City Council - Zoning Committee

City of Chicopee City Council Zoning Committee Accepted 8-28-2024 Members George Balakier, Chair Gary Labrie, Vice-Chair Samuel Shumsky Timothy Wagner Robert J. Zygarowski MINUTES July 31, 2024 The following are the minutes of a public hearing held Wednesday, Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at 6:30 PM in the Chambers, 4th floor, City Hall Annex, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013 and via Zoom. Members Present: Balakier, Labrie, Shumsky, Wagner, Zygarowski Also Present: Timothy Reilly (Associate City Solicitor), Lee Pouliot (Planning Director), Chris Casali (IT) The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM In compliance with the Open Meeting Law the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting. Kristen Rivers was recording the meeting. Item #1 Zone Change application Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay for the entirety of property located at 0 Chicopee St. & 445 Chicopee St. (Parcel ID 0442-00091 & 0442-00090) adding the Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay for the purpose of a proposed residential development. Applicant – Chicopee Property Management, LLC c/o Risa Teall, 112 East St., Granby, MA 01033 Rebecca Lee from R Levesque Associates was present at the meeting representing the applicant. She stated that the Planning Department recommended that the applicant apply for the Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District that is before the committee. Councilor Balakier provided the following information: This application is being revisited this evening from the May 29, 2024 Zoning Committee meeting. At that meeting a motion was made to approve the zone change request from Business A and Residential A to Residential B. The zone change request passed at the June 4th City Council meeting. However, the Overlay was referred back to committee and is being heard this evening. He continued that under the Overlay district there is no by right use but rather the development would have to go through the Special Permit process. This would allow for a mixed use. He continued that there have been some 1 recent Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay districts approved in the City; the old Belcher School, East Street Masonic Temple, Assisted Living Center next to the senior center. Councilor Balakier read the recommendation of the Planning Board regarding this application. The Planning Board met on May 2, 2024. It was split vote but they did recommend approval. Councilor Balakier read the following from Chapter 275-67 A purpose Purpose. The purpose of the Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District is to promote the economic health and vitality of the City by encouraging the preservation, reuse and renovation of underutilized or abandoned industrial properties and commercial centers through mixed-use development that includes compatible industrial, commercial, municipal, and residential uses. 275-67 L Action by the City Council. The City Council may grant a special permit for a project if it determines that the proposed project complies with the requirements of this section. The City Council shall consider the following when making its determination: (1) Degree to which the proposed project complies with the performance standards set forth in this section; (2) Suitability of the site for the proposed use(s); (3) Social, economic or community needs which are served by the proposal; (4) Impact on traffic and pedestrian flow and safety; (5) Adequacy of utilities and other public services; (6) Impact on the neighborhood visual character; (7) Impact on the natural environment; (8) Potential fiscal impact, including impact on City services, tax base and employment; and (9) Special permit evaluation criteria as set forth in Chicopee City Code, § 275-9. Lee Pouliot stated the following: this is an overlay district, which is a type of zoning that sits on top of base zoning. The overlay district sits on top of that as another layer. In this case, the overlay district just offers a potential developer an opportunity to permit a different type of project through a different pathway. They can either use the base zoning, which in this case now is residential, B, which allows for single family and duplexes, or they can propose to the City Council a mixed-use project through the Mill Conversion Overlay District. There are no by right uses in the overlay district. They are all special permit uses, meaning the City Council has the discretion to decide if the project is appropriate and therefore should be granted a special permit. To be clear, just because you apply the overlay district to the property does not mean you are obligated to approve any proposal that is submitted to the Council with a special permit application it gives the Council the opportunity 2 to review and have a discussion, and determine whether or not the proposal is appropriate for the site within its context, within a neighborhood. He read the following from Chapter 275-67 C This is section C on applicability. Applicability. The Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District may be superimposed over any other district established in this chapter, subject to an approved zone change in accordance with the provisions of Chicopee City Code, § 275-14. Land in