Loading...
2010-03-15 CITY OF BEVERLY MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: LOCATION: Planning Board, Joint Public Hearing MEMBERS PRESENT: March 15, 2010 City Council Chambers, Beverly City Hall, 3rd Floor Chairperson Richard Dinkin, Joanne Dunn, Ellen Flannery, Charles Harris, Ellen Hutchinson, David Mack, James Matz John Thomson Planning Director Tina Cassidy Andrea Bray MEMBERS ABSENT: OTHERS PRESENT: RECORDER: 1. Joint Public Hearim!:: City Council Order #3 - Zonim!: Amendments relative to the "Residential Reuse of Existin2 and Former Public Buildin2s" (Section 29-24.E.) Council President Michael Cahill opens the hearing and invites Planning Board Chairperson Dinkin to sit beside him. Dinkin calls the Planning Board portion of the hearing to order and requests a motion to recess the hearing until 7:35 p.m. Flannery: Passes 7-0. Motion to recess this public hearing until 7:35 pm, seconded by Mack. Dinkin reopens the hearing. City Planning Director Tina Cassidy reads the legal public hearing notice into the record. Cassidy states that an RFP was issued in 2007 for the McKay school and none of the bids were successful but some prospective bidders raised issues about the ordinance, and the Planning Department, in response to these inquiries, reviewed and amended this ordinance. Cassidy summarizes the changes to the ordinance, which include: 1. The Ordinances Title: Originally it was not clear whether the City could entertain the bidding for the property, other than the building. 2. The Inclusionary Zoning ordinance is updated to require 12% of the units to be affordable. 3. Paragraph 2: This will allow the Council to consider other supporting uses within the residential building, ie. uses for office space, administration, and lor supporting services for the tenants in the event that elderly housing is built on the site. Planning Board Joint Public Hearing March 15, 2010 Page 2 of3 4. OSRD: Adherence to the OSRD is elective for these types of properties. 5. Parking requirements will vary according to the use of the property. The City Council and the Planning Board question Cassidy specific items in the ordinance. Cassidy states that she has never before had a property apply to this ordinance, and this ordinance will apply to any city property that is surplus and may be redeveloped for multi-family use. Harris questions whether the changes in this ordinance could set the wrong precedent that could, "come back to haunt us". He explains that during these difficult economic times the City might be more permissive of certain uses than during better times. Cassidy states that there is nothing in the ordinance that the City would not do in a different economic environment. City Council President Cahill opens to the public. Rosemary Maglio of30 Pleasant Street states that the building could be assigned a new use but the land should be kept as open space and should not be built upon. She adds that the original intent of this ordinance was to prevent historic buildings from being torn down, and this change could have far-reaching effects. Maglio explains that the Brown School and the Farms School were reused with a dimensional variance, not with this ordinance, and the public was allowed input on these projects. She adds that there should not be any supporting uses language, as this might facilitate as a "back-door" way of allowing other uses into a residential zone. She states that the use limitations could be included in the RFP. Finally, Maglio states that the parking requirements should not be altered. Joan Murphy 36 Longmeadow Road cautions the Council and Planning Board about the nearby pond and wetland, stating that this is one of the most vital areas in the City. Cassidy states that the Shoe Pond is a protected property under the Conservation Commission, and any work within this area would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. Mack: Motion to close the public hearing, seconded by Flannery. All members and the Chair vote in favor. The motion passes 7-0. Dinkin closes the Planning Board portion of the joint public hearing. Planning Board Joint Public Hearing March 15, 2010 Page 3 of3 Mack asks if the Board can take up this issue tomorrow night, and Dinkin agrees.