Planning Board

City of Lowell - Planning Board Planning Board Meeting Minutes Thursday, January 21, 2021 6:30 p.m. Conducted via Zoom Note: These minutes are not completed verbatim. For a recording of the meeting, visit www.ltc.org Members Present Thomas Linnehan, Chairman Gerard Frechette, Vice Chairman Richard Lockhart, Member Robert Malavich, Member Caleb Cheng, Member Russell Pandres, Associate Member Sinead Gallivan, Associate Member Members Absent None Others Present Fran Cigliano, Senior Planner Jess Wilson, Associate Planner A quorum of the Board was present. Chairman Linnehan called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. I. Minutes for Approval January 4, 2021 C. Cheng motioned and R. Malavich seconded the motion to approve the minutes. The motion passed unanimously, (5-0). II. Continued Business Site Plan Review and Special Permit: 724 Chelmsford Street & 18 Wellman Street 01851 Evia Development, LLC and Krete Development, LLC have applied to the Planning Board for Site Plan Review and Special Permit approval to construct a drive-thru ATM building at the subject property. The property is in the High Rise Commercial (HRC) zoning district and requires Site Plan Review and Special Permit approval under Section 12.4.g(1) of the Lowell Zoning Ordinance. On Behalf: Brian Geaudreau, Hancock Associates Dimitrios Mattheos, Property Owner B. Geaudreau explained the visual exhibit of what the drive-through would look like. Sidewalks were revised. Developed a landscape plan. Created a visual of what we anticipate the canopy to look like. The bank wants the drive-through but won’t sign a lease until we have permission to build the drive-through. We found a drive-through similar to what we are trying to accomplish here, but we found a three lane representative of what we are looking to do. Two ATM kiosks. Final architectural plans will be developed for the building permit application. We can put them back before the board, or to DPD. We are trying to mirror what is out there today. D. Mattheos said that they are trying to upgrade the site. Anything done there will be done properly and according to law. Speaking in Favor: None Speaking in Opposition: None Discussion: T. Linnehan asked whether the drive-through would be attached to the building. B. Geaudreau says it would be and states that these kiosks will not be pedestrian accessible, but there are ATMS within the building. T. Linnehan asked whether there will there be landscaping to the right of the ATM when the home comes down. Will there be a lawn to the right of it? B. Geaudreau confirms there will be landscaping on the right side of the building. B. Geaudreau says it will be green areas of shrubs and lawn area. Also, landscaping to screen from the industrial building behind where the home is today. T. Linnehan asked about obtaining a stormwater permit. B. Geaudreau confirmed that they had met with Mike Stuer. They are on board with the design. Now it’s just a matter of getting the permit executed. G. Frechette discusses the circulation of the vehicles through the site. It is difficult to assess fully without having an in-house transportation engineer. He thinks there would be a problem with the flow of vehicles. B. Geaudreau says that 5 queuing spaces are required per the Lowell Zoning Ordinance. When both lanes are full of vehicles, there is still enough room to travel through the bypass lane. G. Frechette said that if it queued beyond the five cars, there would potentially be an issue. He is OK coming back before DPD. It’s not how it’s going to look, but how you think it’s going to look. He thought it was a standalone kiosk. R. Malavich said that he had the same concern about the queuing of the cars beyond ten cars and the last space next to the building. Concerns about traffic flow. Didn't realize the ATM would be affiliated with the bank in the plaza. He knows the architecturals aren’t final, but if the bank wants their corporate design on the overhead he thinks that’s something he would defer to DPD to review and see if it is appropriate for that site. If they have a problem, it would come back to us. Otherwise, he does not see any real issues. Love the landscaping, a greenspace that people can utilize. Not fenced off? B. Geaudreau said it would not be. R. Lockhart had a question about the queuing capacity. Would like more information. S. Gallivan said she thinks it would be an improvement. She believes there’s a fire hydrant where the new lanes are coming through. Have there been discussions with LFD about relocating the fire hydrant? B. Geaudreau said they would consult with LFD. C. Cheng said it would be an improvement. He has a question about lighting. He understands there is no definite design for the canopy. He wants to verify that there would be a similar type of lighting. B. Geaudreau said wallpacks on either side, and canopy lighting. The lighting is dictated by security protocols. C. Cheng asked about security cameras. D. Mattheos said it is required by the bank to have certain lighting there. B. Geaudreau confirms the number of proposed parking spaces. G. Frechette said that the final parking spot next to the canopy could be an issue. B. Geaudreau and D. Mattheos said they would remove it from the plan. T. Linnehan would like DPD to show the Planning Board members the proposed canopy at a meeting to confirm that the Board knows what is approved. G. Frechette wants to be specific in that it is an ATM. If they want an interactive kiosk, they would have to go back before the board. G. Frechette also wants LFD to grant their final approval. Motion: G. Frechette motioned and R. Lockhart seconded the motion to approve the Special Permit with following conditions: 1. The drive-through shall only contain ATMs, not interactive kiosks; 2. The applicant shall remove the parking space closest to the bypass lane at the corner of the building; 3. The applicant shall reconfigure the adjacent parking spot to be at an angle similar to the additional spots at the rear of the building; 4. The applicant is subject to final approval from the Stormwater team; 5. The applicant is subject to final approval from the Lowell Fire Department; 6. The applicant is subject to final approval of a lighting plan from DPD; 7. The applicant is subject to approval of the design of the drive-thru canopy by DPD with final approval from the Lowell Planning Board; and 8. A landscaping plan shall be subject to final approval by DPD. The motion passed unanimously, (5-0). G. Frechette motioned and R. Malavich seconded to approve Site Plan Review with the same conditions as the Special Permit. The motion passed unanimously, (5-0). III. New Business IV. Other Business V. Notices VI. Further Comments from Planning Board Members R. Lockhart said that the Historic Board did not meet in January. Their next meeting is February 8. They will be discussing oversight of murals throughout the City. Murals can add a lot of interest. T. Linnehan welcomed new Associate Planner Jess Wilson and wished her well. VII. Adjournment G. Frechette motioned and R. Malavich seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously, (5-0). The time was 7:27PM