I don't see oh there it is okay good the appointed hour of 6 a 6 PM having been reached I welcome everyone to this meeting of the Amorous zoning board of appeals my name is Steve judge chair of the amoris Zoning Board of appeal I hereby call this meeting to order pursuant to chapter 20 of the acts of 21 and extended by chapter 2 of the acts of 2023 this meeting will be conducted via remote means members of the public who wish to access the meeting May do so via Zoom or by telephone no in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted but every effort will be made to ensure the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time via technological means Additionally the meeting recordings may be viewed on the town of Amis YouTube channel and the zba web page in accordance with provisions of Massachusetts general laws chapter 48 and article 10 special permit granting authority of the Amerson bylaw this public meeting has been duly advertised and notice thereof has been posted and Ma mailed to parties add interest in accordance with the provisions U excuse me we'll begin with a roll call of the regular members of The zba Steve judge is present Mr Meadows present Mr Henry present Mr White present and Mr slober present also in attendance tonight are J Mullens a permit administrator she's um helping us out with managing our our meeting tonight Christine brre the planning director and Rob Mora The Building Commissioner the zoning board of appeals is a quasi judicial body that operates under the authority of chapter 4A of the general laws of the Commonwealth for the purpose of promoting the health safety convenience and general welfare of the inhabitants of the town of amorist one of the most important elements of the amoris zoning bylaw is section 10.38 spefic specific findings from this section must be made for all of our decisions all hearings and meetings are open to the public and are recorded by Town staff the procedure is as follows the petitioner presents the application to the board during the hearing after which the board will ask questions for clarification or for additional information after the board has completed its questions the board will seek public input the public speaks with the permission of the chair if a member of the public wishes to speak they should so indicate by using the raised hand function on their screen the chair with the assistance of the staff will call upon people wishing to speak when you are recognized present your name and address to the board for the record all questions and comments must be addressed to the board the board will normally hold public hearings where information about a project and input from the public is gathered followed by a public meeting for each the public meeting portion is when the board deliberates and it's generally not an opportunity for public comment if the board feels it has enough enough information in time it will decide upon the applications tonight each petition heard by the board is distinct and evaluated on its own merits and the board is not ruled by precedent statutorily for a special permit the board has 90 days from the close of hearing to file a decision for a variance the board has 100 days from the date of filing to file its decision no decision is final until the written decision is signed by the sitting board members and filed in the town clerk's office once the decision is filed with the town clerk there's a 20-day appeal period for an inrev party to contest the decision with the relevant judicial body in Superior Court after the appeal period the permit must be recorded at the registry of deeds to take effect today the board will focus on the following items number one minutes uh consideration of the minutes from the meetings of June 6 2024 a public hearing on zba fy22 24-18 math morisy request for a special permit under sec 33211 of the zoning bylaw to convert a single family dwelling into a non-owner occupied duplex with a requested waiver from the sign plan at 180 North M uh North Whitney Street map 11d partial 261 RG General residence zoning District this is continued from May 23rd 2024 and there's a pending a request to continue to June 11th 2024 zba fy20 24-2 20 Ron ler request for a special permit under sections 3.32 5 and 3.32 one of the zoning BW to construct a 5,712 ft mixed use building with nine residential units and two first floor commercial spaces and to construct a raised walkway in the FPC zoning district with a requested waiver from the traffic impact study at 395 West street map 19d parcel 1 r VC Village Center raid residents and FPC flown PR prone Conservancy zoning District continued from our May 23rd 2024 meeting following that there's a general public comment period on matters not before the board tonight and other business before the board uh within the last 48 hours so the first order of business tonight is consideration of the minutes uh from the meeting of June 6th 2024 uh has everybody on the board had a chance to look at those minutes and are there any suggested changes modification or amendments to those minutes once again uh these minutes are um very robust very complete I think they're accurate um and I think they reflect uh very well the U the meeting that we had on uh June 6th if there's no uh amendments or suggested changes I would entertain a motion that we approve the minutes from the June 6 2024 meeting do I have such a motion so moved and second second it's been moved and seconded uh is there any discussion on the motion if not the vote occurs on the motion the chair votes I Mr Henry I Mr Meadows hi Mr White hi and Mr sler hi the vote is 5 to nothing the uh minutes from the June 6th meeting are approved the next order of business is um Public public hearings on zda FY 20248 mathina morisy uh that we have and I think you've all received a copy of a letter from um her attorney asking for this to be continued to July 11th 2024 um typically that's we grant that requ West uh it's because the her team can't be here for the meeting this week um if there's no I would entertain a motion that we approve the continuation to July 11th 2024 do I have such a motion so moved is there a second second it's been moved and seconded any discussion if not the vote occurs on the motion to continue the public hearing on zbi zba y 202 24- 18 to July 11th 2024 at 6:00 for the chair votes I Mr Henry I Mr Meadows I Mr White I and Mr slober I the motion passes five to nothing the motion carries the next order of business is FY zba fy22 24-20 Ron Le verer a request for a special permit under Section 3 .325 and 3231 of the zoning bylaw to construct a 5,700 Square 12T mixed use building with nine residential units and two first floor commercial spaces and to construct a raised walkway in the FPC flood prone conservation Conservation District with his requested waiver from the traffic impact study at 395 West street map 19d parcel 1 RC Village Center residence and FPC flood prone Conservancy zoning districts this is continued for May 23rd 2024 um the first I question is do any members have any disclosures they wish to make on this matter all right if not the next order is to review the site visit uh which we did not do uh with the first meeting uh we had a site visit um I think three of our members were there uh we walked the prop property uh we met with the with the applicant we walked the property uh we viewed the the existing build the existing home that's proposed to be torn down we observed the um elevation of the proposed building and how it slopes into the the the uh the ground moving away from the existing parking area we observed how the um new buildings would be shielded from the existing buildings we walked along the drive the current um driveway into that area that part of the ground which is proposed uh to be a um Bridge a walking bridge eventually through the conservation