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TOWN OF HINGHAM

Planning Board

NOTICE OF DECISION
Site Plan Review in Association with a Building Permit
for the Hingham Municipal Light Plant New Operations Center

IN THE MATTER OF:

Petitioners: Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant

Premises: Off Bare Cove Park Drive at Map 69, Lot 44 Town of Hingham
and known as the "School Tract IV" Parcel
Hingham, MA 02043

Deed Reference: Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, Book 3961, Page 701

Date: November 10, 2014

SITE PLAN REFERENCE: HINGHAM MUNICIPAL LIGHTING SITE PLANT NEW OPERATIONS CENTER, OWNER: HINGHAM MUNICIPAL LIGHTING PLANT 350 LINCOLN STREET - SUITE 110, HINGHAM, MA 02043, PREPARED BY SYMMES MAINI & MCKEE ASSOCIATES, 100 MASSACHUSSETTS AVE, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138, Sheet T-1 Dated 4/17/14, revised to 10/17/14; Sheets C-101, 102, 111, 141, 501, 502, 503, & 504 Dated 5/8/14, revised to 10.17/14; Sheet C-121 Dated 5/8/14, revised to 11/4/14; Sheet L-1.1 Dated 5/8/14 revised to 10/29/14; and, Sheets A-3.1 & 3.2 dated 3/14/14 Revised to 10/17/14.

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS

In accordance with Section I-I of the Zoning By-Law, the Hingham Planning Board conducted Site Plan Review in Association with a Building Permit, as well as hearings on a Special Permit A3 Parking Determination. This matter came before the Planning Board at regularly scheduled and duly noticed meetings of the Hingham Planning Board on October 20, October 27, and November 3, 2014 in the Hingham Town Hall at 210 Central Street. There was also a posted site walk on November 1, 2014 held at the request of the Planning Board. Members of the Planning Board present were: Gary Tondorf-Dick, Chair, William Ramsey, Sarah Corey, Clerk, and Judy Sneath. Alternate member Dick Cook, was also present.
At the hearings the Planning Board heard testimony and reviewed application materials submitted by the Hingham Municipal Light Plant for a Site Plan in Association with a Building Permit, and a Special Permit A3 Parking Determination, with waivers if necessary, under Section V-A Off-Street Parking Regulations of the Town of Hingham Zoning By-law to allow for construction of a 24,000 Operations Center, at property Off Bare Cove Park Drive at Map 69, Lot 44 Town of Hingham and known as the "School Tract IV" Parcel, property zoned Official and Open Space.

The Peer Review Engineer for the Planning Board was Paul Brogna, P.E. of Seacoast Engineering. The Petitioners Team included Jeff Tocchio, Attorney, Drohan Tocchio & Morgan, P.C.; Paul Heanue; Peter Glick, P.E. Symmes, Maini & Mckee Associates; Jim Murphy and Gregory Yanchenko, of Helene Karl Architechts. Jeffrey Dirk, VAI, provided traffic consulting services for the project.

FINDINGS

The Planning Board made the following findings under the Site Plan Review criteria:

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.

The Board acknowledged that the proposed lighting plan was discussed in depth. They found that the applicant has taken steps to reduce light spill into sensitive areas and adding more full-cutoff fixtures would not make a difference. The lights are on timers to mitigate glare and minimize lighting at off hours. The Board reviewed the proposed condition on noise and determined that the matter of the need for self-adjusting back up alarms could and should be revisited at the time of the traffic look-back, and should be added as a condition. They noted that the repairs on the trucks are done off-site and found that the HMLP building and the topography of the DPW site will block a great deal of sound.

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;

The Board discussed the Adams Court intersection modifications and found that they seemed to go a long way towards addressing the concerns identified by the neighbors. The Board found that the site is well designed with adequate circulation. They agreed with the proposed separation of vehicle traffic on the site to segregate the commercial vehicles from the public traffic as much as possible for safety purposes. They noted additional signage on speed was not needed beyond Mr. Dirks recommendations. The Board found that the off site recommendations in the traffic report from Mr. Dirk made sense to implement, and, found that the applicant was being very generous to authorize the services of Mr. Dirk to the residents of Lincoln Hill Condominiums. The Board reviewed the language submitted in the October 31, 2014 memo from Mr. Dirk regarding the look back and agreed it should be a condition for the project. The Applicant team agreed with the language and that it would be conditioned.