the overlay district may be used for any purpose permitted in the underlying district and is subject to the underlying district restrictions. Exercise of Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District regulations is subject to a special permit from the City Council in accordance with Chicopee City Code, § 275-9 through 275-13, and the additional submission requirements described in this section. Lee continued when we talk about base zoning, all base zones have by right uses. So in the case of residential B, it's the single-family homes on 7,500 square foot lots or duplexes on 10,000 square foot lot. There are no by right uses here. Everything is approved via the special permit. However, there is a significantly different review and application process. If this property is developed under residential B, it would likely be an ANR plan to subdivide into lots, that is endorsed by the Planning Board and then individual building permits for each lot to build a structure. In this case, there would be a very significant application process where a plan set that would need to be submitted that includes specific plans for the development proposal. The traditional site plan, requirements, a special features plan showing unique qualities of the site that are being integrated into the design, preliminary landscape and architectural design plan showing the location, scale of buildings, typical elevations, their height, their bulk and appearance, prospective drawings of how the development would fit into the neighborhood, exterior lighting plan, including building and ground lighting, their location supports mounting heights and orientation, floor plans of the interiors of each of the buildings, if there are multiple, and then there's also a requirement to submit a near a narrative report. That narrative report, at a minimum, must provide a project summary, a development schedule, a historical narrative, if there are any listed historic structures that are being redeveloped, details of erosion and sedimentation controls subsurface soil and water conditions that impact the project. A traffic impact study impact to the public sewer system, impacts to the city water supply and distribution system, impacts to municipal and government services, including schools for projected net tax and other revenues anticipated as compared to municipal costs for servicing the property. If the developer is proposing an entity that's going to manage the site, they have to know what that's going to be when they apply. Any easements, covenants or other restrictions that are required to construct the project and then any other information the Council deems necessary for it to make an informed decision. This is a very detailed review process that the Council goes through before considering granting a special permit for a project under here. Public Input Mike, owns 192 Empire Street, rebutted an earlier statement regarding the zone change from A to B. At the May 29th meeting, there was a lot of flip flopping going on and it was actually denied on the first round. And Counsel was asked if the committee changed their mind in the future could you do that. Counsel replied that yes you can. Taxpayers are asking that that zone be pulled from zone B back to zone A because there was a lot of flip flopping going on. Article 257 was mentioned. A comprehensive plan do we have one? There is no information. The zone change should be consistent with the area. Zoning it B isn’t consistent with the area. Daniel Slowik, 32 Cora Avenue, stated there are some prerequisites on the overlay. There is some inconsistency, first designated river front redevelopment district. This does not fall into. Specific scope of the overlay. The intent underutilized or commercial center. This was never a commercial center or industrial property. It was a 3 simple florist. How are apartments going to be allowed if the underlying district is Residential B which only allows single family homes and duplexes? This neighborhood is single family homes. Why would we destroy this? Infrastructure will not handle another complex. Carol Sliwa, Cora Avenue, stated that the purpose of Chapter 275-67 is clear. It stipulates in there that it's underutilized or abandoned, quote unquote, industrial properties, which it never was. And commercial centers, which this never was. There's nothing that defines what a commercial center was and trying to equate a small family-owned florist business had a very small storefront, that was not even part of a strip mall. And trying to say that that was a commercial center. Is just defies logic. And now you're trying to repurpose it for something that it never was. It is not appropriate. It would be subject to legal challenge because there's no way that that meets that definition. Number two, what everybody is concerned about is density in this district. We have two very densely populated housing complexes at the other end of that street already. So the concern with the density here is that you've already got two. We have traffic and congestion problems already. There have been people, pedestrians killed on the sidewalk in that area, right, literally diagonal across the street from Westover Florist. And you're going to compound those issues. And no matter how many guardrails you put on it, this is not an appropriate place for another