and the wetlands we walk to the back of the property to observe the um it's AB buding on the uh Hickory Ridge project and the um and the conservation land there we um saw we Mr liberer showed us um his a representation of how he feels the fill will be will be um laid out will be put on the on the land and the amount of fill needed um for that and since that time there's been a a confirmation of uh the fill requirements for the property um we've ALS we also were um asked to to view the the two of the units in the in the residential units in the property the basis for that is that they're going to be similar to the residential units that proposed to be built we observed those met with the current tenant uh and observed the build inside of the building and then we walked outside looked at the parking lot uh that's between this building the new existing building the new building that's going to be built and and the uh other existing buildings um and we looked at parking spaces that would be proposed to be built um I think that is pretty much sums up the the site visit um Mr slober or Mr Henry is there you were on the visit with me is there anything else you'd like to add I think you covered it Mr judge Mr sler the the only thing that I would add is that we had um we were able to see where the access would be to the new property that it that it would join the existing parking area and access from the buildings that are already there and that access to the new the new building would go through the uh the same access to the complex from the street and then over to the new building so we saw where the traffic flow will be that's the only thing thank that's good good addition thank you the next is to review submissions uh we have received from the applicant um an application form additional form from applicants a management plan a complaint response form a standard lease and floor plans uh floor plans are prepared by Carol Vince Vince architectural services dated 223 2024 we have floor plans exterior elevations and ex uh two sets of exterior elevations we've also received uh revised mixed use plan set revised dated 621 2024 prepared by swca and environmental Consultants sheets 1 through 15 which include a cover sheet existing and proposed conditions grading and drainage erosion control plan landscape plan Foundation planning plans detail and notes lighting plan signage plan stormwater predevelopment plan storm water post-development plan storm water and construction details lighting and signing details typical pedestrian walkway Crossing details and a fir Tru turning movement um we I had we did receive one staff submission from the town engineer an email dated 52024 stating that he has no concerns with the application um one last point the applicants requesting two wavers a traffic impact study and a parking waiver so um at this point in time I would ask U who is representing the applicant Mr liberer U please um identify yourself for the record your name and address and people that are going to present for you and what we'd like to do is you know if this could if you could give us your presentation you know 15 to 20 minutes something in that range I know this is an important project for you and it's a big project but I think I think in that time frame we might can probably cover all the most important aspects of it and then we can uh go to board questions I'm Ron ler I live at 433 West Street ammer Massachusetts which is adjacent to the project um a little bit about ammer Office Park I just thought it might be a little history here it's um my dad had purchased the 441 brick building out front in in the mid 70s and he renovated that building and um we had some offices in there as a matter of fact um um uh one of a medical I no a uh medical insurance company started their actual business there and then he convinced the government to come down that this would be an appropriate site for the United States Department of Agriculture um and that was the very first off office building that we constructed here on site I was part of that construction team um when I was 24 but I wasn't given uh very much responsibility other than the the wrong end of a shovel but anyway you know and as the years have progressed uh the office Park here has actually gone from Mostly office Bas to now about 50% office and 50% um residential um as those need as the needs of amers have changed we've been slowly adapting uh our our buildings to fit um a more residential feel um this is a this building would add nine more residences to the area and most of the the rentals that do exist here in amest or down in amest Office Park are are young professionals um I understand a lot of the students live closer to UMass but um we actually do not have any students uh that go to UMass most of the folks here are young professionals or you know they're they're connected to you mass as professors um you know we don't have a lot of turnover here um and I kind of try to build projects that um that I would live in um that's the way I kind of look at it uh if I would live in the unit then I feel as though that's something I'm proud to rent proud to build and rent so most of the units tend to be a little bit larger than what's going on uh in the rest of town but we're also uh seeking a slightly different Market um the market is is you know as a matter of fact we just moved in some retirees today so we have a mix of people from Young professionals to retirees and um uh that's what we want to continue doing down here um and this was a perfect uh spot it turned out the hap this was an old hap house that uh that the state had rented and that lease came to to an end and the state didn't renew so we bought the old the old farmhouse there it was actually the matuso house and uh you know at first we just sort of cleaned it up and we've rented it um while we were waiting for the market to uh to fit um you know we went through covid and then we went through this high high inflationary period so really needed to wait until the um you know a lot of the building material sort of settled back to what I call a more reasonable price and for instance that would be um you know 2 by6 by 10s had R had gone all the way up into the 20 something dollars a piece and now they're back down around $9 a piece and I feel as though you know by watching my numbers I can supply a quality product to you know the folks that rent from me at a reasonable price and that's one of my goals um it's not just to maximize the dollar but also Al to provide a service to the folks that live here and provide highquality housing um so we sat down with s swca uh Tony Summers and uh we started working on a plan that went you know sort of back and forth until we finally found a building that fit nicely on the land sort of settled into the slopes of the land and we had discussions with um the Conservation Commission about removing the driveway completely out and reconnecting the wetlands on the lower section um which was which was received quite well by the Conservation Commission but also felt though a pedestrian uh connection to the town sidewalks was was appropriate and uh as you can see on the east side of the project and then you know we started with designing the building and then coming up with um first we just came up with nine Apartments um and we were moving in that direction for a while but what I was noticing during covid was so many so many people were looking to to have an office at home and the one complaint I heard over and over is they they don't want to bring somebody through their house to go to their office all the time so I started coming up with the concept that if we had a two-bedroom unit that could either be used as a two bedrooms or could be used as a one-bedroom in an office with two separate doors I was going to I was going to satisfy people that wanted to have that