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Home My Public Portal About10-13-2015 Final Planning Board Report_St Patricks Zoning Change Town of Watertown 1630 Department of Community Development and Planning Planning Board Report This Report is a technical analysis of the requested Zoning Amendment to add the Religious/School Overlay District to the parcels owned by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, St. Patrick Parish. It also reflects testimony received by the Planning Board (Board) at their public hearing on August 12, 2015, and the Board's recommendation to the Honorable Town Council. Subject Property: Five Parcels on Main Street and Chestnut Street Parcel ID#: 20610; 20620; 20540A; 2054013; 20540-0 Petitioner: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, St. Patrick Parish (RCAB St. Patrick) Owner: RCAB St. Patrick Zoning Change: Add Religious/School Building Overlay District to the Parish property Staff Report: July 27, 2015 Staff Recommendation: Approval Date of Town Council First Reading: July 14, 2015 Date of Planning Board Hearing: August 12, 2015 Planning Board Recommendation: 3-0 Approval St. Patrick's Zoning Map Amendment August 18, 2015 Change from T to R/SOD Planning Board Report I. Public Notice (M.G.L. c. 40A. §11) A. Procedural Summary The request to add an overlay district to the St. Patrick Parish property was heard by the Planning Board on August 12, 2015. As required by the Watertown Zoning Ordinance § 9.22, notice was given as follows: • Published in the newspaper of record, Watertown Tab, on July 24, 2015 and July 31, 2015; • Posted at the Town Administration Building and on the Town Website on July 24, 2015; and, • Mailed on July 24, 2015 to property owners sharing a property line with the proposal and those deemed affected by the proposed zoning change. • Mailed on July 24, 2015 to the Massachusetts Department of Community Affairs, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and to abutting municipalities. B. Legal Notice Pursuant to Watertown Zoning Ordinance§9.20 and 9.21, the applicant Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, St. Patrick's Parish (RCAB St. Patrick)respectfully requests that the Planning Board consider the rezoning of the applicant's land, which consists presently of religious, educational, or licensed daycare uses as defined by G.L.c.40A, §3, to apply the WZO, §5.14. Religious/School Building Overlay District (R/SOD). The RCAB St. Patrick's land consists of(5)parcels located between Main and Chestnut Streets opposite Town Hall and Saltonstall Park, adjacent to the western end of the Central Business district of Watertown Square. The parcels are designated as follows: Parcel ID 20610 Main Street Parcel ID 20620 25 Chestnut Street Parcel ID 205 40-0(Part of Lot C Chestnut Street Parcel ID 20540A Lot A Chestnut Street Parcel ID 205 40B Lot C Chestnut Street Page 2 of 7 St. Patrick's Zoning Map Amendment August 18, 2015 Change from T to R/SOD Planning Board Report „ C, # - Church and Rectory(grey building) From Chestnut St Parish Hall with Parish Office, Religious Education, Meeting Rooms& Food Pantry on Chestnut St r - Building with Catholic TV Offices, Broadcast Houses Along Chestnut Street, Opposite the Main Studio, and Associated Parking Area Parking Lot Behind the Church II. Description A. Site Characteristics The properties that are the subject of the Zoning Map Amendment are five parcels located on Main Street and Chestnut Street, encompassing approximately 5 acres (according to Assessor's data). These properties include a Church, Rectory, Parish Hall, a parking lot and Catholic TV Broadcast station. Other than the buildings,these lots are landscaped, and provide onsite or adjacent parking for Parish-and Educational related uses and functions. Access to the parcels are provided by Chestnut Street,which runs along and behind the Church, and connects the properties one-way from Green Street to Main Street. Page 3 of 7 St. Patrick's Zoning Map Amendment August 18, 2015 Change from T to R/SOD Planning Board Report B. Surroundinje Land Use The Church sits along Main Street, with the H&K brick building to one side, and 2 two-family houses that are currently being rebuilt on the other. Behind the Church and adjacent to the Catholic TV center are single and two-family homes along Chestnut Street and Green Street. There is also a mix of larger residential condos and office (former St Patrick's High School)to the west and behind the Parish Hall and Catholic TV site. C. Nature of the Request The Petitioner requests the Town grant a Zoning Map Amendment to add the Religious/School Building Overlay (R/SOD)to the St. Patrick Parish parcels, a collection of five lots located between Main Street and Chestnut Street. The underlying Two Family zoning on these five lots would remain. Adding the R/SOD to this property will allow the Parish to better market its tenant space, a former preschool, thereby providing the Parish with needed revenue. Since the previous tenant vacated,the Parish has tried unsuccessfully to bring in a new lessee, but the very limited uses that are allowed under the current zoning have made this extremely difficult. The building is commercial in nature, and is a poor match to the largely residential uses that are permitted in the Two Family Zoning District that currently applies. The R/SOD would permit a broader range of uses for the existing building, and therefore more options for potential tenants. The Parish has also included other parcels as a precautionary step, as the existing uses will remain for the foreseeable future, but while requesting a zoning amendment, it made sense to include other parcels in case there was a need to request other uses or if the parking on the other parcels was needed for tenant space. Making the request now would avoid the need for future zoning amendment requests. III. PUBLIC COMMENT The Board received an Email on 8/7/15 from Patrick and Carole Stockdale, expressing their opposition to the proposed Zoning change. A copy of this Email has been included for the Town Council's review. Testimony at the Planning Board's public hearing is described in Section VII, below. IV. ANALYSIS The R/SOD was first enacted in 2004, upon request by St.Theresa's Church, at 440 Mount Auburn Street, and the Rectory, at 248 School Street. Similar to the current petition, St.Theresa's Church and Rectory were zoned as Two Family. In the 2004 case,the proposal involved adding an overlay zone to allow creation of housing units. The R/SOD Overlay zone, as defined by Section 5.14 of the WZO, is "to guide and encourage the reuse and redevelopment of both religious and school buildings....and further protecting the historic building structures and preserving architectural features and