2000-02-09 CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
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RECORDER:
Parking and Traffic Commission
February 9, 2000
Beverly City Hail
Tina Cassidy, Dennis Tarsook, Bruce
Paimer, Robert Mead, Suzanne Lanzikos
(for Chamber of Commerce)
Tina Cassidy
Cassidy cails the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. and explains that there
are two items on this agenda for discussion. Site plan review
applications have been filed for a new office building on Sam Fonzo Drive
and a modified site plan application for a new office/retail/restaurant
development at the site of the old Haiku Haiku restaurant on Enon
Street.
First on the agenda is a site plan review application for an office building
for Liberty Publishing. The building would be located on Sam Fonzo
Drive on land formerly owned by Aero Manufacturing. Rich Williams
from Hayes Engineering represents the applicant, Jeff Rosen, for Liberty
Publishing. He explains the site plan to the members.
Cassidy asks what the width of the driveway is at the area of the loading
dock at the rear of the building, and Williams answers approximately 12-
14'. Paimer states that the Fire Department wants a minimum aisle
width of 18' for one way traffic. Williams answers that the driveway can
be increased in width by pulling the loading dock back toward the
building and moving the driveway out. He aiso states that he will erect a
"Do Not Enter" sign at the comer of the building to discourage vehicles
from circling behind the building.
Members discuss the front entrance to the site, and Tarsook asks how
wide the driveways on either side of the island will be. Williams answers
that one will be at least 24' wide, and one will be about 12' wide.
Members concur that the one-way traffic aisle designed for "drop-off'
traffic must also be at least 18' in width, and should be used only for
one-way traffic at that size. Williams states that he will recon~gure the
driveway to provide at least 18' of aisle width, and will place a "Keep
Right" sign in the island to direct traffic entering the site.
Parking and Traffic Commission minutes
February 9, 2000 meeting
Page two
Cassidy notes that the last several parking spaces in the parking area to
the west of the building are not provided with sufficient aisle width to
provide safe turning movements in and out of the spaces. Tarsook
concurs with this point. Following a brief discussion, Williams states
that he will review the configuration and present revised plans to the
Planning Board.
Following this discussion, members agree to recommend to the Planning
Board that approval of this site plan should be conditioned on the
following requirements:
That the driveway at the rear of the building in the area of the
loading dock be reconfigured to provide a driveway width of at least
18';
That a ~Do Not Enter" sign be erected on the east side of the
building to discourage vehicles from circling the building from that
direction;
That the narrower of the two driveways at the front of the building
near the traffic island be a minimum of 18' in width, and that
pavement markings in the form of arrows be added to both
driveways around the island. Additionally, a ~Keep Right' sign
shall be placed in the island to direct traffic entering the site; and
That the layout of the last few parking spaces on the western edge
of the secondary parking lot be reconfigured to provide adequate
backing area (the current site plan shows a space configuration
that is too tight to allow safe vehicle movements).
Next on the agenda is a revised site plan submitted for the former Haiku
Haiku restaurant at 13-23 Enon Street. Attorney Thomas Alexander and
his client, John Athanasopolous are present at the meeting. Alexander
explains that the owner originally wanted to replace the former
restaurant with a new restaurant, and had intended to provide a drive-
though lane on the southern end of the proposed new retail building. The
owner did not successfully complete negotiations with a prospective
tenant that wanted the drive through lane, so he would like to eliminate
the proposed drive-through lane from the approved site plan and instead
connect the new retail building to the former restaurant structure. The
former restaurant would be used for office space, and an existing
building at the rear of the lot (which had originally been slated for
demolition) would be retained and refurbished as an upscale Greek
restaurant.
Parking and Traffic Commission minutes
February 9, 2000 meeting
Page three
Following a review of the amended site plan, members of the commission
agree they have no issues of concern with respect to this amended site
plan.
Next, Mr. Don Preston asks to address the commission. He states that
he has been researching and developing a plan to make improvements to
the off-street parking areas owned and/or operated by the City as public
parking. He notes that the City does not currently have a comprehensive
maintenance plan for the parking lots, and states his belief that there is
much room for improving the appearance of these lots. Members concur
that new paving, striping, and landscaping in the lots would greatly
enhance their appearance. Preston states that he has contacted City
personnel in the purchasing department, and hopes to have estimated
costs for some of the work (such as paving and lot striping) soon. He
promises to inform the commission as soon as he has some additional
information, and Cassidy suggests that it might be appropriate to
schedule a special meeting of the commission to discuss the specific
issue of public parking lot improvements.
Following completion of discussion on the parking lot issue, the meeting
is adjourned at 11:25 a.m.