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TOWN OF HINGHAM
PLANNING BOARD
NOTICE OF DECISION
Site Plan Review in Association with of a Modification to the Special Permit A2
IN THE MATTER OF:
Applicant: Black Rock Residential LLC
c/o Northland Residential LLC
20 Mall Road
Burlington, MA 01803
Premises: The Residences at Black Rock – Phase 4
Off Ward Street
Date: December 2, 2013
Summary of Proceedings
This
matter came before the Planning Board on the application of Black Rock
Residential LLC for Site Plan Review in association of a Modification to
the Special Permit A2 under §I-G and §I-I.
The Planning
Board heard the application at a duly noticed hearing on November 25,
2013 at 7:00 PM and subsequently on December 2, 2013 at 7:00 PM in the
Hingham Town Hall at 210 Central Street. Members present on November
25, 2013 were: William Ramsey, Chairman; Gary Tondorf-Dick, Clerk; Sarah
Corey; Judy Sneath and Walter Sullivan Jr. and members present on
December 2, 2013 were: William Ramsey, Chairman; Sarah Corey; Judy
Sneath and Walter Sullivan Jr.
The application before the Board
was for a Site Plan Modification in association with a Special Permit A2
for Phase 4 of the Black Rock Residential Community. This project was
approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) before binding site plan
review, and the initial developer went so far as to have the site plan
reviewed by John Chessia and the Conservation Commission in 2007. This
plan was approved by the Conservation Commission who paid particular
attention to the stormwater and sewage disposal system design during
their review. The next step was for the applicant to bring the site
plan back to the ZBA for approval, however, the project fell into
foreclosure before that happened. Northland Residential LLC purchased
the property and has been developing in accordance with the 2007 site
plan but it came to staff's attention that the final approval of the
site plan never occurred. This is further complicated by the fact that
the Planning Board now handles site plan review as opposed to the ZBA,
so the Planning Board must act on the site plan before the ZBA can act
on the Special Permit A2. In addition, this project was originally
approved under the Residential Cluster Development By-Law, which was
replaced in its entirety by the Flexible Development By-Law in April
2001.
Project Description and Findings
In October 2000, the
Zoning Board granted a Special Permit to Hingham Resources, LLC to
construct a Residential Cluster Development consisting of 93 dwelling
units and an 18-hole golf course. Section IV-D of the Zoning By-Law
provided property owners with the option of constructing Cluster
Developments, which could consist of single family and multifamily
dwellings with reduced lot area and frontage requirements. Hingham
Resources, LLC, at the time of initial application, sought approval to
construct predominately two and three-family structures with several
single family structures included in the mix. The ZBA found that:
The
cluster concept is a far superior plan to development for this site
than other plans such as single-family homes, as the topography and
wetlands considerations support the development of residences in
clusters rather than spread out over the site. The plan calls for
hundreds of acres of open space. The development will provide
residential units of a type generally considered to have a lower impact
on town resources than single-family homes. The townhouse units will
provide a needed housing alternative to current and prospective
residents of Hingham.
The development ownership changed from
Hingham Resources to Black Rock Development in 2003. Black Rock
Development subsequently modified the approved plans. A significant
change included a shift from primarily two and three unit buildings to
single family homes. Initially, the developer created the appearance of
single family home construction by attaching multiple units with
underground frost walls. The Board decided during a regular meeting in
July 2003 that the original permit left room for modification, as
neither site design nor architectural design was complete at that time.
Members decided that the frost walls were no longer necessary and
waived the required 35' separation between buildings to no less than
10'. Finally, the Board required that the developer return to present
final plans for each phase of construction.
Black Rock
Development submitted minor modification requests for roadway and house
layout plans within Phases 2 and 3; however, Black Rock Development
apparently went bankrupt sometime after beginning construction on Phase
4, but before returning to the Board for approval of Phase 4 plans.
