TOWN OF LINCOLN
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
February 28, 2007
PRESENT: K.Hurd (Chairman), B.Wolf, R.Domnitz, J.Snell, E.Flint
STAFF: M.Whitehead, C.Perry
7:30PM BUSINESS:
Town Planner’s Report:
Brooks, 39 North Great Road
The Board discussed the upcoming meeting with the Brooks. Mr. Whitehead reported that Save Our Heritage is sending letters to potentially interested groups, drawing attention to the proposal and mentioning the withdrawal of the legal appeal and the scheduled discussion.
Proposed zoning bylaw changes
Mr. Whitehead emailed revised versions of the proposed zoning bylaw changes following the public hearings.
8:00 PUBLIC HEARING CONTINUATION: NEW ENGLAND DEACONESS ASSOCIATION, 9, 11, 15, and 17 Cambridge Turnpike, Map 14/Lots 13, 14, 15, and 16, Definitive Development and Use Plan Special Permit, North Lincoln Planning District, Deaconess Abundant Life Community under Section 12.5.
NEDA representatives and the design team attended. Herb Taylor addressed a list of outstanding site planning issues from the previous session, and the Board asked questions about these, as follows:
Firefighting provision – rental building
The Fire Chief was reported to be comfortable with the access arrangements.
Street lights – access driveway connecting to Sandy Pond Road
These proposed lights have been eliminated.
Positions of neighboring properties
Aerial photographs have been supplied, with the project overlaid and the distances to neighboring houses and cell towers marked.
Signs
A design was presented for a small sign to go on the existing support at the Sandy Pond Road entrance. A larger sign of similar design is proposed at the Bethany Road/Route 2 entrance. It will measure 28sq ft, be two-sided, and have a raised flower bed beneath, and will be located on the east side of the access road. In future it is proposed that there will be a similar sign at the main entrance off the reconstructed Crosby’s Corner intersection.
Drainage detention basins
A mixture of grasses is proposed to be planted in the detention basins, subject to discussions with the Conservation Committee. These areas are intended to be low-maintenance.
Access driveway connecting to Sandy Pond Road
The width of the driveway is now proposed to be 18 feet, reducing to 16 feet at the brook crossing. One tree will be removed near the entrance, on the north side. The Fire Chief is satisfied with this standard of access.
Evergreen planting
Following the site walk, the drainage detention basin in the buffer zone has been reduced, so there will be less clearing of existing trees. It is proposed to plant a screen of white pines, the exact positions to be determined on site in relation to existing trees.
Overall tree planting on site
NEDA stated that a total of at least 380 trees are proposed for planting, in addition to the transplanted ones and many shrubs. A landscape plan with tree numbers and sizes will be supplied.
Route 2 curb cut
The curb cut is proposed to stay in the current position but have a raised delta island within the right of way. The design has to be approved by the State. When Route 2 is rebuilt the island will be removed and redesigned as necessary by Massachusetts Highway Department. A meeting with Louis Berger, the Route 2 project designers, is planned for mid March.
Mr. Snell reported that short term improvements to safety on Route 2 are being discussed, including the need for snowplowing of acceleration and deceleration lanes at the side roads.
Walking trail
A more complete walking trail around the west and south of the site has been planned in consultation with the Conservation Department.
Retaining walls
Photographs of some examples were shown. NEDA hopes to have a mix of colors in the higher walls, and to have some variety of height and stepping.
Street lights
The lights are now proposed to be 13-14ft instead of 15-17ft. The number of lights will increase as a result but only by 10-12. They will be positioned close to intersections and driveways. NEDA believes the cottages will block most of the light from neighboring properties. The Chairman asked about the details of the design and advised that clear glass is preferable, provided the bulb is positioned high in the casing so that the light is projected down. The Board will need full details, such as catalog cut sheets.
Conservation buffer zone
Unit numbers 26 and 27 are now totally outside the 200ft stream buffer zone.
Cottage cluster layout
The layout has been adjusted, taking account of the view from the future main entrance and the desire for a central green space. Compared to the most recent previous version, two units have been relocated back to near Route 2. The site walk demonstrated that little of the development would be visible from Route 2 because of the steep embankment. It was noted that one of these two units had been accidentally omitted from the drawing and would need to be shown.
