Providence City Plan Commission, May 17, 2022 meeting
Call to Order, Roll Call, and Director's Report
The meeting of the City Plan Commission was called to order, followed by a roll call and a brief director's report on upcoming projects. The commission then approved a motion to take an agenda item out of order, moving the third item to the first position.
Case No. 22-023MA: 279 Thayer Street
The commission reviewed a major land development project proposing the demolition of existing structures to construct a new four-story mixed-use building at 279 Thayer Street. After a presentation, staff report, public comment, and deliberation, the commission voted to combine the master and preliminary plan stages and approved the plans.
Case No. 21-031MA: 850 Manton Avenue
The applicant requested preliminary plan approval for a three-building self-storage facility at 850 Manton Avenue. The commission granted a waiver for state approvals at this stage and approved the preliminary plan with conditions regarding signage and lighting.
Case No. 22-022MA: 35 Marino Street (Unified Development Review)
The commission conducted a Unified Development Review for a proposed new three-story primary school at 35 Marino Street. The commission approved the requested dimensional variances for building coverage, impervious surface, and setbacks, as well as a dimensional adjustment for bicycle parking and the master plan.
Referral No. 3513: 159 River Avenue and Adjournment
The commission considered a petition to change the zoning of 159 River Avenue from R-3 to C-1 with a residential-only restriction to allow additional units. The commission voted to send a positive recommendation to the City Council, followed by the adjournment of the meeting.
Speaker 0
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Take something out
Speaker 1
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of order. Yeah.
Speaker 2
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To folks who are on Zoom, we're still waiting for a quorum, so please bear with us.
Speaker 0
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Alright. Gonna call this meeting of the city plan commission to order. Cheyenne, do you wanna do the role?
Speaker 3
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Sure. I'll start, and we can proceed. Cheyenne, manager card, DPD staff.
Speaker 4
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Miguel Castata. Noel Sanchez. Harry Belando. Bob Azzar, staff.
Speaker 0
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Nicole Verde. We have a quorum. Bob, do you wanna give the director support?
Speaker 2
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Not much to say, this time, only that, we're gonna keep you busy over the coming months. We have a lot of, projects that are coming in. Seems like, something new every day. Lots of zoning change requests, and more land development projects, so, stay tuned. We know we're gonna be busy in June at least.
Speaker 2
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That's it.
Speaker 0
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Alright. Commissioners, we had a request to actually take an agenda item out of order where the request chose to to move the third item to the first item, and it's my understanding they got the approval of the previous applicants. So can we take a motion to move the third item to the first?
Speaker 5
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I make a motion to move the third item to the first. Second.
Speaker 0
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Alright. In that case, we will take case number 22Dash023MA279FairStreet. Who's gonna do the intro?
Speaker 2
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I'll take this one. Okay. This is a piece of property that folks might know on Thayer Street. It's the location of the current army navy store, and this is a proposal to demolish the existing buildings on this site and to construct a new mixed use four story building. It would have two commercial units on the Ground Floor and residences on the upper floor, upper, three stories.
Speaker 2
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This is a major land development project because it is mixed use. And in this case, the applicants are requesting, that you combine the master and preliminary plan stages. Major land development projects, unlike minor land development projects, have both master and preliminary plan stages. In this case, the applicants have submitted to us everything that is required for both stages of of review. Typically, the sites the the preliminary plan has the more detailed engineering with stormwater and things like that.
Speaker 2
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They've submitted all of that at this point. So you have the authority to combine stages if you think that the application is completed, if you're satisfied with with what they present to you. What I would recommend that in this case is that, you you have the you allow the applicants to present. You will you will have an opportunity to to ask some questions. You'll hear the staff report.
Speaker 2
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We'll have public comment. And and after that, you can decide whether to, combine the stages. When when when you start deliberating, on on the item, the first thing you would do is to debate whether you should combine those two stages of review. K? Okay.