home office and work from home and not have to travel all the time for work and I could ALS so um um it could also be used as a two-bedroom or if you had a teenager that wanted a little bit more access in and out of their own bedroom uh would suffice as that kind of thing um so it kind of fit with the world's going any so um I we came up with this design and we worked uh diligently with soils engineers and we worked with the fire department apartment on the turnaround and we ended up F you falling one parking spot short but I didn't think that was uh as I didn't think that was a big issue because when we built the 417 building the planning board at that time had requested that I do counts on the building to determine in a mixed use if if there was more parking than was needed and in the 47 building we we always had anywhere from 15 to 20 open spots available in a mixed use building um so the feeling was that that being adjoined to this uh the two sites together that having 23 of the 24 spots would uh would certainly suffice for the needs of this building um and the second thing I'm asking is the the traffic impact study um one of the things that started about five years ago on Friday afternoons on traffic flowing north to south on 116 when we had a traffic light there occasionally the traffic would back up across two of the three entrances that we have at ammer Office Park so it that's you know traffic was a little was starting to get noticeable if you were trying to to get out and you know traffic was just stopped in front of you and uh Town invested uh quite a bit of money in the and the rotary and the rotary has been an unbelievable success I I will say this I was actually a little skeptical of rotaries but when they did the Atkins rotary I was actually shocked how well it worked and and this one works equally as well so we have never had uh stop traffic in front of us so also when they when the rotary was put in um the crosswalks were put in with with with stop stop buttons and signs so that has uh that has really improved the the natural um bipad flow around the around the South amorist Center here and it's it's I think really done a nice job um so that's a little bit of an overview but the the the concept really of people having the ability to use their second bedroom as an office I think uh is is definitely something that's moving is moving the needle Nationwide and I'd like to you know I mean Beyond this this one little project I'd like to see more of that in ERS because if your office is at home you don't have to get in the car to go to it or a bus you can just walk over um and that's where the second door um to each of these unit each six of these units uh was was conceived and I just wanted to make sure you understood what I was thinking um but I think it's a you know it and it's going to be a bit of a test model to see because a lot of the you know people say oh yeah yeah yeah I'd love to have an office at home but I don't want to bring people through my house I you know I'm kind of guessing that you know they said it but is is it really true I mean you know once the building's built I'll find out how many people actually do use that second bedroom as an office um I'm going to certainly advertise it that way but you know and down here we don't get a lot of the roommate roommate um in in our rental so far we have 29 residential units here and they're um a lot of the young professional will actually or young couples will actually rent um a two-bedroom unit and uh they they just rent it and keep it as keep that second bedroom as a guest bedroom or as their you know little private office so I mean so far or families for instance we do have a Cambodian family here that is uses a two-bedroom and they're you know they're quite happy although they would like a little more space but I guess that's the you know I'd like to hear some questions if anybody's got any you know I think it'd be helpful if um we'd have either Mr Summers or Mr Marcus just review the the one issue that wasn't clear at the time of the site visit was the fill because there was originally a thought that it exceeded um the amount you could get with a special permit you would have needed a waiver I think um or variance you need you need some special permission to to use the fill which was more than would have been permitted under under normal circumstances I understand that that's been you looked at that that you've come in under the rules but tell us what happened and before you do that give us your give us your name and address for the record Tony do you want to address the fill and the sheet that goes with that Tony Summers uh 15 Research Drive in ammer is the S swc office and so here we were looking at um based on the existing and proposed grades um where we were um had an average of greater than two foot 2 feet of fill and greater than 5T of fill uh the greater than 2 foot to 4.9 99 is represented in the yellow hatch the um more than 5T is um indicated by the orange uh the orange the reason there's um tends to be more fill there is uh primarily because right along this side uh there is a retaining wall and so that is uh the back fill for that area and then there is a detention Basin in that in that area as well um other um other um primary fill areas tend to be right along um where there's bming for the detension basins um because of the grades there needs to be a step down and because we couldn't cut down lower in uh into existing grade we built up on the backside and so that's also where a lot of that U fill is coming from for those for those basins okay uh Mr chairman if if I may I'm just going to quickly summarize some of the other points with this application just give us your name and address Mr Marcus uh Mickey Marcus I live at um 8 lady slipper Circle in amest uh I've been the environmental consultant uh with Mr liity on this project and uh previous projects and very familiar with with the site uh Tony would you mind just looking at the existing conditions for just a moment so there there's uh as already mentioned this is a there's a uh small four bedroom house that's on the property unoccupied built uh mid1 1950s so as part of this project uh that will be demolished um Tony if you can go to the back I'm sorry back to the site plan so there there are two um special permit issues one is um for the home office on two of the apartments and the second is the FPC work and I'd like to just you know I think uh Mr L address the apartments and just so you're clear there's nine total apartments that are proposed there are two one-bedroom apartments there are four two-bedroom apartments there are two two-bedroom apartments that have home office and then there's one four-bedroom apartment n total uh the the office uh the the the two uh two bedrooms that have the office will be on the first floor um the so that that was one of the reasons for the special permit the second uh Tony can you zoom in on that Crossing area we we um met quite a bit uh pre- permitting with uh Aon and the Conservation Commission members just to review the project and come up with plans and this is if in your site visit you saw that this area that's in light blue is an existing driveway that is uh to be abandoned so the driveway gets pulled up the wetlands on either side uh get reconnected there's a culvert that gets re uh removed um so this is in uh the flood prone Conservancy District it's actually not in the 100-year flood plane the 100-year flood plane is the area uh just um to the north um so it's it's one of these areas the flood prone conservancy and the 100-year flood plane don't align but it is part of the flood prone Conservancy so um what's proposed here is um removing uh the PVE uh the the driveway pavement uh and putting in um a walking path and this walking path is on helical Pier so it's it's above the ground and it's the