4 December, 2014
On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Board of Appeals met to hear 68 East Main St and Hopkinton Mews.
The 68 East Main St hearing was opened and closed quickly. Ms. Zamora has withdrawn her request due to ongoing health problems. The hearing and the requests were both closed.
The board spent the rest of the meeting reviewing several aspects of the Lumber St/Hopkinton Mews development. First, town counsel Raymond Miyares made a presentation to the board. He stated that the board of selectmen have entered into a host community agreement with the developers. This, he said, will not only lock down the characteristics of the project, but also describe mitigations that the developers are prepared to offer to the town exceeding basic requirements. That said, there are still a few disputes between the board and the developers that were addressed. Mr. Miyares mentioned that the developers were disputing the fee on water connections; at present, the fee is $4000 per unit, and the developers would like that fee reduced. Also disputed is the ability to tie the development into the town sewer; at this stage, Mr. Miyares stated that this is not possible. The selectmen's decision to enter into a host community agreement, Miyares said, will make sure that the project is built in a timely fashion. However, Miyares was sure to mention to the Board of Appeals that the selectmen's decision does not limit ZBA jurisdiction.
Following this presentation, Debbie Horowitz, counsel for the project, began a series of presentations to the Board of Appeals outlining the differences between the 250 unit project and new 280 unit project. She began with a tabled outline of the old project vs the new project, which can be viewed here . At its core, the difference amounts to 30 new units. There will be 6 additional one bedroom units and 24 new two bedroom units. Ms. Horowitz noted that no three bedroom units were added; ZBA was concerned that the additional 30 units would strain the school system, and limiting the additional units to one-and-two bedroom units is intended to alleviate any further strain. Ms. Horowitz then turned the presentations over to different members of the design team for their presentations on the new aspects of Hopkinton Mews.
New traffic analyses were provided, showing a "minimal" impact that these new units would have on traffic delays and patterns. Most of the traffic, the presenter said, would go straight from Lumber St to 495. Still, there will be several measures to ensure that the impact of the development will be minimal. These changes, the presenter said, will alleviate not only an increase in residential traffic, but also the expected increase in commercial traffic. There will be an increase in delays at some of the intersections and on some of the roads; however, the presenter stressed that even with these increases, all directions of traffic meet Mass DOT "acceptable" thresholds. Left turn only lanes and a widening of West Main St and Lumber St were proposed. The Board of Appeals wondered if changes would come to the light at the intersection of Lumber St and West Main St, as right now the time on the Lumber St side is very short. The presenter noted that the light is traffic-sensitive and will extend green light times based on the amount of traffic present.
Mr. Peirce showed particular concern at the estimates for parking at the Mews complex. With the addition of 30 units, only 5 new parking spots have been added, leading to a decrease in spots per unit. Mr. Peirce found it "inconceivable" that they would add so few parking spaces. He asked the presenter if, in his opinion, apartment owners had fewer cars per unit than homeowners; in his opinion, there should be at least 2 spaces per unit. The presenter said that in his experience, apartment owners frequently have less income and may not need or be able to afford a second car. This led to a discussion of average rents for the units. With a one bedroom costing between $1800 and $2400, and two bedroom units starting at $2400, Mr. Peirce argued that these potential renters will not be struggling financially, and the developers might want to reconsider their figures. Mr. Peirce was also disturbed at the absence of right-turn lanes in the street changes. The presenter assured him that the lane was unnecessary; however, at the end of the meeting, Mr. Weismantel of the Planning Board echoed these concerns and urged a reconsideration of the right turn lane.
In addition to traffic, the Board of Appeals heard changes to stormwater management and landscaping. Stormwater and wetlands protection are now compliant to the Conservation Commission's standards. Landscape designs were modified to accommodate the new location of the complex's clubhouse and pool, allowing for multiple "breakout' spaces in the common area for residents to get away and have privacy. The landscapers also mentioned that they had worked to reduce potential impact of the Asian longhorn beetle; they did this by reducing the percentage of maple trees from 20% to about 10% of total trees, and by varying the types of trees and shrubs to include a variety of plants native to the east coast.
To close the presentations, Mr. Brian O'Connor presented changes to the complex's buildings themselves. He noted that they were designed to all look different, giving the apartment complex a smaller, more residential feel. Smaller gables than are usually used in apartment complexes will be used here, and different colors and textures will be incorporated to prevent Mews from looking too large and uniform. Mr. Peirce commended Mr. O'Connor and his team for their design work.
At the close of the meeting, the next hearing for Mews was discussed. Noting that waivers and conditions to these waivers had to be negotiated and re-worded, Mr. Peirce suggested that the next Board of Appeals meeting would likely be too soon for Mews to return. Therefore, Hopkinton Mews will next appear before the Board of Appeals on Wednesday, January 14th, 2015.
To see any other figures presented at the meeting, please refer to the meeting's agenda here .
The next Board of Appeals meeting is scheduled for December 17th.
