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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20090209 - Planning Board - Meeting Minutes HOPKINTON PLANNING BOARD Monday, February 9, 2009 7:30 PM Hopkinton Fire Station, 73 Main St. MINUTES PRESENT: Mark Abate, Chairman, Joe Markey, Vice Chairman, Sandy K. Altamura, David Auslander, John Coolidge, Carol DeVeuve, Jaime Goncalves, Ken Weismantel, Claire Wright …….Elaine C. Lazarus, Planning Director …….Anna Rogers, Secretary 1. Street Acceptance Hopkinton Highlands II/Estates at Highland Ridge – Mark Kablack, attorney, and Anthony Casapulla, Toll Brothers, Inc., appeared before the Board. Mr. Kablack stated Toll Brothers is looking to have the town accept Overlook Rd. and Summit Way as public streets. He stated as- built plans were submitted to the Board in November 2007. He stated a number of positive things have happened in the subdivision since they were last in front of the Board. He stated the water supply wells are running very well and there have been no supply issues since they have fixed a major leak they found last year. Ms. Wright arrived at this time. Mr. Kablack stated a homeowner has been elected to the Homeowner’s Association (HOA). He stated the HOA has met and settled on a budget and the water meter reading program has been implemented. He stated the conservation restriction on the open space has been finalized and recorded and the land has been deeded to the Hopkinton Area Land Trust. He stated before Town Meeting in 2008, a small punch list of outstanding items was written by the DPW, and Luckner Bayas, the Board’s inspecting engineer, reviewed the as-built plans. He stated they are hoping to schedule a final walkthrough with the DPW when the weather allows. Mr. Auslander asked about the water meter reading program. Mr. Kablack stated the HOA is still controlled by Toll Brothers, but there is now one homeowner on the Board. He stated everyone in the development was charged the same each year for water usage no matter how much they actually used, but now they are charged based on actual usage. He stated 85% of the HOA costs are well-based and the other 15% is mostly for maintenance and repair of the stormwater management system. Ms. DeVeuve referred to the letter from the Conservation Commission (ConCom) and asked about the detention basin that has standing water and if there were mosquito problems associated with that. Mr. Kablack stated they are in the process of finalizing the Order of Conditions with a Certificate of Compliance from the ConCom. He stated the ConCom had two issues. He stated there was a question about the detention basin holding water and if it compromised the basin. He stated past analysis of the basin revealed that there was still sufficient volume capacity. He stated the second issue had to do with a broken cover on a catch basin and it was fixed Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 2 immediately. Ms. DeVeuve asked if the Board of Health had been asked to comment on the standing water. Mr. Casapulla asked if the Town has a policy on standing water. It was suggested that Toll Brothers contact the Board of Health in regard to the question. Ms. Wright stated part of the ConCom’s question about the detention basin was if the bottom of the basin is at the water table. Mr. Kablack stated it is Toll Brother’s assumption that the basin is being infiltrated from the bottom. Ms. DeVeuve asked if the basin still has adequate capacity, why couldn’t the bottom be filled in so there isn’t any standing water. Mr. Abate asked J.T. Gaucher, DPW Director, if he has looked at the streets. Mr. Gaucher stated the streets were inspected in March 2008 and he came up with a punch list of items at that time. He stated he is ready to revisit them when the weather allows. He stated it should be wrapped up in time for Town Meeting. Mr. Auslander asked if the Board decides to put it on the warrant and the punch list hasn’t been completed, can it be pulled. Mr. Abate stated if there isn’t time to pull it, the Board can recommend against accepting it on Town Meeting floor. Mary Pratt, member of the Board of Selectmen speaking as an individual, stated that standing groundwater in the detention basin might not be able to be filled in. She asked if the basin has a discharge outlet. Mr. Kablack stated seasonal fluctuations in the water table will determine the height and amount of water in the basin. He stated any spillway or outlet on the basin would be higher than the standing water or it wouldn’t be much of a detention basin. Mrs. Pratt asked if the agreement with the wells was that it had to be running without any problems for one full year before being turned over to the HOA. Mr. Kablack stated Toll Brothers is standing behind their water system and they have committed to running it for 12 months without being a burden on the HOA to prove that it is working properly. Mrs. Pratt asked if HOA fees are set aside for well maintenance. She stated she doesn’t want to see any problems fall back onto the Town. Mr. Kablack stated there is a capital reserve fund and a DEP mandated account for the well. He stated homeowners made initial contributions when they purchased their homes. Mr. Abate asked how many lots Toll Brothers still owns in the development. Mr. Kablack stated they own one lot. Mr. Abate asked why Toll Brothers was still in charge of the HOA when they only own one lot. Mr. Kablack stated the HOA was set up to be