idea is to provide uh pedestrian access from West Street uh onto the proper and right now um what we what I understand is that a lot of people uh use the existing driveway to access Hickory Hills and so they'll have that continued access so that's the work proposed there's no fill it's actually removal of fill and um the new work is a boardwalk and it does have a oh you've muted yourself Mr Marcus sorry the the uh the boardwalk does have lighting associ ated with that that's shown on the site plans um the um we talked about the the traffic impact study that there were two waivers one was traffic impact study the second is a parking waiver um uh Mr Summers had had originally designed the site with 24 parking spaces but after uh discussions with uh the fire department uh modifications were needed for the turnaround for the hook and ladder truck that's shown in yellow that removed one parking space uh what Mr L is suggesting is that um there is plenty of additional parking spaces available in adjacent parking areas that always seem to have open spaces um we talked about the fill um just wanted to say uh there's a storm water plan it's a very extensive uh low impact development storm water plan using uh previous asphalt and a whole series of these rain Gardens that's been was reviewed quite a bit by the Conservation Commission that all those green areas are just sort of a cascading uh infiltration for storm water um that Jason skills has also reviewed um this plan um should say there's a lot of uh landscape improvements there's over half acre of invasive species removal replanting with Native vegetation so uh Mr uh Summers who's a landscape architect developed a whole planting plan using native plants so the idea is to Green up the site improve storm water uh as well uh so I think that's all I'll say right now take any any questions we'll all take questions that the board members have thank you for the time before I go to questions U Miss bre you have your hand raised yes I just wanted to clarify something um that um Mr Marcus said in in the past we've had a requirement for um a special permit for home occupations um in this case we don't have a special permit for home occupations instead what we have is a special permit for a mixed use building in the RVC zoning District so that may have been a little confusing I just wanted to clarify that so this whole building normally if it were in the downtown area would be um before the planning board for site plan review because this is in the RVC zoning District it's required to have a special permit um but there is not no longer that requirement for a home occupation to have a special permit um so just wanted to clarify that thank you I did have one question um can you just blow this up a little bit what we see on the screen and I'm looking at the I'm looking at the area where there's the sort of the the curved driveway that what I would call the front of the building not the porch but right where you yeah where you're is that is where are the two um two bedroom with office or where are the offices located which which side of the building are the offices located the offices are located right if you look at the building from from this entrance they're right where the left of where it says water main entrance and right of the water main entrance so it's that front quarter of the building when you drive in all right so those the non so that that's where the non-residential space would be that's the um potentially the office space that can be accessed directly from the the outdoors right you don't that's what you're looking at y okay good thank you um I don't have a lot of other questions I think in terms of this um we my questions regarding the Phil seems to have been answered and I note that there's no that it's been um also reviewed with the order of condition by the um Conservation Commission and so I think the U flood the ations for the flood prone Conservancy District have been um addressed by the other body in town that uh works on this um and I understand your your request regarding the request you're making regarding the parking we can discuss that as well what are there do other board members have questions for the applicant I I have a question Mr chair but it's not for the applicant actually for Mr MOA y go ahead um Mr moris see that you're here are there any concerns um not addressed by the applicant that the zoning board should consider uh there there are no concerns um you know staff has reviewed the project in great detail with the applicant and and amiliar with it and supportive of the project um I I will point out that there's a determination that the Board needs to make regarding the uh the location of the non-residential space and I know uh Mr judge is familiar with that and we'll probably talk about that and bring that up at some point but that's that's the only unusual uh uh piece of the application that just needs to be talked about a little bit thank you any other questions from board members Miss bre I see your hand is up oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to have my hand up okay all right no questions from board members um it's a time for unless there's another anything else with the applicant wants us to um describe or discuss it would I would turn it to public comment I note that we've had no public comments submitted to the uh the board prior to the beginning of the uh of the meeting tonight uh so if people wish to comment on this if there's anybody who wish to comment on this um I asked staff to help me identify them if you do wish to comment and you are called upon please give us your name and address for the record keep your comments to about three minutes and make sure your comments are addressed to the board so um we have anybody who wishes to speak to this issue uh in the public you know I I don't see anybody Janet do you I have three attendees but they are they have not raised their hand right okay if there's no public comment it's a last chance for board member members to ask questions or for the the applicant to make any further presentations to the board if not um I would entertain a motion that we U move to public hearing on this public meeting on this application while keeping the public hearing open so that we can uh deliberate on the matter so a motion to move to a public meeting while keeping the public hearing open in case we wish to gather additional information do I have such a motion so moved mov and second any discussion on that motion if not the vote occurs on the motion to move to a public meeting while keeping the public hearing open the chair votes I Mr Meadows I Mr sloger I Mr Henry I Mr White I the motion is approved 5 to nothing uh we'll now go into a public meeting on this application public meeting is generally where the board deliberates um they discuss their General feelings about the matter they then will then review the conditions findings and make a recommend and uh and perhaps dispose of this one way or the other tonight uh generally is not a time for public comments so um guess I'd Begin by saying that um we spent a lot of time on our site visit I understand the uh the project here pretty well and I think the other two members felt comfortable with the amount of information we had whether it's dispositive to you're feeling towards the project or not is another thing but we got a lot of we got real good uh look at the property and the idea that the applicant has it seems to make sense it's in an area where my standpoint I think it adds to the neighborhood it's consistent in every respect even to the extent of the same type of architectural detail is going to be consistent throughout the property and um it's it's an interesting concept that I think Mr liberer has has uh has proposed here of U making home offices a little bit more um accessible or more easily uh used