Ultimately the Board identified the following conditions:
1. All utility trucks, subcontractors and box trucks as well as any commercial trucks shall enter the HMLP facility from the rear west drive.
2. The "Off-Site" recommendations for the Bare Cove Park Internal Access Road on page 32 of the September 2014 Transportation Impact Assessment (VAI) shall be implemented as practicable, as well as the supplemental mitigation agreed upon in meetings between the Lincoln Hill Condominium Association, DPW, HMLP and the Police. This includes targeted enforcement strategies, and Mr. Heanue will speak to his employees about not cutting through the residential development.
3. The Project proponent will conduct post development Traffic Monitoring and Reporting at the intersection of the public access driveway with the one-way egress from Adams Court. The traffic monitoring program will entail the collection of traffic volume data and observations of traffic flow at the intersection during the weekday and weekend, and will include the collection of 7-day, weeklong traffic volume data on the egress from Adams Court. The data collection effort will commence two (2) months after the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the Project and will continue thereafter on an annual basis for a period not to exceed 2-years. The results of the monitoring program will be summarized in a report that will be provided to the Director of Community Planning within one (1) month after the completion of the traffic counts that form the basis of the report. The report shall include recommendations for any corrective measures that will be implemented by the Project proponent should the results indicate any of the following:

i.) Motorists are entering Adams Court from the public access driveway; or
ii.) There is a material increase in the volume of traffic using the Adams Court egress.

The implementation of the identified corrective measures will be the responsibility of the Project proponent subject to receipt of all necessary rights, permits and approvals, and may include without limitation: installation, upgrade or replacement of signs and/or pavement markings; installation of traffic calming devices; coordination with the Police Department for enforcement activities; and/or public outreach.

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;

A SPA3 was applied for because this use was not specifically covered in the parking table. The plans propose 51 parking spaces to be built, with 26 additional spaces designed but not to be built initially. The storm water analysis was done assuming all the parking spaces were built so if those spaces are built in the future the drainage system will have the capacity for any additional drainage. Mr. Brogna notes in the memo of October 25, 2014 that the proposal of 51 spaces seems appropriate to support the mix of uses on site. The Board discussed the parking lot trees and landscaping and noted a revised landscaping plan had been presented. The Board found that the parking as proposed was not over-parking and was adequate.

d. adequacy of open space and setbacks, including adequacy of landscaping of such areas;

The Board found that a revised landscape plan had been submitted that increased screening and provided increased habitat value.

e. adequacy of the methods of disposal of refuse and other wastes resulting from the uses permitted on the site;

The Board discussed the 6' dumpster enclosure and that it was not a structure. The dumpster will be emptied every other week during business hours (7 am - 4 pm). The Board did not place any conditions regarding this criteria.

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;

The Board noted a memo had been received from Dave Damstra and had no further comments.

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.

The Board noted that drainage had been discussed extensively at the meetings and at the site walk. They conditioned that drainage be built in accordance with the plans and the 11-3-2014 Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission.

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: and

The Board noted that a great deal of discussion focused on minimizing disturbance and that a condition would be that the selective clearing along the way would be for sightline only. The Board also conditioned that the limits of clearing adjacent to the Adams Court intersection would be clearly marked with orange construction fence to protect the mature pine trees and vegetation, and their root systems.

i. minimizing unreasonable departure from the character and scale of buildings in the vicinity or as previously existing on or approved for the site.

The Board found that the HMLP building is at a much lower grade than the DPW building and well screened by existing vegetation. No further conditions were identified.