Speaker 2
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So, I know, mister Hemant is here, and if you wouldn't mind, Nick presenting from up there. And would you like me to, put the press are you gonna are you gonna be, sharing your screen? Yeah.
Speaker 4
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Okay. Great.
Speaker 2
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And please use the microphone.
Speaker 6
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Madam chair, members of the commission, attorney Nicholas Heeman on behalf of the applicant, Two Cousins LLC. With me this evening is Joe Casale, who is the project engineer who will walk you through this land development project on Thayer Street. This is a project that's been in the works for some time. What's part of the reason why we've we've asked to combine stages is we've been at this for a while. We spent a lot of time with staff, both your staff and staff and the other city departments relevant to the examination of this application.
Speaker 6
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But we've also spent some time on outreach into the neighborhood, and this is a project that we've presented, on multiple occasions to the College Hill Neighborhood Association. The design you'll see tonight is significantly different than the first design that we showed them when we first went before them. This design was presented at their last meeting as well. So we've incorporated feedback that we've heard from this neighborhood association. We've also sent this information out to the Thayer Street Business Association to get their feedback as well.
Speaker 6
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We weren't able to present this particular design, but we did send it out to to the contacts that we have there. This is a 4,900 square foot lot. It's, there are five structures, three buildings on the, existing lot as it's comprised. We're gonna demolish those structures and replace them with the four story building that we have to show you this evening. It'll have two commercial units on the 1st Floor along Thayer Street, and there will be 12 residential units on the Upper floors.
Speaker 6
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We'll have six two bedroom units and six three bedroom units. No zoning relief necessary. The project is designed to to the standards within the zoning ordinance, both from conventional perspective, but also from a design requirements as well. And we're happy to present this to tonight. We're happy to answer any of the questions.
Speaker 6
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We also have our architects here if there are questions as to, elements of the design and how we've incorporated different features into this particular project. Best way to give you a sense of what we're talking about tonight is everybody knows this is the site of the old army navy store. And, hopefully, this will be a positive addition to the community on Bear Street and be consistent with the, you know, the focus on pedestrian access, pedestrian environment, and the mixed use character in the educational institution overlay. So with that, I'll turn it over to Joe, and he'll hook you through the presentation.
Speaker 2
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I'm trying to, promote you to a panelist here, and it doesn't doesn't seem to be working. This is the JCE that's listed that's not in parentheses. I could try the other one. I don't know. You may wanna turn your turn your audio off.
Speaker 7
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Yes, sir. Yeah.
Speaker 8
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Members of the commission, madam chair, good evening. Just for the record, my name is Joe Casale. I'm a registered professional engineer with offices at 300 Post Road in Warwick. If I may just quickly go through the presentation, both architectural and engineering. And as attorney Heenan said, we do have the architects here.
Speaker 8
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Just, madam chair, where we are in terms of the community, Hope, Cushing, and Thayer, and respectfully, that is the lot assesses Flat 13, Lot 28. As we stated, it's it's just shy of 5,000 square feet entirely in your, c 2 zone and also in the educational institutional overlay district. When we look closer at the Paso, it's our intent to raise the buildings and the structures that are there. That includes a multiuse, structure, commercial building. There's also a three family dwelling and a garage in an ancillary shed.
Speaker 8
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One of the, unique characteristics of the property is that there is a common easement that benefits, lot, 29, and it's our intent to, excuse me, it's our intent to replat that easement and preserve it, throughout construction, and that we'll show that a little bit later in the design. We also understand, madam chair, that we are in, this IE zone, which requires our building to be in that zero to five foot build to zone, which you can see that the architects have done a, I think, beautiful job with this building. We are in compliance with that. As you can see, the building is, the entrances are within that. That is the architectural architectural rendering.
Speaker 8
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I think it's a great fit, in terms of the community and, the elements that they've chosen. That's another rendering looking westward, I believe. In terms of the program, you can see the floor plan has a couple of commercial units right around 3,200 square feet. They're about 1,600 square foot a unit. They all have their individual access from the the main street.