by people if they wish to have that uh so I'm inclined to approve this I think there is one issue which when we get to the um findings we'll have to discuss and that issue is um and I'll I'll try to it's it's Arcane but I'll try to describe it and then I'll ask Mr MOA or M bre to correct me when I describe it incorrectly but typically you would in this building it would require that 30% um no more than 30% of the of the uh um first floor or ground floor property faces the that is non-residential faces this is confusing there's a the goal is to have the non-residential property face the street and it is that 30% at least 30% of the square footage has to be non-residential facing the street in this case the street facing part of this building is 251 ft from West Street it doesn't in in the intent of course was to create the bylaw was to create a sense of mixed use um for the the uh the building that there's you could see the mixed use from the streetcape you're not going to see a lot of the streetcape from the street facing uh Frontage of this building and you're more likely to when you approach this building from especially when you're driving you're going to approach it from the turnaround in the front where the office buildings are and so I think the intent of the bylaw was to provide the um sense of a a commercial space or nonresidential space being in the front and easily accessible that people can see that um and in this case I think that's that is accomplished even though the bylaw um require the bylaw requires that it face that percentage from the street which is 251 ft away the special permit granting Authority has the ability to to modify that and that is one of the things that we've asked for here in this special permit application is that we have to make a finding later on that um this that that we are we allow this variance not not the technical term but a waiver from that provision to be U included in the the special permit so that's the item that Mr morab mentioned as my be concerning something we should discuss I'm not bothered by it I think it makes sense and I think it fulfills the intent of the bylaw I think exactly why we're here for to use our disc matters but Mr MOA did I did I bungle it too much or did I kind of get the right idea out there yeah yeah you got the right idea I just want to clarify a couple things so it's uh it's the 30% of the non-residential portion of the building occupying the first floor so that's the one uh piece of criteria that isn't satisfied uh exactly by this proposal because some of the office uh space or non-residential space is on the floor below so it's just acknowledging that uh it's a split between the two floors and the bylaw allows the board to accept that uh and then the other piece is that uh the non-residential space uh is is not necessarily predominantly facing the street um given the orientation of the building so again this isn't waiver request or uh any special approval needed it's just the board acknowledging that they found that the criteria has been satisfied given the the specifics of this proposal got it the other item that is here is is the parking the parking weight not exception um generally require 24 there's 23 provided here in from a site visit it's clear to me that there's more than enough parking in this area to accommodate the additional um residential and and non and Commercial and non-residential um tenants uh and the existence of the old traffic parking study seems to prove that out so I think that we're I I have no have no trouble with the ability of the U to of this plan to meet the parking needs of the area you know the development um I guess there's other other me that's my inclination um other members have a feeling or a question about this Mr sler well um wait let me make sure I'm not muted okay uh yes I have a a few comments to address some of the things that have come up um first of all I I was at the site visit and I felt that the design of the proposed building is so consistent in in appearance and feel to the buildings that are already there that this almost seems like an expansion of an existing project it doesn't feel like a new or novel uh application I know it is but it it fits in well uh I don't consider the parking to be an issue of one space that seems uh the chair commented on that and I want to reinforce that there's adequate parking the requirement that the non-residential uh space face the street it seems to me that that the intention of that is that the commercial part is um is more aligned with the traffic and developing part of the of the site which actually in this case it's facing the parking and it's facing the access by which anyone will reach the new building so I think that that is consistent with intent the we went into a unit and I was I didn't care that much one way or the other about the unit that we visited because I didn't think that Mr ler was going to take us into one that was a dump with unhappy tenants who were complaining but what did impress me was the General condition of the interior of the building the corridors the staircases also the grounds and the parking the existing buildings that are under his ownership and management seem well-maintained and cared for nothing is shabby nothing was calling out to be repaired there wasn't chip paint in the corridors all the little things that would attention to something that's neglected it seems that the record of this developer paints him is a responsible one and I find that this proposal that what they want to do here is consistent with everything that makes sense the design even the return of wetlands um I Mr lardier referred earlier to bipeds crossing the street I hope that quadrupeds are also allowed to cross the street and walk on the path I don't know that I'll be bringing my dogs but I don't you know I think bads and quadrupeds coexist well so I'm I'm I feel quite positive about this application and think that he has answered all of the questions responsibly and I intend and to support it thank you Mr chair thank you Mr sler any other comments um or concerns I think I share Mr sl's position um having been on the site visit my initial impression was that this is just an addition to what's already there um everything that was presented seems to complement what is there it's just um like Mr s said this seems like just an expansion and again appreciated Mr Moore's um persective I I have no reservations and I will support this any further comments if not what I'd like to do is go go ahead Mr Henry Mr White has his hand up oh Mr White I didn't see you go ahead you're fine uh no so I would just State uh my concerns going into this were pretty common to what you know they would be in a situation like this you know issues about you know proximity to Wetland um infill you know our kind of usual cast of characters but uh after having reviewed everything here um and of course you know relying on everyone on the uh board who was able to be at the site visit I would agree uh with kind of everyone here um I feel like due diligence has been done and I feel comfortable uh supporting this thank you Mr White if there's no uh further comments what I like to do is go through conditions um I like to do those first because they those conditions sometimes are directly affect our ability to make the findings we're required to make um sometimes they're indeed responsible for us being able to make findings so I'd like to go through the proposed conditions and the project application report and u i find what the staff has provided in this case and was one addition that I suggested U earlier today that's reflected in the most recent draft uh I approve of the conditions the first is Project use mixed use residential condition one just says it has to be built in effect just says it has to be built a plan condition two the building should not