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September 1 2016 DRB MinutesCITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: Design Review Board SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: Thursday, September 1, 2016 LOCATION: Beverly City Hall Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair, Sandra Cook, William Finch, Ellen Flannery, Rachel Matthews, Joel Margolis, Matthew Ulrich and Allison Crosbie MEMBERS ABSENT: Karen Bebergal OTHERS: RECORDER: Brett Bauer Cook calls the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Sign Continued — Fairweather Apartments — 245 Elliott Street — Brian Brinkers - ACME Signs Brian Brinkers explains that the apartment complex needs a new sign as part of a national rollout. Margolis asks if there will be lights on the ground for the sign. Brinkers responds that if there are lights on the ground, they are existing. The application is for the sign only. A concern about line of sight is discussed. Will the height of the sign create visibility issues for traffic pulling out of the driveway? Crosbie mentions that the board can recommend the sign be reviewed by the traffic commission. This type of sign requires a special permit and the board's role is to make a recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Cook: Moves to recommend that the ZBA approve the sign subject to review by traffic. Flannery seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). Sign: Papa's Last Stand — 505 Rantoul Street — Michael Denis Denis is proposing a wall sign that is 8 feet by 1 1 /2 feet for the second, southern most store front at the Corner Stone Plaza. The size complies with the ordinance. The material would be a composite and the colors red, white and blue, would match the store front. Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 1 of 6 Cook notes that she would like to see more consistency along the whole building. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Flannery: Moves to approve the sign. Margolis seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). Sign: Nourish — 9 Dane Street — Ryann Collins Application is for a wall sign and for a free standing sign. The free standing sign will require a special permit. There is expected to be five commercial tenants in the building. Crosbie notes that the building does not lend itself to a free standing sign. Concerns are discussed about setting a precedent that could lead to every tenant in the building having a free standing sign. Collins states that the landlord is considering one sign for the remaining businesses in the building located along Knowlton Street. Collins' business is the only one accessed from Dane Street. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Crosbie: Moves to recommend the wall sign and recommend that the ZBA approve the free standing sign with the condition that all other signs on the Knowlton Street side be on a single free standing sign. Finch seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). Sign: Tartine — 192 Cabot Street — Monika Simon Simon describes two signs for her business. A projecting sign made of painted wood and window lettering. Finch clarifies that window lettering is not reviewed by the board unless it is more than 20% of the glazing. Response to the sign is positive. Simon notes that because of required handicap access, another sign will be needed in the back. But this will be later and a separate application will be made. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 2 of 6 Cook: Moves to approve sign as proposed. Margolis seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). Site Plan Review: 55 Cherry Hill Drive — Krohne, Inc. The architect, Harry Samolchuk, describes the project. The original plan was for an addition to the existing 55,000 square foot building, but the layout did not make sense for efficiency of work. The new proposal is to demolish the existing building and construct two buildings connected by an elevated bridge. The existing building is less than 50 years old and is not considered a historic building. The new facility will have 110 workers on site, including high tech manufacturing and administration. The project is receiving TIF funds. Both buildings will be two stories with a flat roof. The manufacturing building will be 64,500 square feet and the office building will be 9,216 square feet. Re- grading will be necessary for the manufacturing building. The roof lines for both buildings and the connecting bridge will be at the same elevation. Trash and loading areas will be in the back. The materials will include insulated glass for the office building and insulated metal for the manufacturing building. Punched windows will run along the Cherry Hill Drive facade and in the back. The design will be very linear. The landscaping plan will be similar to others in the area. The large trees currently on the property will remain. The lighting will be LED and will be at a low level. 175 parking spaces will be included. Ulrich asked if the amount of trees included in the landscaping plan is the bare minimum required by the zoning code and recommended that more be included. Flannery commented that the design looked very clean. Samolchuk added that a terra cotta color was being considered for the building, but it may be gray. Matthews commented that the building was very clean and linear, and that the terra cotta color would add a needed element of warmth. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 3 of 6 Cook: Move to recommend approval as proposed and noting the preference for the terra cotta color. Margolis seconds the motion. The motion carries (6- 0). Informal Site Plan Review: 112 Rantoul Street — Barnat Development, LLC Sarah Barnat introduces her team and lists previous projects she has worked on, including Avenir in Boston, One Canal in Boston, Sphere in Medford, Enso Flats in Brockton, Washington Beech in Roslindale, and Hub 25 in Boston. She has mostly done projects that are residential with ground floor retail. She has experience working with the MBTA She is interested in working in Beverly and believes that residential Transit Oriented Development is the answer to affordability. Her company was recently selected by the MBTA to develop the land adjacent to Beverly Depot station including the MBTA garage. Barnat explains that after discussing with her architect, realized that it would be easier to build on the land adjacent to the garage. While the garage is well built, it can be difficult to build on MBTA structures. No changes to the garage structure are currently proposed. Barnat's response to the RFP allows for 6 stories including ground floor retail and the top floors set back. The major change in her original response is to increase the amount of retail space. Improvements would be made to the walkway. While building over the driveway to the T facility, the driveway would also likely be improved. Utilities would need to be relocated, but details are still being worked out. The first floor retail is proposed to be 15 feet high. The tall building guidelines suggest setting the building back at 45 feet in height. She is proposing a set back at 48 feet in height and feels this is a better resolution as the height meets other adjacent buildings and does not involve 2 set backs on the building. Floors 4 through 6 are expected to have views over the garage. Masonry will be used on the building portions above the retail, down to the ground floor. The parking facade will be pushed back and separate materials will be used. There will be a 15 foot separation between the residential building and the parking garage. No truck access or loading area is envisioned for this space currently. A roll -out trash system is proposed such that trash would not be visible from the exterior. There will be some landscaping, but it is constrained as the Fire Department needs to maintain access to the garage. Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 4 of 6 Margolis asked if apartments or condos are anticipated. Barnat responded that apartments are proposed. Her goal is to hold the property in the long -term with appropriate management in place. She added that Beverly has a 12% inclusionary zoning ordinance. This project could have as much as 20% workforce housing. Overall, the plan is for mixed - income. Ulrich asked if all the parking for the new development would come from the MBTA garage. Barnat responded that at least 70 parking spaces would be used for the residential units, at a one -one ratio of parking spaces to residential units. She noted that amenity space for the residential building may take 2 units from the second floor resulting in 68 units total. Finch asked if any other uses besides residential were considered. Barnat responded that office space or live /work space did not make sense for this market compared to the value of the residential use. Finch also expressed concerns about the metal shingle panel material shown and the massing of the top portion of the building. Barnat explained that the metal material is about 18 inches wide and 6 feet long, and is a broad banded material. The material on the side would be clapboard. The masonry portion would use standard sized bricks. Starting on the 5th floor, the building would be set back 12 feet with 2 foot bays projecting out. Finch responded that he would rather see a 5 -story building as the top two floors of the building being set back give it the appearance of a top hat. The architect added that the brick portions could be raised to make the the top floors appear less like a top hat. Ulrich expressed concerns about too many materials being used. Barnat stated that the total height of the building would be at 69 feet and 6 inches. She does not want the building to be reviewed under the high -rise code which starts at 70 feet in height. Cook expressed concerns about the 2 foot setback for the residential entrance. She would like to see a 4 foot setback. Cook also stated a preference for the gray metal materials to be used on both sides of the building. Margolis expressed concerns that the mass and scale of the building are too big. Finch agreed. Barnat responded that the project is not feasible for her at 4- stories and she feels Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 5 of 6 that 6- stories is not exceeding the height of existing surrounding buildings. She believes this building will look better and bring activity to the street. Margolis and Finch added that they expect much more of this type of development in the area. Barnat noted that the change in building code to allow wood construction over first floor steel at up to 6- stories has changed the type of development that is feasible. Cook commented that it is a great looking building, but she anticipates problems with the height in the approval process. Barnat asked about the role that neighborhood support plays in the approval process. Cook responded, a great amount. Finch expressed concerns about development along Rantoul Street being one- dimensional. Barnat commented that a critical mass is needed for downtown Beverly to support retail development. She could foresee owned units in the future, but rentals are needed first to build up the demand. Flannery added that management of apartment rentals is critical. Barnat said they have yet to do a market analysis, but anticipates 70% of units being one - bedrooms and 30% being two - bedrooms. 9 foot ceilings are proposed. Attorney Thomas Alexander reiterated Barnat's earlier comments about building a critical mass. Downtown needs more people to create the type of retail activity that the City wants. Barnat said she is also interested in comments and ideas about potential retailers. Adiournment Cook asks if there is any other business to come before the Design Review Board this evening. There being none: Cook: Moves to adjourn the meeting. Crosbie seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). The meeting is adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Design Review Board Meeting Minutes September 1, 2016 Page 6 of 6