dense housing complex. When there are already two there. This would make us probably one of the densest quarter mile in the entire city, if you put another one in there. Risa Teall, personal representative to her mother's estate. That property since 1965 has been commercial. When they put 391 in the traffic flow changed, and therefore it was difficult for the business to survive. We have been paying taxes on this property. We had problems with the paper road. We've been doing everything we can so we can sell this property. We do not have plans. We just want to sell it so we can close the estate. My mother died three years ago. We're still dealing with this. They just want to sell the property. Then the new owner can do all the planning and do whatever they have to do to make that property something that this community can benefit from. She wants closure. Mark Kristev, 150 Empire Street, stated that the petitioner does not live in Chicopee. He loves Chicopee and cleans the street every day. On the east side part of Empire Street it’s all heavily dense apartments. Empire Street is used as a cut through. Wants to protect the neighborhood and home. Andrey Girich, 147 Empire Street, a few years ago Family Dollar tried to go into this area. This area has had gun robberies. It’s starting to be high crime area. Plaza isn’t needed. Agrees to single family homes. Motion made by Councilor Zygarowski and second by Councilor Balakier to close public input. Roll Call: Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion passed. Councilor Wagner stated that last time he voted against the Mill Conversion, and he will again this time. He somewhat agrees with the resident’s comments. There is somewhat of a lack of understanding or compassion. 4 He’s fine with leaving it Residential B and taking other options off the table. This is poor Urban American planning where there is too much focus on cars, and we don’t think of people that need homes. People need places to live. Higher density housing needs to happen and it’s happening everywhere except in the US. Councilor Labrie stated that he voted for the Mill Conversion Overlay and now that he hears that the petitioner is just trying to sell it and not trying to develop it, he’s willing to keep it Residential B. The residential B stays as the base zoning. Lee Pouliot stated that the Council would just be adding the second layer to it. So anyone who buys the property, can apply the overlay district, they would have the option of doing a residential B project by right, or asking and proposing to a special permit through the overlay to do something different. If you deny this and someone buys it in two years, before the two-year cooling off period, they will have to wait, if they wanted to propose something that wasn't single families and duplexes. To apply the overlay district, the only difference would be that maybe they have a conceptual plan of what there’re doing. But from a marketability standpoint and being consistent with both our comprehensive plan and the brownfields planning work we've done with Willimansett, looking at something that is mixed use in nature, would advance the planning work that we've done for this neighborhood. So just to be clear, again, you're not wiping away the residential zoning. This just sits on top of it. The family has been making an effort to market this, for many years as residential, or business zoned. Business uses arguably have higher value in the marketplace because there are higher level uses that would generate revenue faster for a developer. And it hasn't moved. In speaking and working, with Risa and her family, with our Willimansett Brownfield neighborhood plan and with our comprehensive plan, they have done a great deal of work to try to make this property marketable, including demolition of the greenhouses in the back, environmental cleanup work from some of the past agricultural practices. The family has made a great deal of effort, but I think you're hitting on something critical in this marketplace. Getting 5 or 6 lots out of this might not be something that a developer can cash flow with, the way the things are priced right now. It may just sit there longer. So the question is, do you want to try to limit this to single families and duplex, or do you want to be open to considering something else that might cash flow for a developer? The Council can still say no because it's a special permit. Councilor Wagner asked Attorney Riley if the committee denies the overlay tonight that for 2 years someone could not reapply. Attorney Riley stated that the committee is just a recommending body. The City Council would actually have the vote. So the August 6th meeting would be the meeting. And if the Council votes it down, then, the petitioner can't reapply for this for two years. Councilor Wagner asked, What if they sell the lots and it's a different person? Attorney Riley replied, doesn't matter. Lee Pouliot commented that the Council is only being asked to apply the overlay district. So I would challenge you if someone did buy it and said I want to pursue a mixed-use project. That individual is not going to invest probably $50,000 to put together site plans and a narrative report to simply apply for application of the overlay district. They're going to want that before they invest the money in the design and engineering of an application for a special permit. Don't get caught in the idea that someone who wants to do a project here is going to fully develop plans in support of application of the overlay district, that's a massive risk for a developer. 