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2002-09-04CITY OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: Parking & Traffic Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: September 4, 2002 LOCATION: Third floor copy room, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Dennis Tarsook, Clark Mitchell, Sue Mueller, Robert Mead, Debra Hurlburt OTHERS PRESENT: Leah Zambernardi RECORDER: Leah Zambernardi Hurlburt calls the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and states that the purpose of the meeting is to review a site plan for congregate housing for the elderly at 2 Boyles Street. Whitehall Hill Realty Trust/2 Boyles Street: Hurlburt states that the purpose for this meeting is for Site Plan Review #72-02 which includes the construction of 20 multi-family buildings, the rehabilitation of 5 existing buildings and associated site and utility improvements for congregate housing for the elderly at 2 Boyles Street. Attorney Thomas Alexander, Engineer Bob Griffin and F. Giles Ham and Lori Shattuck from Vanasse & Associates, Inc. present the project. Attorney Alexander explains that today’s meeting is to discuss the parking layout, traffic lanes, aisles and widths. Mr. Griffin explained the site plan layout. He noted that the mansion and houses on Hale Street including 240 Hale Street and the art gallery building would be restored. The development is also composed of new 2-, 3-, and 4-unit townhouses served by winding roads. He stated that there is a one-way entrance and a one-way exit serving the townhouse units off of Hale Street. They are each 18 feet wide. The streets within the site are two-way and 24 feet wide. Every unit will have a 2-car garage. They will also redevelop 28 and 30 Boyles Street. These condominium units will have an entrance off of Boyles Street that is separate from the rest of the development. He noted there are several parking lots and garages throughout the development and that ample parking is provided. F. Giles Ham, traffic consultant from Vanasse Consultants, Inc. explained the Traffic Impact and Access Study submitted with the application. He noted that there is no land use code (LUC) for over-55 developments, so they relied upon the multi-family LUC for their traffic calculations. He noted that these numbers are conservative and generate traffic counts estimated to be 25 percent higher than over-55 developments would generate. With these numbers, the study reports that this development will generate approximately 600 car trips on a daily basis, with 50-60 car trips at peak hours. He added that he believes this portion of Hale Street is outside the state’s jurisdiction, although they have contacted the state to make sure. He states that Hale Street has the capacity to support the additional cars and that accident data for the area indicates it is below the state average. Clark Mitchell asked about the grade at the entrances from Hale Street. Mr. Griffin stated that it would be 10 percent at both the entrance and exit locations off of Hale Street. Mitchell stated that the City generally accepts no more than 6 percent. Attorney Alexander stated that those standards are for subdivisions and that the subdivision control law does not control this project. He stated that the Fire Department does not have jurisdiction to regulate private driveways. Mitchell stated that fire trucks might have trouble accessing the site through these entrances. Regardless of whether the Fire Department has jurisdiction, this concern should be explored because trucks may “bottom-out”. Hurlburt concurred with Mitchell’s statement. Mr. Griffin stated that they could potentially tie the roadway system off of Hale Street into the system off of Boyles Street. Sergeant Tarsook stated that he preferred that the roadway systems remain separate. Boyles Street is narrow and winding as it is. They do not want to have to widen it. He prefers that Boyles Street only service those units off of Boyles Street. Mr. Griffin asked if the City ever reserved roadways for emergency access only and suggested that Whitehall have such a system where Boyles Street may be accessed for emergency vehicles only. Sergeant Tarsook cited several developments in Beverly including Windsor Courts, Apple Village and Morgan Island Road. He and Hurlburt concurred that these systems were fairly unsuccessful. Hurlburt asked about maintenance of the drives and the location of snow storage. Attorney Alexander stated that the development would plow and conduct trash pickup. Hurlburt stated that she is concerned about the resource area in such close proximity and the very steep grade of the land. She asked Griffin what kind of salt or sand mix he intended to use. Griffin stated he had not considered this yet but that he would look into it. Hurlburt asked if the fire department would be able to access the largest fire truck if need be and Mitchell stated he believed that the cul-de-sacs provided ample turnaround area. He stated that the grade of the entrance and exit off of Boyles Street was still a concern. Hurlburt asked if the development would be sprinklered. Attorney Alexander stated he did not know. Griffin stated that the remaining questions seemed to be snow storage, the salt/sand mix, and the grade. Attorney Alexander suggested another meeting before the Planning Board meeting in order for the engineer to address these issues. Hurlburt, Mueller, Mead, Tarsook and Mitchell agreed to table the discussion for a recommendation until the applicants can provide information on snow storage, salt/sand mix and grade. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, September 19 at 11 am.