property from the owner (Epstein Properties, LLC) so the underlying ownership would be in the Epstein’s. The land for the Frito-Lay building is totally leased by them and they control it and maintain it. Frito-Lay is granting an easement to the proposed tenant, Sullivan Tire, and they will share that road. As the road turns off into the new site, that area will be controlled by Sullivan Tire. If the remaining parcel is ever developed, there would be three-way control of the access. Chairman Guerette then asked for comments from proponents. Seeing none, he asked for comments from opponents. Mr. Howard Clouston, indicating that he was not opposed to this proposal, said that he owned the pie shaped parcel on the back side of Hammond Street. He indicated that there was a storm drain that comes down through his land and he asked if all of the stormwater was being directed to the left hand side of the driveway and if there would be a detention pond placed there. He noted that in Spring all of the run-off from the other side of Old Hammond Street runs down through there. Mr. Marshall explained that none of the runoff from this site would end up over on the left hand side because the topography pitches away from Mr. Clouston’s land, but it 4 would end up in the same place where the runoff comes from his property. There is, in effect, a small detention pond on the site to bring it back as close as they could get it to pre-development. Chairman Guerette closed the Public Hearing and asked for comments from the Planning Officer. Mr. Gould explained that this application is for conditional use/site development plan approval to construct a 9,000 square feet warehouse building on Hammond Street in a General Commercial and Service District. The applicant is proposing approximately 33,000 sq. ft. of additional maneuvering and parking area in support of the warehouse operation. The General Commercial and Service District does allow for some heavier commercial uses or light industrial uses such as warehousing with the provision that it be treated as a conditional use. This application meets the conditional use standards in that there is no outdoor storage being proposed and the total floor area of the warehouse does not exceed 20,000 square feet. Also, all of the development standards have been met. Staff felt that the four conditional use standards in Section 9 have all been met regarding: 1) the location in which the use is to placed is consistent with the district standards, 2) the use will not generate unreasonable traffic congestion on adjacent streets, 3) the operation of the facility will be adequately maintained by provision of utilities, and 4) the architectural style will be compatible within the general area within 500 feet. The applicant has provided an elevation drawing of the building which is fairly consistent and uniform with what one would expect to find out on the Hammond Street Bulge. Planning Officer Gould noted that the applicant’s proposal for a shared driveway to limit wetland impact is an extremely good idea. Staff feels that all of the details of conditional use have been met and that the site plan presented is in order and ready for approval by the Board. Ms. Brown noted that Staff indicated that the site development plan showed another property line. She asked if this would require subdivision approval. Mr. Gould indicated that Staff asked Mr. Marshall that same question at the time of submission. Mr. Marshall indicated that this line is in fact a lease line. He, too, felt that this may be a subdivision. The applicant got an opinion that it does not constitute a subdivision. Ms. Brown asked if the City Solicitor could give them an answer. Mr. Gould explained that, essentially the history of the project would need to be tracked as to who conveyed what and when it was conveyed. In the applicant’s 1998 approval the lease to Frito Lay created two lots. Because more than five years have gone by, they may be able to create another lot thereby not creating subdivision. Mr. Marshall said that the opinion the applicant obtained indicated that because it had been longer than five years it did not constitute a subdivision. Chairman Guerette then entertained a motion noting that the Board needed to make two motions; first for conditional use approval, and then for site 5 development plan approval. Associate Member Brown was asked to vote. Mr. Rosenblatt moved to grant conditional use approval of the proposed project for a 9,000 warehouse building use at 1243V Hammond Street, Epstein Properties, LLC, applicant. Mr. Wheeler seconded the motion. The Board voted five in favor and none opposed to the motion. Mr. Rosenblatt moved to grant site development plan approval of the proposed project for a 9,000 warehouse building use at 1243V Hammond Street, Epstein Properties, LLC, applicant. Mr. Wheeler seconded the motion, which also passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 3: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. There were no Minutes for approval. Other Business Chairman Guerette asked Mr. Gould to give the Board an update on the status of the Comprehensive Plan Update. Mr. Gould explained that the Board had gone down through the list of comments at the last meeting and there was some discussion as to when the timeframe might be when Staff would be able to give the Board a completed update in terms of answering all of the concerns and details. Planning Officer Gould indicated that by the next Tuesday, Staff would have a good response to all of the questions that collectively were deemed to warrant a response. Mr. Wheeler asked that the meeting be pushed back to 7:00 p.m. due to the holidays. It was the consensus of the Board that the meeting would be scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on April 11, 2006. Planning Officer Gould indicated that the State of Maine is in the final stages of reviewing the Growth Management Act and Staff would forward the link to the web address for those who wished to read this material. He indicated that he felt that this program would be changing substantially from what created the current “cookbook” approach Comprehensive Plan. There being no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.