exceed maximum of three stories condition which it doesn't condition three again the plan is that some mixed use buildings will not be changed throughout the residential use including a private dormatory condition four property shall not be used for temporary short-term housing short-term lodging or advertised as such in print or electronically department or rented by unit not by the bed with the maximum one lease for each unit at any time all approvals and conditions granted by the Amis Conservation Commission shall be in effect and adhere to as part of the special permit number seven the units at the project shall be Reg registered and permitted in accordance to the ammer residential res rental property bylaw um number eight is a new provision that we've been using for a couple of years uh where upon U the applicant she'll provide an upto-date complaint and violation laog with the Amber inspection services and filed prior to the um annual um application for the residential rental registration number nine deals with the that it has to be managed substantially in accordance with the management plan 10 deals with substantial changes Andor substantial changes dur any approved site plans they have these are all pretty standard going to the Zoning Board of appeal for review prior of the work taking place uh the Minimus can be handled by the The Building Commissioner Landscaping shall be installed in accordance with the landscape plan special permit shall expire within two years the date that it is filed with the Town Clerk and all work associated with the project shall be completed within 30 months from the date of the issuance of building permit the building exterior site improvements um these are again pretty much um conditions and requirements of both the the construction crew as well as the as a town Comm as a Building Commissioner um so for inspection on-site utility shall be underground exterior lighting shall be dark sky compliant downcast and shielded and not shine onto just adjacent Properties or streets air conditioning units shall be shielded all utility work within the public RightWay shall be conducted with regulations of the town of ammer all work with the right of way shall be reviewed by the Town Council the applicant shall provide at the zoning board of appeals of public meeting specifications for any amenties such as bike racks site Furniture playground and benches for review and approval prior to installations number 21 work within the right of way um delivered disturbance during construction shall be completed by the applicant and all costs um approval prior the issuance of a final certificate management plan provides for trash pickup the management plan provides the project shall also be managed in accordance with the terms of the management plan again you got to you got to do what's in your management plan is essentially what we're saying there construction these are a series of conditions that are pretty standard for any larger construction project that we've seen everything from time of building to um when you have to contact the fire chief washing of tires I don't want to run through all of this all of these construction is so that's conditions uh 24 through 35 um these are ones we see all the time for for projects in the town uh completion of work but if anybody has a question about those rais them at the end of the discussion here today completion of the work you provide ASU plans that show building locations grade accessways sidewalks and walkways curving stor Water Management lighting facilities to The Bu Building Commissioner in town er uh which are placed special permit files again we're going to the plan you have is the plan you have to build build it by unless you seek um change either from the and approve that change either from the building commissioner or from us if if it should rise to us as part of the as built plans the applicant should include and confirm the fill amounts as in the as built plans uh and finally The Fill should not substantially exceed the amount shown on sheet 16.0 average fil height calculations CAD cam plans are required for final review U 40 deals with temporary certificates of occupance shall be approved to the Building Commissioner The Building Commissioner May impose security requirements um 40 40 the new 42 is prior to starting any site work the Building Commissioner and the applicant shall provide the building commission with storm water pollution prevention plan to address specific sedimentation a list of written procedures that outline operation and maintenance measures for the stone water drainage facilities the the 43 the final certificate of occupany shall not be issued to the building until the final top coat is laid Landscaping as shown has been installed and a complete as Bill plan has been submitted to the Building Commissioner and town engineered by all professional designs for the site and constructed and approved by the Building Commissioner and the town engineer those are the conditions um were there any concerns about the conditions as in the project application report or were there any additional conditions members want to propose Mr Meadows has his hand raised oh Mr Meadows thank you I'm finding the people up in the upper corner here I'm having a hard time seeing I don't know how I got up there yeah you're at the top of our list Mr Meadows uh question for Mr MOA uh because I failed to look at up earlier uh does does this not fall in with the number of units in the parking such that there must be EV parking charging stations for this number of units in this amount of parking area State requirement I believe that this will require uh the the EV charging under the new uh specialized code okay and I I didn't see any charging stations in the plan yet didn't know any either no I don't I don't think they've identified the space but it would it would take over one of the existing uh parking spaces that are shown in the layout there there wouldn't be an additional space provided or changes to the site plan correct so that would be required on that that EV station would be be required under state law that's right yes under the under this the the new the new state energy code and the town's adoption of the specialized code uh specialized code to the uh expansion of the stretch code so we wouldn't need to have a condition specifically requiring that EV station it would be done as a matter of um your office making sure that they complied with this town bylaw the new law and the state right yes uh during during plan review and permitting uh building permit phase you know that'll have to be identified uh you know the everything from the conduit to the location of where it's going going to terminate and the service information uh will all be detailed in the construction documents uh prior to permitting okay I thought I read somewhere that there were four EV stations planned in there I thought I write something to that effect Mr Marcus does have his hand up possibly he's is this in direct response to the issue that has been been raised or is um if that's the case then you can speak Mr Marcus I had another issue but I think Mr ler can uh address the existing EV charging stations that are on the property Mr ler can you address the existing uh EV parking y you're muted Mr to unmute you're muted there you go um presently we have um uh two uh charging stations on site and we're working towards putting another three charging stations on site my question is um since ammer Office Park is sort of a an entity in itself of of now this will be one more building so it would be eight buildings um would it be possible to just consider that we're now up to five charging stations each with two heads so we'd be up to 10 heads on site um and rather than you know and consider that as an all-encompassing for the for the eight buildings and I I