2023-6-6 P&TC minutes Final CITY OF BEVERLY
PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES
BOARD: Parking and Traffic Commission
LOCATION: City Hall, 3rd floor Council Chambers
DATE: June 6, 2023
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Richard Benevento, Vice Chair Darlene
Wynne, Captain Jake Kreyling, Sergeant
Michael Henebury, City Commissioner
Michael Collins (arr 8:47), Jonathan Salt,
Dayna Morton
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT:
OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Michael Cahill
RECORDER: Naomi Moca
Benevento chairs and opens the meeting at 8:39 a.m.
1. Continued Discussion: Temporary traffic control plan—Southwest Rantoul Gateway - 426,
#28 & #28R Cabot Street, and#4-10 Rantoul Street—GPI o/b/o Beverly Crossing LLC &
Procopio Companies
Tyler Palermo, Will Nuccio, Pasquale Triantafyllou, and Cassandra Dos Santos of Procopio
Companies and Rebecca Brown of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. are present. Palermo states that the
company mailed an introductory letter to 167 adjacent neighbors and property owners and has
received responses from a large number of them. A press release went out today, June 6, 2023.
Palermo states that as discussed at the last meeting, the applicant is requesting to close the
sidewalk and potentially re-open it during key times in construction. The applicant is asking that
during demolition the sidewalk can be closed in the interest of safety, due to buildings being
demolished and debris potentially falling, with an anticipated work duration of four to six weeks.
Pedestrians would be directed to use the crosswalk at School Street.
The Commission discusses that wayfinding signs will be used to make pedestrians aware to use
the crosswalk at School Street,that abatement work is estimated to take two weeks, that
demolition work is estimated to take two weeks, and that the applicant is requesting to close the
sidewalk for both these phases. The Commission discusses the mindset of pedestrians, that the
closing on the site's land sale was delayed for a few weeks, and that the anticipated work will be
happening in July which coincides with a busy time for businesses in the area.
8:47 a.m. Collins arrives.
The Commission discusses materials being discarded off site via the driveway and not entering
into traffic,which avoids causing a traffic backup. Palermo states the applicant is therefore
requesting removing or disabling signaling during all phases of construction, due to the existing
driveway's motion-activated lights being activated by parked vehicles. Once construction is
City of Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission
June 6,2023 Meeting Minutes
complete,the driveway will no longer be used and a new permanent driveway will be
constructed, eliminating the need for signaling.
The Commission discusses that during construction, the vehicles needing access to the
intersection will need to have signaling. Palermo states that the applicant is open to contracting
with a signal company or taking alternative steps needed to make this happen. The Commission
discusses that there is a traffic control agreement that will come into play also.
The Commission discusses having the sidewalk closed for as short a duration as safely possible.
Palermo states that the chronological sequence proposed is: close the sidewalk during the entire
four to six-week demolition phase from the Cabot Street intersection to Goat Hill Lane with
pedestrians crossing at School Street,then once the buildings are demolished, open the portion of
sidewalk adjacent to the existing crosswalk. Palermo states that the applicant's goal is to keep the
sidewalk open as much as is safely possible, and the applicant is requesting the ability to make
the call to close the sidewalk when needed for safety reasons.
The Commission discusses the reasoning for closing the sidewalk, and Palermo states that the
applicant is requesting the ability to close the sidewalk when it is judged to be potentially unsafe
for pedestrians. The Commission discusses whether to trust the applicant's judgment in this area.
Brown states that pedestrian wayfinding and detour signs were submitted with the first phase of
the package.
The Commission discusses that the approach is to be"sidewalk open at all times unless closing is
needed" and that two points are being discussed: 1) closing the sidewalk during demolition, and
2)the applicant asking permission to close the sidewalk in advance when needed during the rest
of the project's duration.
Kreyling: Motion to grant permission to the contractor to close the sidewalk during the
demolition of the two buildings to the north for no more than four days.
Furthermore, once those buildings are demolished, the sidewalk shall remain
open with at least a five-foot accessible route at all times unless a written
request is made to Director Wynne, Commissioner Collins, Sergeant
Henebury, and the Department of Public Works (DPW)via email. When
possible, once the workday ends, the sidewalk shall be opened each night.
Salt seconds. Motion carries (7-0).
The Commission discusses alternatives for deliveries of large pieces of steel and trusses to the
project site. Palermo proposes routing the delivery of trusses through Salem, turning onto the site
and thus avoiding Cabot Street and Rantoul Street entirely, with no lane or street closures
needed. Triantafyllou states that some of the trailers will extended trailers. Brown states that she
ran calculations for the turning radius of WB-67 trucks. The Commission discusses the
frequency of the deliveries being daily during the framing stage, with the goal to limit the
number of deliveries per day to two, that the staging area is at the Bowl-o-Mat, that deliveries of
trusses will be staggered to avoid causing traffic backups, that a police traffic detail may be
requested, and that the fire department must be notified in the case of a police detail. The
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Commission discusses placing temporary No Parking signs on Goat Hill Lane if spaces are
needed to maneuver the trailers, with the intention to remove the signs as quickly as possible.