VOTE AND CONDITIONS

It was moved, seconded, and SO VOTED as follows:

To APPROVE the application for Site Plan in Association with a Building Permit for the Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant located Off Bare Cove Park Drive at Map 69, Lot 44 Town of Hingham and known as the "School Tract IV" Parcel, as shown on plans titled "HINGHAM MUNICIPAL LIGHTING SITE PLANT NEW OPERATIONS CENTER, OWNER: HINGHAM MUNICIPAL LIGHTING PLANT 350 LINCOLN STREET - SUITE 110, HINGHAM, MA 02043, PREPARED BY SYMMES MAINI & MCKEE ASSOCIATES, 100 MASSACHUSSETTS AVE, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138, Sheet T-1 Dated 4/17/14, revised to 10/17/14; Sheets C-101, 102, 111, 141, 501, 502, 503, & 504 Dated 5/8/14, revised to 10.17/14; Sheet C-121 Dated 5/8/14, revised to 11/4/14; Sheet L-1.1 Dated 5/8/14 revised to 10/29/14; and, Sheets A-3.1 & 3.2 dated 3/14/14 Revised to 10/17/14", with the following conditions:

1. the need for self-adjusting back up alarms will be revisited at the time of the traffic look-back.
2. All utility trucks, subcontractors and box trucks as well as any commercial trucks shall enter the HMLP facility from the rear west drive.
3. The "Off-Site" recommendations for the Bare Cove Park Internal Access Road on page 32 of the September 2014 Transportation Impact Assessment (VAI) shall be implemented as practicable, as well as the supplemental mitigation agreed upon in meetings between the Lincoln Hill Condominium Association, DPW, HMLP and the Police. This includes targeted enforcement strategies, and Mr. Heanue will speak to his employees about not cutting through the residential development.
4. The Project proponent will conduct post development Traffic Monitoring and Reporting at the intersection of the public access driveway with the one-way egress from Adams Court. The traffic monitoring program will entail the collection of traffic volume data and observations of traffic flow at the intersection during the weekday and weekend, and will include the collection of 7-day, weeklong traffic volume data on the egress from Adams Court. The data collection effort will commence two (2) months after the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the Project and will continue thereafter on an annual basis for a period not to exceed 2-years. The results of the monitoring program will be summarized in a report that will be provided to the Director of Community Planning within one (1) month after the completion of the traffic counts that form the basis of the report. The report shall include recommendations for any corrective measures that will be implemented by the Project proponent should the results indicate any of the following:
a. Motorists are entering Adams Court from the public access driveway; or,
b. There is a material increase in the volume of traffic using the Adams Court egress.

The implementation of the identified corrective measures will be the responsibility of the Project proponent subject to receipt of all necessary rights, permits and approvals, and may include without limitation: installation, upgrade or replacement of signs and/or pavement markings; installation of traffic calming devices; coordination with the Police Department for enforcement activities; and/or public outreach.
5. Drainage shall be built in accordance with the plans and the 11-3-2014 Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission.
6. The selective clearing along the drive way would be for sightline only.
7. The limits of clearing adjacent to the Adams Court intersection would be clearly marked with orange construction fence to protect the mature pine trees and vegetation, and their root systems.
5. Prior to the start of any work on land under the care and custody of the Board of Selectmen (BOS), including the way, the Applicant shall receive the consent of the BOS and provide a copy of the decision and/or any Memorandum of Understanding to the Building Commissioner and Planning Board for the files.

6. The applicant shall inform the Planning Board in writing of the name, address, business and home telephone number of the project supervisor who will be responsible for the project.

7. A copy of the as designed plans shall be provided to the planning board along with an electronic copy in PDF form and Auto Cad form. A complete drawings, copy of permits, special conditions, and any amendments shall be maintained at the work site whenever work is being performed. The permittee shall assure that all contractors, subcontractors and other personnel performing the permitted work are fully aware of the permit's terms and conditions.

8. An As Built plan shall be provided upon completion of work and prior to final occupancy permit issuance. A copy of the As-Built Plan prepared and stamped by a Massachusetts Registered Professional Engineer and Professional Land Surveyor, showing the existing roadway and all utilities, public and private, above and below grade. The As-Built will be submitted in the following forms:

i. Hard Paper Copies (minimum sheet size 22" X 34")
ii. PDF format
iii. AutoCAD (in accordance with the "Digital Submission Requirements for As Designed and As-Built Documents")
iv. Mylar
The As-Built must include all survey locations for utility service connections (i.e. service ties for water, sewer, etc.).

13. A complete "final set" of plans is to be submitted for the record.
14. the Light Plant is to clean up the surface debris at Building 14 as discussed.