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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-21 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF November 21, 2017 Board Members Present: Charles Boothby Nelson Durgin Phyllis Guerrette Steve Hicks Chuck LeBlanc, Alternate Member City Staff Present: David Gould, City Planner Sean Gambrel, Planner & HPC Paul Nicklas, Asst. City Solicitor Vice Chair Boothby called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Site Development Plan Mount Hope Cemetery Corp - 1048 State St Applicant proposes to dredge existing landscape pond (20,000 S.F. +/-) and to fill and grade an adjacent area located off Mount Hope Avenue, in a Government and Institutional Service District. 2. Site Law Permit Transfer Meadowbrook Ridge Associates – 753 Mount Hope Avenue Transfer of SLODA permit for Phase I & II of Meadowbrook Ridge condominium development, located at 753 Mount Hope Avenue, from original developer to homeowners association. Member Guerrette moved approval of the Consent Agenda, and Member Durgin seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING 3. Conditional Use and Site Development Plan Bangor Savings Bank – 20 South Street and 11 Hamlin Way Bangor Savings Bank requests approval of a professional office building in excess of 65 feet in height, and Site Plan approval for construction of professional office building, approx. 115,000 square feet and an attached parking garage on Main Street, in a Waterfront Development District. David Latullippe, of CJ Developers representing Bangor Savings Bank, and Robert Montgomery-Rice from Bangor Savings Bank presented the application. Mr. Montgomery- Rice stated that this new site will be the Bank’s corporate headquarters, with over 500 workers. The building will be very energy efficient, including geothermal heat and the largest solar roof in Maine. He believes that all of these factors will attract young talent to the City. Mr. Latullippe stated that this is Phase 2 of the earlier project, and that they’ve been working on design for several months. Access into the building will be through the parking garage off Summer Street. He stated that the bank is seeking conditional use for building height, and that the proposal meets all criteria for conditional use. Bangor’s Historic Preservation Commission granted approval for the architectural design, and their standards are more stringent than conditional use standards. Mr. Latulippe presented the proposed building designs vs. other buildings in the district. He stated that the excess height is based on floor area needed as well as ceiling heights used in modern offices. The eventual plan includes a 450 space parking garage with solar roof, and Mr. Latulippe presented details on this. Member Durgin inquired about potential traffic issues. Mr. Latulippe discussed the inclusion of right-in/right-out only onto Main Street, and full turn lanes off Summer Street. Member Guerrette asked if the garage façade was not completed yet – Mr. Latulippe advised that the design will be going to HPC soon. Member Guerrette asked if the loading area will be screened or fenced. Mr. Latullippe stated that it would not, but that this was not really a loading area, just an overhead door, and the area would be screened at sides. Based on staff comments, the bank has removed one of the overhead doors from the loading area. Member Hicks asked about the dumpster and generator location and screening. Mr. Latulippe replied that the screening was changed to granite with louvered aluminum bands. In addition, the generator has been moved to the Summer Street side. Vice Chair Boothby asked for public comment. Rick Fournier, Chair of the American Folk Festival, advised that American Folk Festival is very supportive of this project. Vice chair Boothby asked for Staff Report. Planning Staff David Gould noted that this was an application for Conditional Use and Site Plan approval. The site is 115,000 s.f. office building. Because of the proposed height, the application is a conditional use and should satisfy the four conditional use standards. He noted that the application seems to meet all of the standards well, as the applicant presented. Mr. Gould had no concerns with zoning standards in WDD district. Maine DOT has granted draft traffic permit. The applicant has been receptive to comments on loading dock, generator, etc. Proposed landscaping looks good. Mr. Gould reminded that Board that only the building requires conditional use approval, not the rest of the site. Member Guerrette asked if the City Engineer could provide more detail on traffic. John Theriault, City Engineer summarized the traffic situation and noted that all intersections operate at acceptable level and that the applicant has shown that off-site improvements (Summer Street) will work. He also cited the advantage that with this proposal, Railroad Street can be separated from the Cedar/Summer Street traffic. City Engineer Theriault is happy with proposal. Member Guerrette moved approval of the Conditional Use and Site Development Plan, and Member LeBlanc seconded the motion. The motion was approved with four members supporting and member Hicks opposed. 4. Contract Zone Change Broadway Bangor, LLC - 10 Alden Street & 543 Broadway – S&PS to Contract DDD Bangor Broadway, LLC has requested a zone change for two parcels of land located at 10 Alden Street and 543 Broadway from Shopping & Personal Service District (S&PS) to Contract Downtown Development District (DDD). Andy Hamilton with Eaton Peabody, and Michael Kauffman, Broadway Bangor LLC presented the project to the Board. Mr. Kauffman stated that they’d like to develop the lot, but that development is difficult with current zoning constraints. The property being a corner lot, nearby traffic changes, and site topography make zone change necessary to allow development. The applicant feels that no reasonable use can exist here under current zoning. Mr. Hamilton advised that the proposed development meets the criteria for a zone change, consistency with comprehensive plan, and compatibility with the neighborhood. Mr. Hamilton cited case law and the comprehensive plan at length to support his position. The conditions that will be placed on the DDD zone will make this property feel like the adjacent S&PS Zone, via conditions on parking, building height, etc. Member Durgin asked how a new traffic pattern at Alden Street would affect the design. Sean Thies of CES responded that the conceptual site plan addresses the new traffic pattern, and that access will be provided from both streets. Member Durgin inquired about the traffic impacts of the proposed use. City Engineer John Theriault responded that the proposed used was not a high traffic generator, and is satisfied with what they’re planning for the site. Vice Chair Boothby asked for staff review. Planning Staff David Gould stated that the purpose of the rezoning is to reduce the setbacks on the lot, but that otherwise, contract conditions have been added to this rezoning to match the surrounding S&PS zone. The property is very constrained with the existing S&PS setbacks. The proposed use is characteristic of other uses nearby. The city has been attempting to make this area more pedestrian friendly, and the proposed DDD zone does remove some uses which are incompatible with pedestrians – drive thru's, auto service, etc. Member Durgin moved approval of the Contract Zone Change, and Member Hicks seconded the motion. Zone change will be recommended to City Council. 