The applicant agrees to provide an updated narrative document to the Commission.
Kreyling: Motion to accept the applicant's construction phasing and management plan
to include that the large deliveries shall have access to the site via Route IA
in Salem, that no existing on-street parking shall be impacted, and that a
police detail shall be requested as needed with 24 hours'notice. In addition, if
there are any impediments to the roadway,the Fire Department shall be
notified by the Police Department. Henebury seconds. Motion carries (7-0).
The Commission discusses that the Building Commission has the jurisdiction to shut down the
project if the terms are not met, that the intersection is technically a state highway and right-of-
way, and whether the oversight of the intersection falls under the State or under the City.
2. Discussion: Parking Conditions and project update: 1 Water Street—Mission Boathouse
Materials added to the record:
• Staff report for Parking and Traffic Commission post-construction review of Mission
Boathouse
• Letter from Ward 2 City Councilor Estelle Rand
St. Henebury states that there was an observable lack of circulation in the Mission Boathouse
restaurant lot with vehicles making their own spaces in hash boxes,preventing turning
movement and in some instances resulting in hit-and-runs in the parking lot. For that reason,
three spaces have since been eliminated and traffic cones have been added to improve the flow
and circulation in the lot.
9:41 a.m.Mayor Cahill arrives
The Commission discusses that there are approximately 40 employees of the restaurant that need
parking spaces during peak times. Wynne reports that the restaurant has a license agreement with
the Italian Community Center(ICC)for 25 employee parking spaces for one year, and has been
unable to secure a van for shuttling employees.
Mayor Cahill states that in his meeting with the restaurant last week,he expressed that he does
not agree that the inability to hire a van is a viable excuse and that the restaurant can easily use
an alternate vehicle. Cahill states that in his opinion, the restaurant's deal with the ICC is not
beneficial for the Downtown area. The Commission discusses what the impact of the parking
will be during the summer season on area businesses such as the Jubilee Yacht Club, that
Mission Boathouse employees are likely parking on neighborhood streets, that Anchor staff are
parking in the Mission Boathouse lot, that the Anchor will be getting 15 additional parking
spaces approved soon, and whether employees will feel safe at closing time waiting for the
shuttle transportation. Cahill states that the restaurant is finalizing a deal with Uber where, when
making a reservation, a link will be provided to apply a$5 discount to an Uber ride,paid by the
restaurant.
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The Commission discusses that the original reason for the role of a paid parking attendant was to
turn vehicles away from the parking lot to go elsewhere when full, and to facilitate flow in the
parking lot. The members and Cahill agree that the flow was addressed by removing the three
spaces and there is not a need to force the restaurant to spend money to pay a parking attendant
at this point.
Henebury confirms that the Boathouse and the Anchor staff have been parking on the area
streets, and posits that the parking fine may not act as a deterrent for employees, as they could
view it as the price of doing business.
The Commission discusses that the lot is public, and whether there is a precedent in Beverly
where a private entity has to manage a public parking lot. The City will need the City Council's
approval to add it to the City inventory to add enforcement such as 3-hour limit. Salt states that
one time when he visited the restaurant,he observed the lot was full, yet the restaurant was not
full. The Commission discusses the Port Marine using the lot, that the City owns the property
from the old McDonalds to the corner,that MassDot owns under the bridge,the usefulness of
time-limited spaces, and the usefulness of fine-enforceable spaces.
The Commission discusses balancing the various users of the waterfront, especially from now
until Labor Day; for example, commercial boaters may have one license plate per boat and are
able to park in certain lots without getting a ticket. Recreational boaters do not have guaranteed
space.
The Commission discusses eliminating the attendant position, addressing that there is no
observable benefit in partnering with TMA, and clarifying when to conduct a traffic study. The
members agree that traffic data during school vacation is very different from when school is in
session, and that the traffic study should include a utilization analysis of the surrounding streets.
The Commission discusses that ease of parking is in the business owner's best interest, and that
parking innovation is preferable to parking enforcement.
Wynne: Motion to amend the conditions of the original decision letter dated October
16, 2019 in the following ways: removal of condition four, removal of
condition three requiring membership to the TMA, confirmation that the
traffic study in condition one shall include parking utilization, shall be
conducted in the Summer of 2023, shall include parking utilization, and the
scope of the study shall include Fish Flake Hill and Goat Hill neighborhoods,
specifically Stone Street, South Street, Front Street, Bartlett Street, Water
Street, Davis Street, Goat Hill Lane, Cox Court, Summit Avenue, Congress
Street, Wellman Street, School Street, Porter Street, Linden Avenue,to
P&TC for evaluation. Salt seconds. Motion carries (7-0).
3. Approval of Minutes:
a. May 15,2023
The members review and offer edits to the May 15, 2023 draft meeting minutes
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City of Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission
June 6,2023 Meeting Minutes
Kreyling: Motion to accept the May 15, 2023 meeting minutes as amended. Salt
seconds. Motion carries (7-0).
4. Adjournment
Collins: Motion to adjourn. Kreyling seconds. Motion carries (7-0).
Meeting adjourns at 10:16 a.m.
The next regular meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission is scheduled for July 11, 2023.
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