Mr. Domnitz asked about the rear view of the quad clusters. The elevations were examined. About 20 units have walk out basements and will appear as 2½ stories. The Board checked to which units this applied.
The Board examined the heights of buildings and their distances from roadways, and was a little concerned about the cluster near the congregate building that presents a corner to the road. NEDA agreed to reexamine this.
The Chairman asked about some issues arising from the site walk. The first was to try to save a grove of trees near the President’s house. NEDA reported that they were unable to achieve this. The second was the possibility of re-routing the roadway within the site, to avoid having a big retaining wall at the eastern side. David Albrecht reported that this was examined but was found to cause problems of too many turns in the road, loss of units, and a need for other retaining walls.
Mrs. Wolf asked about the proposed use of the two existing houses that are to be kept. NEDA indicated that the President’s house will be used, either for management or for residential use. The farmhouse near Route 2 may be removed and be replaced by a cottage unit attached to the nearest cluster, making it a quad.
Some changes to the architecture were presented and discussed, as follows:
Rental apartment building
The louvers will be eliminated, and the vents placed on the roof. The elevations have been remodeled to break up the façade more with bumped out gabled portions. The entrance has been redesigned to be more like a courtyard, with a pergola feature. The rear view is similar to the front. The Board considered the changes a big improvement.
A sectional drawing relating the apartment building to the proposed Route 2 mainline, on-ramp and service road was shown. It was established that the base of the building is at about the same elevation as the mainline; other roads are lower and the planted berm will be slightly higher. In the interim situation, there is a greater width of land between the building and the highway with some trees, so the berm will not be constructed until later. NEDA thought it would be worth discussing with MHD whether it would be better to place it within the land taking, between the service road and the on-ramp. Mr. Snell recommended that NEDA ask MHD for sections of what they propose in that area. The Board asked if the section varies much along the edge of the site; Mr. Albrecht advised that all the grades rise to the east, and the on-ramp rises more
steeply to join Route 2. Mr. Domnitz commented that the berm will provide screening between the rental building and the service road but will do less to reduce awareness of the Route 2 mainline from the building.
A sample of the painted cementitious clapboard siding that is proposed for this building was presented.
Cottage units
A more accurate, revised color illustration of a cottage unit was presented. NEDA proposes that the dormer option will be to have one dormer window on both the front and back of a unit. This will be to one side of the central door, since only one side of the loft space is usable. The Board expressed unease with the asymmetry and with the narrowness of the proposed dormers. It suggested having either two dormers or none, and perhaps making some of them wider.
Mr. Whitehead reported on the situation regarding State approval of the affordable units in the development. A memorandum from the Housing Commission outlined various points covered in a meeting with DHCD and stated that it went well. The Planning Board confirmed that it will condition the special permit on clearance by DHCD prior to the issue of a building permit.
NEDA mentioned that the Conservation Commission has had a site walk and has seen the plan for the stream crossing. It will need to see the landscape plan. An informal discussion is scheduled for March 7, which should give a good idea of any major remaining issues that could affect site planning.
A MOTION was proposed by Mr. Snell and seconded by Mr. Domnitz, to continue the hearing to March 14 at 8:00pm. Passed 5-0.
9:00 PUBLIC HEARING CONTINUATION: RURAL LAND FOUNDATION, 145 Lincoln Road, Map 95/Lot 38, Definitive Development and Use Plan Special Permit, South Lincoln Overlay Zone, renovation of Mall and new Post Office/Café complex under Section 12.7.
RLF’s staff, a Board member and the development team attended. Geoff McGean referred to a memorandum prepared by the RLF following the last session on January 17 (February 14 was cancelled due to snow). The team presented responses to some of the issues raised:
Architecture, including points made by FOMA
It is proposed to replace corrugated metal on vertical walls with flat siding. The sculpture proposed for the corner of the mall roof is to be placed on the ground. The mall canopy supports will be painted steel instead of wood, and will be columns and beams, as the building cannot easily support a cantilevered design. The canopy roof will still be metal, minimally pitched to drain. The canopy along the curved part of the mall building will now be straight-edged. The Post Office canopies will still have timber supports.