5. Zone Change Pray Properties, LLC – 1722 & 1726 Broadway – GC&S to RR&A and RR&A to GC&S Applicant requests a change of 33,281 S.F. from General Commercial & Service (GC&S) to Rural Resource & Agriculture (RR&A) to at 1722 Broadway and a change of 33,284 S.F. from Rural Resource & Agriculture (RR&A) to General Commercial & Service (GC&S) at 1726 Broadway. Shelly Lizotte representing Pray Properties presented the application to the board. The applicant wishes to rezone two areas of roughly similar size, to swap between GC&S and RR&A. The current commercial use has been in place since 1970, and the purpose of this rezoning is to expand the business to the parcel next door. There will be no net increase in commercial zone in this area. There is another business nearby. Member Boothby asked if there were plans to stabilize the adjacent erosion. Ms. Lizzotte stated that this would be addressed when the business is expanded. Vice Chair Boothby asked for the Staff report. Planning Staff Gould stated that this area has historically been commercial, so the zone change is not necessarily out-of-character. He did point out that Staff has some concern about commercial creep along Broadway. He noted that there has been limited concern from the public. Member Durgin moved approval of the Zone Change, and Member Guerrette seconded the motion. Zone change will be recommended to City Council. NEW BUSINESS 6. Site Development Plan Hannaford “Clynk” – 653 Broadway Applicant proposes to install a prefabricated 12 ’x 32’ CLYNK unit (recyclable container storage) located in the Broadway Shopping Center, in a Shopping and Personal Services District. Project has been withdrawn. 7. Site Development Plan Tom Ellis d.b.a Broadway Holdings, LLC – at/about 1700 Broadway Applicant proposes to construct 15,000 s.f. building for office space and/or learning institution with associated paved parking, located at/about 1706 Broadway, in a Shopping and Personal Services District. Oscar Emerson with Down to Earth Land Services representing Broadway Holdings, LLC presented the application to the board. The proposal is to merge 3 lots for the development of a classroom/office facility. Previously a SLODA and storm water permit were approved for the subdivision these lots are located in. The applicant is modifying the SLODA. The plan is proposing 90 spaces, well in excess of required parking, but still within impervious standards. Stormwater will treated with a wet pond at the rear of the site. There will be some wetlands disturbance, but the applicant has received NRPA permit from state. Member Boothby asked if pervious pavement was considered for the site. Mr. Emerson stated that it had not because of the maintenance required. He noted that for parking areas, sand and salt application generally causes the pervious pavement to become ineffective quickly. Vice Chair Boothby asked for staff review. Mr. Gould noted that this application was for both site plan approval and SLODA modification. The original SLODA consisted of 7 lots, but this modification is only for 3 of those lots. Generally, the applicant has addressed all city concerns. Member Guerrette moved approval of the Site Development Plan, and Member Hicks seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. 8. Updated Site Plan, Developmental Subdivision & SLODA Modification Meadowbrook Ridge, LLC – 753 Mount Hope Ave. Updated site plan for Phase III of the Meadowbrook Ridge development to reconcile existing conditions with permitted site improvements, located at 753 Mount Hope Avenue, in a Low Density Residential and Resource Protection District Zoning District. Fred Marshall with Plymouth Engineering presented the application. He stated that this is “Housekeeping” to bring the project into compliance with the city and SLODA requirements. The overall project was in three phases with a total of 26 units over time. The applicant has re-surveyed the site to capture exactly what exists in the development. While doing so, realized that a number of residents had added patios and other impervious areas, exceeding the allowable impervious area on the site. In response to this, the applicant is adding roughly one acre of vacant land to keep the impervious surface ratio in line with regulations. Vice Chair Boothby asked for the Staff Report. Planning Staff Gould stated that because this is a condominium development, as soon as the buyers bought a unit, they would add small impervious areas such as patios to their individual units, and that the developer had little control over this. He noted that the site was already close to the ISR limit, and with these numerous small improvements, now exceeds the allowable ISR. The applicant is adding more land to accommodate the new impervious areas. Staff has some small notes related to what is shown on the subdivision plan, but not sure anything is missing to invalidate the final subdivision plan. City Engineer Theriault stated that this is a big project with numerous small bioretention cells, but that overall, everything looked good in terms of stormwater treatment. Member Guerrette asked if the City could educate the homeowners association about owners needing to come to the Planning Board for additional improvements. Mr. Gould stated that the City could include a note in the approval letter regarding this. Member Hicks moved approval of the Updated Site Development Plan, Developmental Subdivision & SLODA Modification, and Member Durgin seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS 9. Planning Board Approval of Minutes Minutes from the November 7, 2017 Planning Board meeting were approved unanimously. 10. Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.