[RP TownTalk] M-UTC update from May 4

[Alice Ewen Walker]

Here's a recap of what happened last night at the M-UTC Meeting:

Last night's report from Patriot Group:
1) Patriot showed what changes they made since our last meeting to get
feedback.  Main changes are:
building facade looks a bit more articulated with more variation than the
last design.  They definitely are moving more in the right direction
architeture-wise, in my opinion.  But still a ways to go.

2) Parking deck would be 3 stories, just under building A, not stretching
across both buildings.  They decided the issue of street closure and
building a long vault would not be worth it.  They've taken soil boring
samples to 35 ft deep and they are comfortable w/ doing a deep deck.

3) No changes in height and no step backs provided on top floors to mitigate
height.

Comments to Patriot Group from the Committee

1) building height is still an issue

2) rear facade treatment was not provided -- committee urged that rear
facades receive detailing, articulation and design attention, because the
building will be visible from 360 degrees.

3) design is going in better direction, but there is still a ways to go on
providing the level of design variation that the guidelines call for. for
instance, zoning calls for visual cues that distinguish commercial from
residential uses. there is opportunity to make building a and building b
read as separate developments, rather than one monolith, and other
suggestions were provided.

4) concerns that the commercial parking provided (19 + 6 spaces) is not
adequate to support businesses. Concerns that Riverdale Rd cannot accomodate
the 6 on street spaces provided in the plan.

5) residents expressed a number of concerns, some of which are not
design/zoning issues, but may be items that the town council will want to
make note of such as - a. will condos have an onsite fulltime manager, b.
will there be an owner-occupied requirement to prevent condos from being
rented c. general feeling that communty members want the condos to be high
quality units that enhance the town's housing stock, rather than detract
from it, d. concerns about traffic and the inconvenience that a major
construction project may cause in terms of dust, noise, etc. e. concerns
that parking current residents on Riverdale Road retain access to parking in
front of their houses. f. concerns about what insurance/liability coverage
there is for any adjacent properties that experience foundation shifts or
other problems as a result of construction.

Thanks for your interest.  We expect that there will likely be another
submission by the developer in time for the June meeting.  Next meeting is
June 7 at 7:30 pm.

By separate email, I'll send the staff comments that contain zoning detail.
These are provided to Patriot Group to guide their revisions.

- Alice Ewen Walker
M-UTC Chair
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