turned over to the homeowners when 100% of the lots were sold to a third party. Mr. Abate asked if Toll Brothers was willing to move control of the HOA to the homeowners before the last lot was sold. Mr. Kablack stated Toll Brothers is not holding onto the lot so they can remain in charge of the HOA, and they would like the lot sold immediately if possible. Mr. Casapulla stated he has a deposit on the lot and is hoping the sale will go through. Mr. Kablack stated Toll Brothers is still committed to the 12 months of well maintenance and that won’t end until September 2009. Mr. Weismantel stated the letter from Waterman Design Associates about the water in the detention basin is from 2004, and asked if water has been in the basin for all these years. Ms. Lazarus replied yes. Mr. Weismantel made a motion to put Overlook Rd. and Summit Way on the 2009 Annual Town Meeting warrant for street acceptance, pending approval from the DPW that the punch list has been complete, the ConCom is ok with the water in the basin and the Board of Health have been consulted regarding any mosquito problems. The motion was seconded. Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 3 Mr. Coolidge stated he is concerned that once the road is accepted, Toll Brothers will be out. Mr. Goncalves stated he is still concerned about water in the basin. Ms. Wright stated the Board can pull it off the warrant if they aren’t comfortable at Town Meeting. Ms. Lazarus stated the Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing before Town Meeting and notify all the residents as well. Mr. Kablack stated the water in the basin was determined to not really be an issue a number of years ago. He stated the only new issue is the question about mosquitoes. Ms. Wright stated standing water and mosquitoes have always been an issue, but if the ConCom is ok with it, then she is fine with it. Mr. Auslander stated the Board of Health should still be contracted regarding it. The Board voted 7 in favor of the motion with Mr. Auslander and Mr. Goncalves opposed. Connelly Hill Estates – Chris Nation, developer, appeared before the Board. He stated he is trying to get Sadie Ln., Bowker Rd. and a portion of Connelly Hill Rd. accepted as public streets. He stated they have been completed for awhile and it was an oversight on the part of 20th Century Homes that it wasn’t done sooner. He stated Robert Foster, the Board’s inspecting engineer, has reviewed the as-built plans and he is here to answer any questions the Board may have. Mr. Gaucher stated he hasn’t had a chance to inspect the streets. He stated when the weather allows he will set up a meeting with the Highway Manager and the developer. Mr. Abate asked if it could be in time for Town Meeting. Mr. Gaucher stated it should be, if the weather cooperates. Mr. Nation stated he knows of only a few small items that need to be corrected. Ms. Lazarus stated Sadie Ln. is finished, she will have to look into Bowker Rd. and since only a portion of Connelly Hill Rd. is finished, it should not be proposed for acceptance yet. The Board voted unanimously to put Sadie Ln. and Bowker Rd. on the 2009 Annual Town Meeting warrant for street acceptance, pending approval from the DPW that the streets are satisfactorily completed. Equus Hill Estates & Timber Glen – Ms. Lazarus stated she contacted both developers and hasn’t heard from either of them. Mr. Gaucher stated he created a punch list for Equus Hill Estates and the streets might be ready for acceptance, but he hasn’t heard from the developer either. The Board took no action on Equus Hill Estates or Timber Glen at this time. 2. Continued Public Hearing – Master Plan Special Permit – East Main St., Clinton St., Frankland Rd., Wilson St. – Legacy Farms, LLC Steven Zieff, Legacy Farms, LLC, and Robert Nagi, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), appeared before the Board. Mr. Weismantel stated that all the intersections and streets off-site need to be taken care of during the Master Plan Special Permit (MPSP) process and any on-site intersections and streets will be reviewed again during Site Plan Review and review of the definitive subdivision plan. Mr. Zieff agreed and stated the off-site areas should be deliberated now. Mr. Weismantel stated he would like to know how bad the level of service (LOS) F intersections are. He stated he would like to know what the peak hours are when the intersections are at a LOS F. Ms. Wright agreed and stated if the intersections will stay at LOS F Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 4 after all the improvements, she would like to see a new gradation of LOS F possibly with actual wait times listed. Mr. Nagi gave an overview of the LOS definition and theory. He stated the important times that a LOS is measured are during weekday morning and evening commuting time and Saturday mid- day. He stated for un-signalized intersections, LOS is measured only from the point of turning off of a side street. Mr. Auslander asked how LOS is measured at a signalized intersection and if the intersection was given a LOS that was equal to the worst wait time, or if it was an average of all the wait times from different directions. Mr. Nagi stated a weighted average is used to achieve a total LOS at signalized intersections. He stated an intersection may have a LOS D, but certain movements would be a LOS F and others would be better. Mr. Nagi stated Legacy Farms, LLC and the Town of Hopkinton have a Host Community Agreement (HCA). He stated through the HCA, Legacy Farms has agreed to start designing and finalizing the signal at the Main St./Cedar St./Grove St. intersection. He stated currently all directions are receiving the same amount of green light time at all hours of the day. He stated they are planning to upgrade the signal to a reactionary signal. He stated it won’t necessarily help that much at peak times due to the amount of vehicles at the intersection, and the greatest improvements will be during the off-peak times. He stated the new signal has been designed and the DPW is reviewing it. He stated they are hoping to get it installed as soon as possible. Ms. Wright asked if the new signal accommodates turns with signal arrows. Mr. Nagi stated there will be an arrow for people heading south on Cedar St. He stated this phase of improvements doesn’t include any widening. Ms. Wright stated there should also be an arrow for people heading north on Grove St. and the two directions could move together. Mr. Nagi stated ideally each direction would receive its own green light time. He stated right now they are just trying to improve efficiency and in later phases, more will be addressed. Robert Falcione, reporter, stated they should utilize the width of Grove St. and create a left turn only lane heading west on Main St. He stated Grove St. is wider than Cedar St. and Cedar St. has two lanes. Mr. Nagi stated that Grove St. isn’t wide enough for two lanes right now and widening it isn’t recommended at this stage. Mr. Falcione asked if they had plans to make Cedar St. narrower and eliminate the second lane since it is not as wide as Grove St. Mr. Nagi stated from a design standpoint, the layout is going to stay as it is today and things will be widened in the intermediate phase. Mr. Abate asked how many feet of parking lot Colella’s Supermarket will loose when Grove St. is widened at the intermediate phase. Mr. Nagi stated they will need to take approximately 2 to 2 ½ feet of land from Colella’s. He stated it should have an insignificant affect on the parking lot. Mr. Zieff stated part of Colella’s parking lot in within the right of way. Mr. Nagi confirmed that they would take back the land within the right of way and an additional 2 to 2 ½ feet. Ms. DeVeuve asked how much area will be taken from the existing parking lot. Mr. Nagi stated approximately 4 to 5 feet in total. He stated some of that is currently grass. Dale Danahy, Colella’s Supermarket, stated she can’t tell how the taking will affect her parking lot due to the snow banks there now. She stated she isn’t sure the bank’s drive-up window, parking and two-way traffic will all fit once 4-5 feet is taken. Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 5 Ms. DeVeuve asked if there are plans to widen Cedar St. during any of the phases. Mr. Nagi stated there are not because Hopkinton Drug is directly adjacent to the right of way and widening the street toward the gas station makes the intersection even more off-center and awkward to move through. He stated in the intermediate phase, all northbound movement will happen during one light cycle and all southbound movement will happen during a separate light cycle. Ms. Wright asked at what time the pedestrian phasing will be changed. Mr. Nagi stated they were going to change it immediately, but they decided to let the signal run and the pedestrian changes can be made at any time. He stated it will be changed to concurrent pedestrian movement instead of having all movement stop while the pedestrian crosses. Ms. Wright stated she is very concerned about pedestrian safety but understands the efficiency issues. Mr. Nagi stated they decided to shy away from the pedestrian changes now and move it towards the intermediate phase. Mr. Auslander asked what the delay would be if they stopped all the traffic during the pedestrian movement after the intermediate phase improvements are in place. Mr. Nagi stated he will have to run the figures. Mr. Goncalves asked why Legacy Farms wouldn’t just construct the intermediate changes now instead of waiting till it gets bad again and then disrupting the intersection again. Mr. Nagi stated they are trying to have the least amount of impacts on the Town. He stated they have laid it out to step through it slowly. Mr. Zieff stated they have been talking to the DPW and Fay, Spofford and Thorndike (FST), the Board’s engineer, and are going to be utilizing video detection instead of loop detection at the intersection. He stated it is up to the Board, but they are trying to construct things with the appropriate LOS in mind. He stated they recently found out that a 500 unit condo development in Ashland isn’t going to be constructed and things like that will have a positive effect on the intersection. Mr. Abate stated the way he sees it, the improvements are going to bring the intersection from a LOS F to a LOS F and cause even more problems during construction. Mr. Goncalves stated that any improvements now will be good but most of the disruption will come with the major improvements. Mr. Markey asked what the full build-out improvements are. Mr. Nagi stated the full build-out improvements will create a left turn only lane, one straight only lane and one straight and right turn lane heading west on Main St. He stated they would be narrowing the sidewalk in front of Hopkinton Drug from 10-12 feet down to 6 feet and a few parking spaces east of Hopkinton Drug on Main St. will be eliminated. He