character...in a manner beneficial to the Town." This location is directly adjacent to the CB Zoning District and provides a level of transition into the neighborhood to the west and south of Watertown Square. The historic nature of the buildings on this site also provides character to this neighborhood. The overlay is intended to allow some flexibility in use while protecting the character of the site. The proposed addition of the R/SOD to the St. Patrick Parish parcels is in keeping with the intent of the overlay zone by allowing more flexibility in types of uses allowed while preserving the existing buildings. Page 4 of 7 St. Patrick's Zoning Map Amendment August 18, 2015 Change from T to R/SOD Planning Board Report From a use perspective, the R/SOD includes a limited number of relatively specific uses by right, namely those allowed in the R.75, R1.2 and NB districts, as well as educational uses. By-right uses in the NB district include several small scale uses so long as they are no larger than 4,000 square feet. In addition, several uses are also allowed in the R/SOD by Special Permit, using the same process as is typical of such request in Watertown.These potential Special Permit uses include other residential or mixed-use proposals or any allowed by Special Permit in the T-zone. Also, the R/SOD includes specific requirements that add a further layer of review in addition to the typical Special Permit criteria. These requirements include the need for the approving Board to find that the "project[is] compatible between adjoining areas..." The R/SOD also includes specific Dimensional Criteria,which relate the number of housing units, if any, to the dimensional requirements of the R.75, R1.2 and NB districts. V. Plan Consistencv The proposed application of the overlay zone will support several goals and implementation strategies as highlighted in the excerpts from the following plans: Comprehensive Plan,Adopted, 2015 • Vision o Reinforce Watertown's character, achieve balance between design, preservation and redevelopment efforts • Land Use o Enhance areas with mixed-use o Enhance aesthetics while preserving neighborhood character o Redevelop vacant or underutilized parcels The intent of this plan,while not specifically identifying the St. Patrick Parish parcels, speaks to continued use/re-use and revitalization of properties, which is part of the intent of the R/SOD. VI. STAFF RECOMMENDATION DCDP staff suggested that the Zoning Map Amendment is consistent with the intent of the R/SOD and with Watertown's newly adopted 2015 Comprehensive Plan, and therefore recommended that the Planning Board favorably recommend to the Honorable Town Council adoption of the requested Zoning Map Amendment to add the Religious/School Building Overlay District to the St. Patrick Parish parcels. VII. PLANNING BOARD HEARING AND RECOMMENDATION Jeff Brown asked the Petitioner if they had a plan showing just the buildings? He also asked if the school that had left was started by the Church? He also asked how long the proposed overlay district would be in place? Attorney Winnick responded no,the Petitioner did not have a plan showing just the structures. Chris Carpenter, Chair of the Parish Finance Committee, responded that the school that had recently left the space had not been started by the Church. Attorney Winnick responded that if implemented,the overlay district would be in place until rescinded or changed. Page 5 of 7 St. Patrick's Zoning Map Amendment August 18, 2015 Change from T to R/SOD Planning Board Report Neal Corbett asked if the Church had been in talks with any potential renters other than educational uses? He asked if the Church wanted to keep the building in its current state as much as possible? Mr. Carpenter said the Church had been focused on educational uses, and had not yet reached out to other potential renters. He said this was in part the reason for the requested change. He noted the Archdiocese lease has some restrictions in it, in that the use must be compatible with Church teachings to some extent. Mr. Carpenter said the Church would like to have as little done to the building as possible. Mr. Hawes, Chair, asked if the Church anticipated any changes to the building's exterior, or changes in parking? He noted if something came up later, that would come to the Planning Board for review. Attorney Winnick responded that the Church was in active discussions with another potential replacement school. He said this would result in no real change in use. He noted the potential replacement school would reconfigure the inside of the building, but not the exterior. At the same time, Attorney Winnick said the Church still needed the change in zoning, if the current negotiations don't work out. The Petitioner will have to look for a greater spate of tenants. John Hawes, Chair, invited testimony from the audience. Marilyn Petito Devaney, 98 Westminster Avenue, in support of the change to the zoning. Noted the various churches that had been lost to other uses. St. Patrick's is the oldest church in Watertown. Dates to 1847. This Parish has a hardship. Allow the zoning change to keep the church going. Chuck Langenhagen, 111 Pleasant Street, suggested restricting the overlay district to just the buildings that the Church is looking to lease out to a tenant. Neighborhood should have another ability to give input if something changes. What kinds of checks and balances are built into the overlay to prevent "less than desirable"tenancies? Attorney Winnick noted that the overlay had a low trigger for further review, which was a change that was 4,000 square feet or greater. The space the Church was seeking to rent out was 10,000 square feet in size. The intent is to attract one single tenant for the entire space. If there was a change in use, there would also be a community meeting. Andrea Adams, Senior Planner, noted that the overlay district requires a Special Permit process,which entails a newspaper notice, a mailing to abutters, and a public hearing before the Planning Board and another public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals. She noted that a key intent of the overlay is to preserve the buildings, and to have uses that are harmonious with the surrounding neighborhood character. She noted, for example,that a use such as a strip club or a medical marijuana dispensary would not be allowed by the overlay zoning. John Hawes, Chair, asked for further testimony or questions. Hearing none, he asked for a motion. Jeff Brown motioned to recommend to the Honorable Town Council adoption of the requested Zoning Map Amendment to add the Religious/School Building Overlay District to the St. Patrick Parish parcels. Neal Corbett seconded the motion. 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