guess that's a question for ROM I don't know how that calculation has been done Mr Meadows or Mr MOA do you know uh I I don't I don't have all that information from me but we can certainly review that if it if it complies with the uh State energy code then it would become a possibility unless the board had another specific condition uh related to its proximity to the the new building Mr Meadows I guess the question is for you you is it important that there be a condition requiring that these EV stations be close to the new building or if there's enough in the parking lot to satisfy need in the state LW if there's enough in the parking area to satisfy the state laws and that's that's good and obviously there's money available through the state and National Grid so that to help pay for those things so great any other um questions concerns from board members regarding the conditions and I will then see if Mr Marcus has a quick point to make but if we have no other questions from the board members uh thank you Mr go ahead um yeah I one of the things I uh neglected uh to mention uh was that uh there was an additional permit that was granted uh for this building by natural heritage endangered species program and uh one thing just to be consistent for on condition number six uh where you say that uh the plans need to be adhered to by the Conservation Commission uh you may want to just also just add and natural heritage conditions by natural heritage dangered species program they they they they they are requiring that there's a turtle protection plan be put in place during construction and so that's already been reviewed and approved by commission the Conservation Commission but it's a it is a separate entity that um cre some additional conditions marus do I am not familiar or maybe U Miss breast I'm not that familiar with the specifics of the Conservation Commission order but does it reference the the provision of Mr Marcus is discussed and do we need to have a a second reference to it if it is so referenced if not I think we can leave it as it is I don't think you need a separate reference to it um because it's stands it stands as you know if if that was required by the Conservation Commission then it will be required and they will enforce it yep we don't need to okay thank you yep thank you though all right um unless there's any questions or other any amendments to the conditions I would entertain a motion that we approve the conditions as contained in the uh project application report uh revised June 27th 2024 conditions 1 through 43 do I have such a motion don't moved is there a did I hear a second second it's moved and seconded is there any discussion if there's no discussion uh the vote occurs on the motion to approve the conditions contained in the project application report uh the chair votes I Mr White I Mr Henry I Mr sler I Mr Meadows I the vote was five nothing the motion to approve the conditions has passed we now need to go to the findings we have to make um under for this application um and I'm going to turn to uh the zoning bylaw review um where under Section 3 3 3.22 and specifically through 3.23 1 there are um in a flood prone Conservancy the special the planning board or the special permit gring Authority has to make has to find that the um proposal the application uh assures protection of drainage elevation of buildings adequacy of sewer and refuge disposal controls of erosion location of equipment storage of buoyant material extend of P the St of fill storage of chemicals Etc and um I think that we should note and acknowledge that the Conservation Commission to a large extent has done this and in addition the construction requirements in the conditions that we just approved also address this this um these issues and that the findings that we can acknowledge that we that this application meets the findings requirements under Section 3.22 A through 3.23 one and unless there's any any opposition or and question regarding that we can move on to the next findings the next findings um we can we'll note that all the all the um um dimensional regulations are met um we need under mixed use buildings this is the what we generally discussed before regarding the the U Street Frontage um the is the this is a one uh this is allowed under The rvc's Zing district and that the U the uh generally the intent of this 3325 mixed use Development building and its requirements for Street facing Etc has been met by the proposal put before us in the applicant today um on parking under the requirement I I have no problem with 23 as opposed to 24 parking spaces I think there's more than enough and so I think we can say that the parking requirements have been have been confined that the parking requirements of the bylaw have been met with this uh and our ability to vary those parking requirements based upon the conditions at on the site um let's see the last use of the findings for the flood plane development of the board oh we have to make a they're asking for a special obtain as a special permit on the boardwalk um again that's section 3.22 and section 3.23 one um factors listed zoning bylaw and that the Zone this has been approved by the Conservation Commission and we've made the findings I think specifically we can make the findings that the um application meets the requirements of the flood prone Conservancy District um required under the bylaw lastly we have section 10.38 findings that we have to make under every um special permit application 10.38 and 10. 381 is suitably located in the neighborhood which is proposed I think it is it's seems like an extension of a current building 10. 382 383 385 387 um would we have to find that this proposal would not constitute a nuisance for water pollution flood noise order dust vibration lights or Vis materials I think we can say with confidence that the uh that it meets the requirements to make this finding especially with the addition of non downcast lighting and the the screening uh 10. 384 appropriate facilities provided by the for the proper oper operation of the proposed use everything from the construction to the parking I think provides adequate and appropriate facilities uh the propos ensures that conformance with parking and sign regulations we've already approved the 23 places or we indicated that we there's no problem with 23 rather than 24 spaces 10. 387 was already dealt with up in 10 the first um or second um group of um findings it deals with convenient and safe vehicular traffic and I think that's particularly true when the removing of the the driveway making that into pesting and walkway and with the several different entrances onto West street from the property um there is no need for a a traffic plan or for a traff traffic impact study and it does provide safe and um traffic for safe and convenient um for traffic for vehicular as well as pedestrian uses 10. 389 provides adequate methods of disposal for sewage of Refuge the management plan deals with that sufficiently 10.39 deals with protection from flood hazards as stated in section 3228 again this has been looked at by the concom the have order of conditions which they've made and uh I think we can find that they that that and the construction details that we have in the special permit conditions will mitigate any any effect at adverse effect on flood hazards or and meet the requirements of 10.39 10. 391 deals with you unique or important Nal historic Scenic features this not U obviously it meets the requirement here 10392 proposal provides adequate Landscaping including uh and I we reviewed the landscape plan and the vegetation and the screening especially for existing buildings I think it meets those requirements 10393 deals with adjacent properties miniz and intrusion of lighting exterior lightings to cut off luminaries again the lighting plan is uh downcast um and dark sky compliant proposal avoids impact on steep slopes um again this is the concom has dealt with this and it's there they have more knowledge and expertise on this area but I think we can can U because of their approval and their order of their orders we can find make this finding 10.39 5 does not create disharmony within the terrain or the architecture of the district I mean it's it's uh strikingly similar to the other buildings I think it meets the requirement of 10. 