May 7, 2025, Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes

building. But what they're doing is reconfiguring the driveway and rebuilding the area. They have directed the drainage to a low spot that's between the main building and the carriage house so that in the event that there's ponding, it can go over the curb and through into the garden area directly. All of the improvements that they're showing incorporate additional collection systems. A lot of the pipes they had, the owner has had all of the storm lines cleaned and scoped so that they could see where their problems are. And they're doing upgrades to that system so that this can be taken care of. Mr. Klein asked are we going to see a revised plan with the sidewalk across the frontage. Mr. Petry said they can certainly incorporate that and submit it to whoever it needs to go to. Mr. Klein asked Mr. Petry it is an option for it to be 100% valet for an event, or do you always have to have the option of people to self-park. Mr. Petry said you always have to give people the option to self-park. Mr. Klein asked is there a better way to get the pedestrians from the building to their parked car. Mr. Petry said the best parking spaces for self-parking are near the walkway in the parking lot because the walkway brings you right down to a designated crosswalk and brings you right to the front door. Mr. Klein asked are the 6 ADA spots going to be self-parked ADA spots. Mr. Petry said those are self-parked ADA spaces and they have direct access across and to the front door. Mr. Cardoza asked if this is all new layouts throughout the lots. Mr. Petry said the only lot that's new is the lot in the front. That's a completely different configuration than what's there today. Everything else is what you're looking at today. Mr. Cardoza asked if you could make off of Prospect Ave both a left-hand and a right- hand turn into this lot. Mr. Petry said yes. Mr. Cardoza asked where the little lane going up from that drive aisle lead to. Mr. Petry said there's an easement across the back of these properties because there's a driveway that goes back to the service driveway. Mr. Cardoza asked is that the current or planned main source of deliveries. Mr. Petry said yes, it will remain as the approach for deliveries. Mr. Cardoza asked have they done the turning angles for large vehicles or emergency vehicles. Mr. Petry said yes, they have a turning plan included in their set that

n as the approach for deliveries. Mr. Cardoza asked have they done the turning angles for large vehicles or emergency vehicles. Mr. Petry said yes, they have a turning plan included in their set that has the fire truck coming through this large vehicles, emergency vehicles area and out. Mr. Cardoza asked when the employees park, where do they walk to enter the building. Mr. Petry said the employees come in the rear of the building and there's an employee entrance back in the rear of the building to where their locker rooms are. Mr. Cardoza asked what's there regarding visibility or signage. Mr. Petry said the deliveries are done off hours, but employees are there for the delivery. There's building mounted lighting that lights up the whole area. Mr. Cardoza asked what is the intent of the public gardens. Mr. Petry said there will be a ground planting area that will likely be used for by the restaurant and banquet facility only and then there's going to be a delineation where people or groups can sign up and have either bins designated to them or to their group. Ms. Kapferer asked regarding the accessible route and the ADA spots, how was the number of handicap spaces calculated. Mr. Petry said they did it based solely on the parking spaces in lot B that they're touching. Ms. Kapferer asked is there enough ADA spots then for the site. Mr. Petry said when they're finished, they'll have more than there are today. When they touch lot C, they expect that they'll be providing ADA parking for the use that is here. They'll also be 22

providing ADA spaces to access the garden for those who are visiting for that purpose. Ms. Kapferer asked if Mr. Petry has a time frame for lot C. Mr. Petry said from a practical perspective, they didn't have time to design this building and design the parking lot in a reasonable time frame to get this open. Ms. Kapferer asked about drainage and how, particularly to the west, is not increasing at any point and if there won't be additional point source discharges. Mr. Petry said they're decreasing impervious by 5,000 square feet, so they're going to be reducing the overall volume of water that runs off of this site. They are also putting in new collection systems because some of the older pipes over the years have failed from either lack of maintenance or just old age. PROFESSIONALS QUESTIONS Mr. Scott asked as part of the conditions of approval, if the board so chooses to approve, will he provide revised drawings and a letter answering each of the points from Mr. Scott’s letter. Mr. Petry said yes. PUBLIC QUESTIONS Joyce Rudin at Woodland Ave asked Mr. Petry that in parking lot A, a lot of those trees that were replanted are now dead, does Mr. Petry have any plans to address that. Additionally, along the side and closer to the building, all of those plants that were planted, they're completely a monoculture and they are also dead. How will Mr. Petry be dealing with that. Mr. Petry said the tree removal and replacement plan was submitted to the town forester. They got approval to replant areas A, B, C, and D, as shown on the plan. The remaining areas are what still need to be planted around this parking lot that they're reconstructing. They lost a number of trees because it took time to get the town to review and approve the submittal that they made to put the trees in. They had trees that sat on the site for almost two months before they were able to be put in the ground. And because of the stress on those trees, they lost more than you would normally lose. But Mr. Petry said that the replacement trees to swap them out with have already been ordered. And they're just waiting for them to arrive because now it's time that they can plant again. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry how he will address the area property that the manor owns going down Woodland Avenue, that it’s not being properly maintained. Mr. Petry said there's no tree replacement proposed there,

sked Mr. Petry how he will address the area property that the manor owns going down Woodland Avenue, that it’s not being properly maintained. Mr. Petry said there's no tree replacement proposed there, and he doesn't have any information on the maintenance of that area. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry is the parking lot extending in any way in area C. Mr. Petry said the employee parking lot, which is the parking lot to the south of the building, there is no plan to expand that parking lot at all. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry is he familiar with the planting that is required inside parking lots for trees because there seem to be no islands in any of the parking lots that was created. Mr. Petry said that's not true. Mr. Petry showed on his plans presentation that they’re reconstructing parking lot C and creating planting islands within this parking lot. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry is he aware that the planting islands are supposed to provide at least 50% shade. Mr. Petry said yes. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry is he aware that after the trees were illegally taken down last year, the neighbors came out and they spoke out about flooding that is happening behind the property. Mr. Petry said yes. Ms. Rudin asked Mr. Petry is there anything that he will be doing to protect the residential neighborhood right behind the property. Mr. Petry said yes, as he indicated in 23

his testimony, they're eliminating 5,000 square feet of impervious surface on the site and replacing it with green area to reduce overall runoff from this site. e Ms. Rudin asked will the green area include trees. Mr. Petry said yes. e Ms. Rudin asked will it be enough to stop the runoff that is happening to the neighborhood right behind the property. Mr. Petry said there is a berm behind the parking lot that has 20-foot-high evergreens on top of that berm. It was installed 30 years ago by the Knowles family so that water wouldn't run down the hill from the parking lots. It can't get over the top of the berm. Conditions: e See the resolution for conditions. Motion: Chairman Bagoff Second: Mr. Guarino Alper: Y Morgan: -_ Bagoff: Y Scarpa: Y Cardoza (Alt.2): Y Wilkes: Y Guarino: Y Kapferer: -- Klein: w Mayor McCartney: Y Meeting adjourned at 11:30 PM. ADOPTED: 8/13/2025 AN Gye Jamilet Baqueri# Vite Planning Board Secretary 24