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NOTICE OF DECISION
Special Permit A3 Parking Determination

Certified #7017 0660 0000 9961 1267

IN THE MATTER OF:

Applicant: LCB Berkshire Senior Living Holdings, LLC.
3 Edgewater Drive, Suite 101
Norwood, MA 02062

Premises: 276 Whiting Street
Hingham, MA 02043

Date: December 12, 2017

Plan Reference:
“SITE DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR: PROPOSED LCB SENIOR LIVING” prepared for LCB Berkshire Senior Living Holdings, LLC., prepared by Bohler Engineering, dated 7/20/17, revised to 11/29/17, 16 sheets.

Summary of Proceedings:
This matter came before the Planning Board on the application of LCB Berkshire Senior Living Holdings, LLC. for Site Plan Review under § I-G and § I-I and a Special Permit A3 Parking Determination and/or Waivers under § V-A and such other relief as necessary to construct a ~90,591 s.f. assisted living facility on 5.13 acres and complete related parking and site improvements at 276 Whiting Street in the Residence C District.


The application was submitted on August 29, 2017, and the Planning Board heard the application at a duly noticed public hearing on September 25 and October 30 jointly with the Board of Appeals, and, December 11, 2017 (Planning Board only). William Ramsey missed the hearing of September 25, 2017 but noted that he reviewed the recording and file, and had completed a Mullins Affidavit for the record. The Planning Board panel on the Special Permit A3 was William Ramsey, Jennifer Gay Smith, Gary Tondorf-Dick and Gordon Carr. Paul Brogna, Seacoast Engineering, and Jeffrey Dirk, Vanasse and Associates, were the peer review consultants on this project. The Applicant team included Walter Sullivan, Attorney, Lee Bloom and Ted Doyle from LCB Senior Living, Jesse Johnson, Bohler Engineering, Anthony Vivanto, Architect, David Fomato, On-Site Engineering, and Erin Fredette, McMahon Associates.

The project site is located at 276 Whiting Street the proposal is for 90 units of senior housing and memory care. The project is a rental model providing apartments with services, similar to Allerton House. This is a low intensity use. The average age of resident is 85 years old. There are 54 full time employees total, and the largest shift is 7 am-3 pm with 25 full time employees. Of the 90 units 64 are assisted living and 26 are memory care. The site is 5.1 acres and is already mostly developed. There is a grade change of 12-13’ from front to back which lends itself to providing a walk out at the rear. The building has a footprint of 46,500 square feet and is 2.5 stories tall. The wastewater treatment plant is at the front of the site and there are 60 parking spaces proposed. For landscaping there are 80 trees and 400 shrubs proposed. A sidewalk is proposed along Whiting Street. The applicant has already met with MA DOT about the permitting required for the project. There are three major improvements for traffic related to this project. First, the trip generation is lower than for the current garage and farm use combination. Second, the site access is being consolidated and finally, the driveway is located where there is the maximum site distances at the crest of a vertical curve. The team met with DOT about the access permit and no significant issues were raised regarding the design. Mr. Dirk explained that there would only be the equivalent of one vehicle every 3 minutes added to Whiting Street as a result of this project (15-20 vehicles in the peak hours). Sightlines are adequate – both the stopping sight distance, and the intersection sight distance. This means that cars can safely stop for vehicles exiting the site, and cars can pull out of the site without interrupting traffic on Whiting Street. During the hearings the Board reviewed several revisions of the plans, and, received comments letters from Jeffrey Dirk and Paul Brogna regarding the adequacy of the proposal and suggested conditions to be considered with any approval. The Board reviewed the drainage, landscape screening, and circulation internal to the site in great detail. The Board received and considered extensive public comment on the proposal also.

Special Permit A3 Review Criteria:
1. The parking is sufficient in quantity to meet the needs of the proposed project;
• Yes. The applicant is proposing 60 parking spaces. The ITE parking demand (.48 spaces/bed*90 beds) results in ~44 spaces. As such, the 60 spaces exceeds the design standard and thus should be sufficient to accommodate the predicted parking demand of the project.
• Applicant should provide additional fencing and screening along the parking field on the north west property line to prevent headlight glare impacting the abutters..
2. Pedestrian access and circulation has been provided for;
• Yes. Jeffrey Dirk has reviewed the pedestrian circulation and crosswalks, and in his review letter of 9/22/17 indicates no further responses are required.

3. New driveways have been designed to maximize sightline distances to the greatest extent possible;
• Yes, as noted in the 8/30/17 letter from Jeffrey Dirk.
4. It is impractical to meet these standards and that a waiver of these regulations will not result in or worsen parking and traffic problems on-site or on the surrounding streets, or adversely affect the value of abutting lands and buildings;
• Not Applicable.
5. The granting of relief is consistent with the intent of this By-Law and will not increase the likelihood of accident or impair access and circulation.
• Not Applicable.
Decision and Vote:
It was Moved, Seconded and SO VOTED to APPROVE the Special Permit A3 Parking Determination for LCB Senior Living to permit the project with 60 parking spaces, as presented at the hearing and shown on the plans titled “SITE DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR: PROPOSED LCB SENIOR LIVING“ prepared for LCB Berkshire Senior Living Holdings, LLC., prepared by Bohler Engineering, dated 7/20/17, revised to 11/29/17, 16 sheets, based on the findings and subject to the following conditions:

1. Any change in number of parking spaces being provided will require a modification of this approval.
2. Applicant shall provide additional 4’ fence and screening along the parking field on the north west property line to prevent headlight glare impacting the abutters.
3. Applicant shall provide a cut sheet of the fencing proposed to the planning staff prior to building permit.

This Decision shall not become effective until (i) the Town Clerk has certified on a copy of this decision that twenty (20) days have elapsed after the decision has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk and no appeal has been filed or that if such an appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, and that (ii): a copy thereof has been duly recorded in the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the owner of record.


_____________________________
Jennifer M. Gay Smith
Chairman, Hingham Planning Board

In Favor: Gay Smith, Tondorf-Dick, Ramsey, Carr
Opposed: none

Cc: Town Clerk; Paul Brogna, Seacoast Engineering; Building Department; Assessor; ZBA; BOH; R. Fernandes; T. Molinari; S. Dempsey; S. Girardi, HMLP; Police Chief; Fire Chief; Fire Prevention; DPW, Walter Sullivan; Jesse Johnson, Bohler; S. Olson, Aquarion.


NOTARIZATION


EXECUTED this _____ day of December, 2017


Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Plymouth, ss December ____, 2017

Then personally appeared Jennifer M. Gay Smith, Chairman of the Hingham Planning Board, and acknowledged the foregoing to be the free act and deed of said Board.


_________________________ My Commission Expires: October 29, 2021
Mary F. Savage-Dunham, Notary Public