395 396 again provides for screenage of storage areas um the I think this is met by the the site plan 10397 provides adequate recreational and open space facilities there's ample open space for um activities on the site uh 10.3 98 proposal is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the bylaw and the goals of the master plan again it's provides a mixed Ed Residential Building in a resident Village Center residential neighborhood um it's in line with purposes of the zoning bylaw as well as a master plan there any um questions regarding the the findings if not I'd like to have a motion that we make the findings required under those sections that I just enumerated and I don't want to have to go through all of them again so uh do I have such a motion sove so moved everybody wants to be done with that all right two we got two motions I got a motion in a second um is there any discussion if not the vote occurs on the findings that the board makes the findings required is outlined under the staff um project application report um the chair votes I Mr Meadows I Mr sler I Mr Henry I Mr White I the vote is five to nothing the motion passes to make the findings required and contained in the project application report um the last issue is should we do we approve the special uh permit application and I would entertain a motion that we approve zba 20 24-20 request for a special permit under Section 3325 mixed use building and 3.22 flood prone Conservancy District of the zoning bog to construct a 5,712 foot mixed use building with nine residential units two first floor commercial spaces a raised walkway in the FPC zoning District um and two waivers one from the traffic impact study and a parking waiver um and at the same time that we close the public hearing on this matter so so move Mr chair move second is there any discussion Chris and Rob have I hit all the needed U items for a full approval of the special permit I think so does Mr Mora agree I agree all right in that case the vote unless there's any discussion the vote occurs on the motion to approve the special permit application at uh um for the amorist amorist office Park the chair votes I Mr Meadows I Mr slober I Mr Henry I Mr White I the vote is five to nothing the motion the special permit application is approved Mr ler congratulations good luck I think you have a really interesting concept and I hope you do very well with it thank you very much and I hope so too thank you all for your time and efforts very much appreciated thank you very much the next order of business is public comment on any matter not before the board tonight if members of the public wish to speak on any matter except those before the board tonight they may do so by raising their hand uh using the raised hand function on Zoom or pressing star n on their phone um when if anybody wishes to speak and wishes to be recognized when recognize please state your name and address for the records uh we have three attendees no hands that I see how about you Jennifer Miss Mullins nothing no all right um that being the case no public comment the next order of business is old is new business not anticipated within prior to the last 48 hours is there any new business other than scheduling which we can discuss uh with Miss breast for the U the upcoming meetings no new Miss business other than scheduling yeah let's just run through the schedule for the next couple of meetings if we could M breast do you have those handy or yep you just get it off the wall here Welly that means that you're always thinking about us if you have look at it all the time yep so you have a meeting on July 11th um metha marsy will be coming back for 180 North Whitney Street um Jonathan Clay will be coming back for 47 Redgate lane and then you have a new application for the Black Walnut Inn they're essentially asking to continue doing what they've been doing but under a new owner and they're asking to have their site plan approved um which reflects what exists there now so that's coming on July 11th and then July 25th you have did you have any questions about that no okay July 25th um you have shutesbury Road solar coming back um there's a new application for Lane Quarry at 1550 West Street which is in the Notch and they just want to continue doing what they're doing so they want to renew their special permit and then you have a special permit application for the spoke and this one is the spoke that's along East Pleasant Street not the one that's on prey street so they want to um make some improvements to their outdoor patio area and then um we're trying to get KP law to come and talk to you on August 22nd about legal aspects of solar permitting and um that was something I think Mr Meadow suggested so um we're going to try to schedule that for August 22nd and other than that I think that's it we we do have a meeting scheduled for August 8th but so far we don't have anything um on the agenda for that night you know we might want to be a little flexible on that August that late August meeting that's a pretty important I first of all I I would like to make sure if people are going to be here at that time who serve on that shsb panel that's a pretty important meeting to to outline the state law that also governs uh not only solar Fields but what we can do U our ability and our and our discretion under state law so Mr Meadows and Mr slober you were on that panel Mr Hen are you on that panel as well I am um us yeah it is it is possible that I will be out of town but I think I'll be able to take um some time away for the [Music] meeting other people have travel plans for that date I think I'm good as well no I I have nothing I expect to be good unless Phillip speaks to President Biden and I get an invitation to do something that night but short short of being asked for advice by the president I expect to be here Philip and I will be at the White House okay we can they I don't think Mr Henry had the pleasure of hearing about Mr White's upcoming meeting no that would I miss ah ah congratulations I have now been appointed to be the new president of the United States I don't think you want that job no no no no I don't no uh my better have and I have the honor of meeting the president tomorrow so oh very nice congratulations really cool I thought you were in Ireland nope not anymore I'm a world traveler only his background no yeah well you'll he's a genuinely nice man uh you'll enjoy meeting he really is y all right I think that you know that's pretty big um new business that one of our members is sitting down with the president tomorrow um it's not every night that we have that is a zba item on our new business list so Mr White enjoy that immensely that's really cool um if there's any other business new business that members have we can entertain them at this point if not I intend to finish before we call go for our normal 7:30 break and uh I'd like to do that at this point so I'd entertain a motion to adjourn so moved moved and seconded that we adjourn this is not debatable and the motion the vote occurs on the motion to adjourn the chair votes I Mr Meadows hi Mr sler I Mr Henry I and Mr White from meeting your preparation meeting with the president thank you much all motion carries uh we are adjourned have fun with that Phillip it's going to be that'll be great that'll be really that's a cool thing that is if I can get through Secret Service that no well