5 Councilor Wagner stated when that he’s aware that there's no application before the committee. No one is going to spend $50,000 just to put in the application for the mill conversion overlay district. I was asking the procedural question on if it matters if the property changes hands, and do they need to have submitted something in the first place for a two-year clock to start ticking in the first place? He was asking clarification on that. Motion made by Councilor Labrie and second by Councilor Balakier to approve. Roll Call: Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion failed. Item #2 Special Permit application under Chapter 275-63.1(D)(2) for the purpose of a warehouse and manufacturing facility with associated site improvements located at a portion of 0 Robbins Road (Parcel 2B) (Map & Parcel ID 0109-00001). Applicant – Trafa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., c/o Mr. Shahid Habib, 140 Padgette St., Chicopee, MA 01013 Jessica Lee, R Levesque Associates, and AJ Crane, A Crane Construction, were present at the meeting along with Shabid Habib. Jessica stated that the application is for a special permit for the use of a manufacturing and warehouse facility on lot 2B on the Chicopee River Business Park. Plan shows us a building, 100,000 square foot building in two different phases. Phase one will be 50,000ft². Phase two, which will be completed shortly after another 50,000ft². The facility will be accessed via Robbins Road, via two curb cuts. The rear of the building will have some loading docks for pickup and deliveries. We are proposing a stormwater basin to meet the requirements for, stormwater specifically designed for the requirements of the original, stormwater report for the business park. AJ Crane stated that there was a negative determination by the Conservation Commission. At the SPRAC meeting there was very little comments. Reports read from the following: Health Department – No concerns at this time Engineering – The Engineering Department will perform a full review of the site plans and drainage computations as part of the SPRAC. A SPRAC meeting with the applicant is scheduled for 7/18/024. Building – no comments 6 Planning – Property is zoned Garden Industrial Planned Unit Development Type II (IPUD); proposed use described as “warehouse and manufacturing facility”, a principal use allowed by Special Permit following determination that “such use can be integrated into the accepted development scheme and surrounding developed area”; abutting parcels are IPUD Type II and Residential A; and Planning recommends approval; if approved, the project will require both preliminary and definitive site approvals from the Planning Board in addition to a possible filing with the Conservation Commission. Lee Pouliot stated that this special permit request is because the proposed project is a two-phase project. The first phase being a 50,000 square foot, warehouse distribution facility, the second phase being an additional 50,000ft² split between additional warehouse space and production. Because the first phase is warehouse and distribution, and the project does not meet the definition of last mile courier and logistics, it requires a special permit from the City Council prior to advancing. The special permit is exclusively for the use of this property that is in this business park, with unique zoning, to start as just warehouse and distribution facility. AJ Crane stated that all the infrastructure and parking lots will be built as part of phase one. Phase 2 will be all indoor. No noise, very clean, no known odors, compress pills. What they do is warehouse bulk product of individual ingredients that go inside pills and supplements. They warehouse the gross ingredients in big drums and then they wholesale smaller quantities of that to people that make pills and supplements. Shabid Habib stated that they currently have a warehouse in Chicopee at 140 Padgette Street. The proposed use would be warehousing. They will house raw materials in powdered form. Second phase is light manufacturing. Councilor Zygarowski asked how many employees will work at this facility. Mr. Habib replied 25-30. Motion made by Councilor Zygarowski and second by Councilor Balakier to close public input. Roll Call: Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion passed. Conditions Permit to run with the land The project will require both preliminary and definitive site approval from the Planning Board in addition to a possible filing with the Conservation Commission Motion made by Councilor Labrie and second by Councilor Balakier to approve with conditions. Roll Call: 7  Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion passed. Item #3 Minutes – June 26, 2024 Motion made by Councilor Zygarowski and second by Councilor Balakier to approve. Roll Call: Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion passed. Item #4 Adjournment Motion made by Councilor Zygarowski and second by Councilor Balakier to adjourn at 7:55 PM. Roll Call: Councilor Yes No Absent Abstained Out of Chair Balakier X Labrie X Shumsky X Wagner X Zygarowski X Motion passed. 8