A color consultant, Ellen Kambol, has been brought in to help achieve a dialog and unity between the two groups of buildings. She feels that the current grey color of the Mall is in keeping with local maple trees and stone walls but that it needs brightening slightly and connecting to the new buildings. As a result, the team now proposes a similar but slightly lighter and more reflective color for the mall building, with dark bronze for some of the framework and window trim, and some maroon trim. For the Post Office building group, a lighter but similar siding is proposed, with some portions in the same color, and maroon trim and lower roof. The main roof will be grey shingles and the timber supports for the canopy will be a warm brown. A sample board was presented.
The main light poles will be black but the lights under the canopy will have a bronze finish on the mall and will be anodized metal on the Post Office building.
The Board responded that it thought these choices were much better than the previous ones.
Mr. Hurd asked if the tall portion of the mall building for the staff break room could be stepped back so that the front portion will match the tall element at the corner. The architect said that in his view, the two story element helped to relate the design to the bank and to the proposed new building group, but Mr. Hurd asked for his suggestion to be considered.
Paving
Paver samples for the terrace were presented; they are a reddish and bluish brick. The line of the path in front of the restaurant has been adjusted. A picture of road crossing pavers was shown.
Signage
The RLF confirmed that the directory signs are to be eliminated. The Board asked for them to be removed from the drawings. A drawing comparing the proposed main sign to the existing one was presented. The Board asked about the colors. The frame will be timber with galvanized connectors, which the Team will try to match with the metal elements of the Post Office building. The individual names and logos will be of various colors and styles.
Lights
The Chairman asked about the need for the goose neck lights on the sign. The team stated that they intend to remove existing flood lights so the result will be less intrusive. The height of the light near Lincoln Woods will be lowered by a foot.
The Board had previously asked about lighting at night. It is proposed that the parking lot lights and 50% of the building walkway lights will go off after hours. Timing will be driven by tenants’ hours. Mr. Snell asked for information on what these hours will be; the RLF suggested an 11:00pm close for the restaurant. Mr. Hurd asked the design team to explore whether the walkway lights could be dimmed rather than half turned off.
Post Office
The RLF reported that the Post Office is anxious to move forward. It is now proposed to position the mail boxes near the loading area, to keep them away from the exit onto the main road.
A sign design has been produced. Mr. Whitehead reported that the Stow Post Office has a small, unlit version of the standard sign. The RLF are proposing that there will be only one wall-mounted sign, plus an insert in the main mall sign. The Board thought this was better than following the Post Office’s manual. The Board said it would want lights to go off at close of business. The Board asked whether a flagpole was proposed.
Solar panels
A picture was provided. Mrs. Wolf reported that the solar panels used at Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats visitor center are unobtrusive.
Reserve parking plan
A copy will be supplied; this will be the same as seen previously.
Lincoln Road Study
Mr. Whitehead reported that he has not received an update from Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin. The RLF requested that this work not be allowed to delay their project. The Board considered that it was only likely to affect the positions of the crosswalks.
Utilities
The Board checked the latest plan.
Bicycle racks
The RLF reported that no further new rack locations are proposed since there is already an existing one.
Access to commuter lot
The RLF has a memorandum of understanding with the Board of Selectmen.
Parking spaces
The total number of spaces includes those for disabled people.
A full set of revised plans was supplied. The RLF agreed to correct and replace the signs sheet.
A MOTION was proposed by Mr. Snell and seconded by Mrs. Wolf, to continue the hearing to March 14 at 9:00pm. Passed 5-0.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Omnipoint/ T-Mobile, Red Rail Farm
The Board decided that Mr. Domnitz will represent the Planning Board at the ZBA meeting, to review the history of wireless communications facility proposals on the site, and Omnipoint/ T-Mobile’s failure to discuss alternative sites.
Town Planner’s report
Mr. Whitehead outlined the next week’s agenda.
There is a MAGIC meeting on March 1; Mr. Whitehead will attend.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00pm.
Submitted by Catherine Perry
Approved as amended, May 9, 2007
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