Black Rock Residential, LLC is the present owner and has operated since
acquisition in December 2009 under the assumption that all plans had
been approved by the relevant authorities. In fact, Black Rock
Development had pursued an amended Order of Conditions from the
Conservation Commission as late as 2007, but the last approved plans in
the ZBA records dates from 2005. Black Rock Residential has built out
most of Phase 4 in accordance with the plans approved by the
Conservation Commission, and in a manner consistent with the plans
approved by the Board for Phases 2 and 3. Now that it is aware that
Phase 4 was not previously approved by the Board, Black Rock Residential
is requesting a minor modification to correct the oversight, though
there are only eight units left to be constructed within the
development.
Board members reviewed the project in accordance with the Site Plan Criteria contained in Section I-I (6) as follows:
a.
protection of abutting properties against detrimental uses by provision
for surface water drainage, fire hydrant locations, sound and site
buffers, and preservation of views, light and air, and protection of
abutting properties from negative impacts from artificial outdoor site
lighting;
Lighting shall be dark sky compliant and installed at intervals as shown on the proposed Lighting Photometric Plan.
b.
convenience and safety of vehicular and pedestrian movement within the
site and on adjacent streets; the location of driveway openings in
relation to traffic or to adjacent streets, taking account of grades,
sight distances and distances between such driveway entrances, exits and
the nearest existing street or highway intersections; sufficiency of
access for service, utility and emergency vehicles;
Roadway as shown on plan.
c.
adequacy of the arrangement of parking, loading spaces and traffic
patterns in relation to the proposed uses of the premises; compliance
with the off-street parking requirements of this By-Law;
Parking as shown on plan.
d. adequacy of open space and setbacks, including adequacy of landscaping of such areas;
As shown on revised plan.
e. adequacy of the methods of disposal of refuse and other wastes resulting from the uses permitted on the site;
As shown on plan. There are no dumpsters on the plan. The development has curbside trash collection.
f.
prevention or mitigation of adverse impacts on the Town's resources,
including, without limitation, water supply, wastewater facilities,
energy and public works and public safety resources;
No Change
g.
assurance of positive stormwater drainage and snow-melt run-off from
buildings, driveways and from all parking and loading areas on the site,
and prevention of erosion, sedimentation and stormwater pollution and
management problems through site design and erosion controls in
accordance with the most current versions of the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection's Stormwater Management Policy
and Standards, and Massachusetts Erosion and Sediment Control
Guidelines.
Applicant resolves drainage issue created from roof
run-off near the end of Raynor Drive without compromising open space
usability.
h. protection of natural and historic features
including minimizing: the volume of cut and fill, the number of removed
trees of 6 inches caliper or larger, the removal of stone walls, and the
obstruction of scenic views from publicly accessible locations;
Not Applicable
i.
minimizing unreasonable departure from the character and scale of
buildings in the vicinity or as previously existing on or approved for
the site.
No Change
Vote
It was moved, seconded and SO
VOTED to grant Site Plan Approval for the application as shown on plans
entitled ”BLACK ROCK RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY PHASE FOUR SITE PLAN HINGHAM,
MASSACHUSETTS,” dated October 25, 2013 for Black Rock Residential, LLC,
prepared by Hoyt Land Survey and Hardy Engineering and plan drawing
entitled “PROPOSED LIGHTING PHOTOMETRIC PLAN,” dated November 20, 2013,
prepared by Vincent A. Dilorio, Inc., Norwood, MA and plan drawing
entitled “PHASE FOUR SITE PLAN OPEN SPACE PLAN,” dated November 27,
2013, prepared by Ryan Associates Landscape Architecture and Planning,
subject to the following conditions:
1. Lighting shall be dark sky compliant and installed at intervals as shown on the proposed Lighting Photometric Plan.
2.
Applicant resolves drainage issue created from roof run-off near the
end of Raynor Drive without compromising open space usability.
_____________________________
William Ramsey
Chairman, Hingham Planning Board
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