[RP TownTalk] M-UTC Meeting next Wed Jun 7

[Alice Ewen Walker]

Town Talkers,

Here's a reminder that next wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 pm is likely to be the
last M-UTC meeting regarding the Patriot Group's application to build mixed
use residential buildings on the Dumm's Corner properties.

Process Update:  This is not the last stop for this project, but it will be
the last stop for the zoning committee. The committee can either recomend
the project with favor or disfavor.  In either event, after that point, the
project will still  go to the county (who consults w/ the town) to seek the
'special permit process' because it does not fully comply with the M-UTC
Zoning.  It would be very unlikely for the county to approve the project if
the town council is not in favor of it. So, from a practical stand point,
after June 7, the next decision point on the project will be the town
council.

For those who have not seen the plans or tracked this topic, I'm summarizing
the main points below. You can view plans at the town hall.

- Alice Ewen Walker
M-UTC Committee Chair


SUMMARY

The project would create 144 condo units and 8,000 sf of retail, with
underground parking for 167 cars and a 19 space surface lot to serve retail
in the day and residents at night. It would replace the credit union
building, Dumm's corner and pizza, the storage buildings and the boarding
house across the street. These existing sites total 12,000 sf of retail, so
overall there would be a net reduction in retail and a net increase in
residential.

There are 4 points where the project does not comply. Item #4 is the
biggie.  I'm including the committee's comments to date in parenthesis.

1. Building B, which will be built where the boarding house and parking lot
now stand, does not include any retail.  (Considering the past use of the
parcel, maintaining all residential use for building B has been viewed
favorably by the committee.)

2. Buildings are 78' from the railroad, while zoning calls for buildings to
be 100' from the railroad.  (Since the existing buildings are closer than
100' to the rail line, this has also not been mentioned as a concern by the
committee.  The committee has called the applicant's attention to noise
standards within the zoning that will require some special grade materials.)


3. Loading area is located on Riverdale Road, vs. being accessed from the
rear.  (Since existing buildings now load from Riverdale Road, this would
not mean a change from the current practice; the site configuration will not
allow for off street loading.)

4. Building height is five stories with no step backs, while zoning calls
for a maximum of three stories in the historic core.  In non-historic core
parcels, buildings are recommended at up to 4 stories with the potential for
an additional story only if step backs are used, meaning a reduced floor
plan on the top floors. In its final application for next week, the
developer has varied the front roof line heights slightly to break up the
single line and to express greater individualization of the building
facades. The builder is using flat roofs to minimize the profile.
(Committee members have consistently alerted the applicant to the issue of
height since the first meeting.  The committee asked the applicant to
consider reducing the number of stories and/or to employing step backs to
mitigate the perception of height.)

Other comments have centered around design, materials, and parking.

Next meeting is June 7 at 7:30 pm.  After a first review, it looks like the
changes to the plans since the last meeting are modest.  I encourage folks
to attend the meeting.
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