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2004-09-11 (draft) CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING AND SITE VISIT BOARD OR COMMISSION: Beverly Planning Board SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: September 11, 2004 LOCATION: Beverly Hospital (Herrick Street) MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Richard Dinkin, Vice- Chairperson John Thomson, Joanne Dunn, Ellen Flannery, Bill Betts, Don Walter MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Hamm OTHERS PRESENT: City Planner Tina Cassidy RECORDER: Tina Cassidy Chairman Dinkin calls the special meeting to order and explains that the purpose of the meeting is to conduct a site visit in connection with site plan review application #81-04 submitted by Northeast Health Systems. He explains to the audience that the site visit is a public meeting, but not a public hearing. Therefore, abutters and other members of the public are welcome to join the Board on the site visit, but no public comment or questions can be taken because the public hearing is not in session. Paul Galzerano, representing the hospital, explains the objectives of the project: § Solve on site parking problems and shortages § Consolidate the main entrance for in patient and emergency room services § Expand the entrance to the emergency room facilities and separate ambulance traffic from other vehicles § Provide additional office space for certain medical tests such as CT and MRI scans § Improve the wayfinding system on site Dick Doherty of Hancock Survey Associates briefly explains the improvements to drainage on the site including a subsurface storage system. The system will retain stormwater flow on the site to ensure no overburdening of the existing drainage systems. He notes that the project will result in little increase in the demand for water and sewer services, given the nature of the proposed project. The project will include the construction of a multi-story parking garage which will provide a net increase of at least 219 parking spaces on the site. The traffic analysis submitted by the applicant showed an estimated increase of 55-60 cars accessing the site during the peak hour. As a result, and in response to concerns raised by City personnel, the applicants are presently working with the City on potential improvements to the Herrick/Sohier Road intersection. Review of the matter is not yet complete, and the City is having a traffic engineer perform an independent review of the traffic analysis that was submitted. Planning Board Minutes - special meeting and site visit September 11, 2004 Page 2 Thomson asks if any parking spaces will be lost during construction. Galzerano states that the hospital’s goal is to have no net loss of spaces during construction, and is formulating plans for temporary parking areas to address the issue. Thomson asks how tall the multi-story garage will be. Kevin Newbin, architect from Steffian Bradley Inc., explains that the garage will be built into the hill next to the Women’s Health Center; the front facade will be four stories tall and the rear façade will be one story tall and about three feet lower than the existing grade of the hill next to the Center today. Members review the other elements of the proposed site plan, including the location of the proposed addition to the existing hospital building, the location of the new enclosed walkway connecting the reconstructed main entrance with the proposed garage, and the valet parking/dropoff area. Doherty also points out the location of the proposed garage and explains the vertical addition being proposed for the Women’s Health Center, noting that the new addition will match the height of the existing Center. Walter asks the applicants if the traffic study analyzed the origin of vehicles coming to the site. Doherty answers that from the study, one could extrapolate that about 60% of the traffic comes from Sohier Road and 40% from Brimbal Avenue. Thomson asks for an overview of traffic circulation on site, noting that the plans do not show the entire hospital campus. Doherty states that the information has been filed with the Board, and is being reviewed by the City’s independent engineer. Thomson requests that the applicants provide an overview of on-site traffic circulation at the next Board st meeting on September 21. Doherty states that they will be prepared to do that. In response to a question relative to construction time lines, Galzerano states that they hope to start construction of the garage this fall, and complete it by the spring of next year. They hope to complete all work included in the application by the spring of 2006. Members review the location of the proposed garage. No blasting will be required for the project because the garage will be built into the hillside, with each successive parking level increasing in size. The top level will have approximately 125 spaces, and the bottom level about 40. A small parking area will be maintained behind the garage; parking lot lighting will be of the “cut-off” style to minimize glare onto adjacent properties and nearby buildings. Dinkin asks for a rough estimate of the distance from the back of the proposed garage to the nearest home. The applicants state that it is at least several hundred feet, but they have met with the neighbors to address their concerns about screening. The existing deciduous tree cover is not effective in the winter, and they have developed plans for additional landscaping with conifers to address the concern. Members request that the screening plan be submitted for discussion at the next meeting; the applicants agree to do so. Next, members visit the existing driveway locations on Herrick Street. Doherty explains where turn lanes and grass strips will be added to channel traffic onto and from the site more effectively, and briefly discusses the hospital’s plans to dramatically improve the Planning Board Minutes - special meeting and site visit September 11, 2004 Page 3 existing signage on site. The upper driveway entrance will be signed to make it the primary entrance for the Ledgewood building. The lower driveway will be reconfigured into a more sweeping curve that will eliminate the need for a sharp turn in the driveway. At the conclusion of the presentation and discussion, Dinkin adjourns the site visit at 11:50 a.m.