stated they would be eliminating the parking spaces in front of the gas station on Main St. heading east, eliminate the parking space in front of the Hopkinton Gourmet and eliminate one space farther up Main St. He stated they would also remove a number of parking spaces along Main St. heading west past Cedar St, 11 total spaces. Mr. Auslander asked how many spaces there were in the downtown and stated removing that many seems like a large percentage. Mr. Nagi stated he isn’t sure of the exact number. He stated eliminating the parking allows two lanes to queue and proceed through the intersection heading west. He stated FST suggested looking at whether the parking could be allowed in those areas except during peak times. He stated that option might be worth exploring. Mr. Abate stated traffic already bottlenecks at Wood St./West Main St. and now they are pushing even more traffic through to that intersection even faster. Mr. Nagi stated they are looking into changing the signal at Wood St./West Main St. and also changing the pedestrian crossing there. Mr. Abate stated it makes no sense to remove all that parking if it is just going to cause more problems farther down West Main St. Mr. Nagi stated FST has suggested that it would be a Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 6 good idea to conduct a corridor study and look at how the whole stretch of road operates as one. Mr. Coolidge stated he would like to see all the intersections improved at once, not one a time. Ms. Danahy stated she used to be on the Downtown Revitalization Committee and no one will come to businesses that have no parking. She stated Colella’s parking lot is for customers only and not for other businesses. She stated the existing sidewalks need to be repaired. She stated removing on-street parking will hurt lots of small businesses. She stated there is a need for adequate parking in the downtown. Mr. Falcione asked why they weren’t considering widening Cedar St. even though it is inadequately sized and they will be widening Grove St. He asked why they couldn’t take part of the sidewalk in front of the Post Office and widen Cedar St. to provide more of a queue for vehicles turning west on Main St. Jennifer Lund, 15 College St., asked if there was anybody advocating to the well being of pedestrians. Mr. Markey stated they are studying pedestrians and traffic right now. Ms. Lund stated by removing the parking spaces along the street, they are removing the boundaries between moving vehicles and pedestrians. Peter Seltzer, 4 A St., stated he has lived downtown for many years. He stated the downtown is kept safer by the slow traffic and single lanes. He stated waiting at a light a little longer is better than having pedestrians get hit. He stated he is concerned that the intersection is being over engineered. He stated the recent change in the light that allows cars to turn left onto Cedar St. with a slight delay has helped a lot of the congestion. He stated there are a lot of elderly people and children downtown. He stated the parking spaces act as a buffer between moving vehicles and pedestrians and he is concerned that once they are removed a car might jump the curb and hit pedestrians. Mrs. Pratt stated if they allowed the Cedar St. and Grove St. traffic to move separately, it would be better. She stated it does seem over developed and there is no need to remove the parking spaces and take away from Colella’s parking lot. Mr. Markey asked if they had considered allowing the separate movements. Mr. Nagi stated the signal has the ability to do that during the intermediate phase. Mr. Markey asked about the pedestrian movement. Mr. Nagi stated it is a balancing act with the pedestrians crossing with the flow of traffic. He stated he understands the need for pedestrian safety and the crossings will have countdown timers and audible signals. Mr. Weismantel stated he has been studying the intersection and understands the split timing because of the jog in the intersection. He asked if they could take more land from Colella’s and straighten the intersection allowing for concurrent movement. He stated it might help alleviate the east/west movement as well because they wouldn’t have such a long wait while the north/south movement is happening. He stated that might allow them to retain the parking along Main St. He stated this is a good opportunity to study the intersection and look at the data to see if it is worth fixing. Ms. Wright stated even if they widen Grove St. there is still a need for a left turn lane onto Main St. Mr. Weismantel stated it should just be looked at and see if his option offers anything. He stated there is also a need for a dedicated left turn onto Main St. from Cedar St. He stated he isn’t convinced that not widening Cedar St. will help. Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 7 Ms. Altamura stated they haven’t made any progress in all these discussions. Mr. Zieff stated they could develop a universe of potential solutions. He stated both VHB and FST have gone through the “what-ifs”. He stated they are not trying to over engineer it, they are proposing changes based on true data. He stated that if the Police Chief and the Planning Board want the intermediate work done now, then they will do it. He stated they are not trying to make the downtown less safe, they are trying to make it more safe. Ms. Altamura stated she believes they have accomplished what they were asked to do. She stated she is also hearing the frustration of the townspeople. She stated she isn’t sure they will get a consensus on how much of the character of the downtown to maintain. She stated if left turns could be easier it would help a lot for people heading either north or south. Mr. Abate stated the plan looks very conventional. He stated there are two pieces of land that he can think of that would be ideal candidates for downtown public parking. He stated he doesn’t want to study it to death, everyone knows it is a problem area and no one knows for sure what will happen in the long term. Mr. Goncalves stated the whole idea for 2 lanes heading west on Main St. is a nightmare and isn’t worthwhile because it narrows back to one lane so soon. He stated concurrent turns north and south would alleviate some traffic. Mr. Nagi stated once Legacy Farms Rd. north is constructed, it will eliminate a lot of the lefts from Cedar St. onto Main St. Mr. Goncalves stated there will be more growth and the need for the concurrent turns will happen regardless of the Legacy Farms Rd. north. Mr. Nagi stated the construction of Legacy Farms Rd. north allows for a lot higher volume of vehicles before the need for the intermediate phase or the full build-out phase. Fred Moseley, FST, stated he doesn’t have all the answers. He stated he knew this was going to be a challenging intersection. He stated in regard to the LOS criteria, the town needs to decide what they can live with. He stated they can estimate delays and wait times, etc., but it will need to be a community based decision. He stated he has heard some good suggestions for lane arrangements. Mr. Markey stated it is all about balance. He stated he doesn’t want to see the downtown turned into a superhighway. Ms. DeVeuve asked what would happen if Legacy Farms Rd. north was built before they put any housing units in. Mr. Nagi stated it would allow for a longer time before the intermediate and full build-out improvements had to be implemented. Ms. DeVeuve stated she would still like to see a designated left turn from Cedar St., but understands that because of the angles, it wouldn’t work well. Mr. Nagi agreed and stated the split light phasing will help. Tom Irvin, Police Chief, stated the phases sound interesting. He stated he loves the idea of Legacy Farms Rd. north being constructed sooner rather than later. Mr. Auslander asked what phase the Legacy Farms Rd. north is proposed to be constructed. Mr. Zieff stated they were going to build it after Legacy Farms Rd. south was constructed and all the utilities, including the waste water treatment facility and the well, were up and running. He stated the southern side is smaller than the northern side. He stated the construction of Legacy Farms Rd. north represents a significant investment and an expensive undertaking. Ms. DeVeuve stated she would still like to see the actual wait times at LOS F intersections. Hopkinton Planning Board – Minutes – February 9, 2009 8 A resident stated that he is there representing the bicycle community. He stated he commutes by bicycle and would like to see some discussion about that. He stated nearby towns have made capacity along their roadways for bicycles and he stated he believes there will be more people commuting by bicycle as we see the fuel prices go back up and it is also a great way to relieve congestion. Mr. Zieff stated he would like to see FST and VHB get together again and work out some more of the options before the next meeting. The Board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing to March 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM, at which time the transportation topic will continue. 3. Administrative Business Bills – The Board voted unanimously to approve payment of the outstanding bills. Minutes – The Board voted unanimously to approve the Minutes of January 26, 2009 as amended. Town Common Gazebo – Mr. Weismantel stated there has been recent discussion regarding the cupola on the new gazebo. He stated he doesn’t believe the proposed changes are significant enough to come back to the Planning Board for approval, but he would like the Design Review Board (DRB) and the Historic District Commission (HDC) to look at it. Ms. Lazarus stated the DRB has reviewed the changes and the HDC will too. She stated she has asked that the revised plans approved by the HDC be forwarded to the Planning Board. Ms. Altamura stated she is ok with that, but wants to make sure that if the DRB has any problems, the Planning Board can step in. Water Department – Mr. Weismantel stated he has spoken with the DPW regarding town water main extensions. He stated they are willing to sell water and extend mains if people want and need it. He stated they are willing to come and meet with the Planning Board and discuss any concerns the Board may have. Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC) – Mr. Weismantel stated he would like the ZAC to meet in the next few weeks and discuss the proposed rezoning of land off Cedar St. as proposed by Capital Group Properties and make a recommendation to the Planning Board. He stated there are quite a few concerns regarding the proposal and it needs more discussion. Mr. Goncalves stated if the applicant goes through ZAC they will have a better shot at getting support at Town Meeting. It was noted the Planning Board would not be sponsoring the article and it would be submitted by petition. Adjourned: 10:10 PM Anna Rogers, Secretary Approved: February 23, 2009