Speaker 8
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And we also have a separate entrance for the apartments as well right there to the elevator and then another separate egress and the access to the stairwell and as well as a separate access to our basement. In terms of the basement programmatically, there is area for storage about twelve hundred and fourteen hundred square feet respectfully. And then the residential floor plans, they mimic each other. There are three of residential stories, each one of them with four flats, some as small as 800 square feet and some as large as close to 900. In terms of the elevation, we are you know, we do understand that first floor height needs to be at that 12 foot parameter, or which is what we've tried to meet as well as the height requirement.
Speaker 8
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As Nick says, we're said we're not asking for any variances or waivers. This is respectfully a by right development. You can see the southern elevation, the eastern elevation, and the northern elevation. And then, ultimately, from, an engineering standpoint, in terms of the parking requirements, as you all are aware, madam chair, being a lot less than 10,000 square feet in the C 1 Or C 2 District. No parking is required.
Speaker 8
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No parking is proposed. But there is a requirement for bicycle spaces. Those 12 units, five per, and would require 2.4 or three bicycle spaces, which we are going to, provide. That'll be in the basement, in the residential mechanical room. In terms of access, we're proposing that concrete sidewalk along the southern elevation, trash receptacles in the storage area, and that's where we would like to replat that common easement, so that the Lot 29 still has that benefit in terms of egress.
Speaker 8
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That'll be a gated access. It'll have an emergency push bar. And what you've seen that just came up in the purple or the magenta is a proposed canopy. In terms of landscaping, we exceed the 15% requirement. We're proposing a thousand square feet.
Speaker 8
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We're about seven thirty nine empirically is required. We have met with the city forester and agreed to remove and replace a specific tree with a specific species, right on Thayer, which is shown. And then in terms of utilities, existing water main will be used for both domestic and fire protection, existing sewer main, for gravity sewer. We're fortunate enough to have gas right there, as well as a city drainage line in which, we'll be able to connect right in. We're gonna have a 300 amp electrical service.
Speaker 8
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We still have a little bit of coordination to do with National Grid. And then in terms of site lighting, we're proposing all dock sky fixtures, zero light pollution across the property lines. We have that photometric plan. You can see where we are just positioning those LED type lights, as as come up in yellow so that that directional lighting and, will be dot sky compliant. Lastly, in terms of lighting, there will be a small lighting strip on the outdoor that just came up right there, if you can see that.
Speaker 8
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There's our specifications. And then lastly, madam chair, as attorney Heiman said, we're here before you tonight for a combined master and preliminary. We have consulted with both DPW and engineering. We're going back and forth with, wrapping up some comments. We've met with the city forester.
Speaker 8
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We've spoken to the Bay Commission, Providence Water. And then, ultimately, should we receive approval tonight, we're respectfully requesting that the final plan be delegated to planning. I know that was a lot in one breath, but I would be happy to answer questions as would the architects if there are programmatic questions.
Speaker 0
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Thank you. Commissioners, do you have any questions? Yet. Ari, do you have any?
Speaker 5
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Well, not really a question. It I just wondered if if you guys would consider getting together with the, you know, the Fair Street Merchants Association and seeing if there was some way to work together the different stores, different buildings, work in greater units unit greater unity to deal with trash rather than just have more trash cans. I mean, I'd love to see a compact. Bottom line is, Nick, I'd love to see a compactor somewhere available to just, simplify trash collection on Bear Street, which is, a complete headache and madness. And, the the trucks can't even get down the road anymore.
Speaker 5
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So that's my little thought. I just mentioned it as a as a lonely commissioner. I ask you to give it a shot.
Speaker 0
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Noelle, do you have
Speaker 4
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any questions? Yes. Could you go over the landscaping one more time and how that means for?
Speaker 8
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So in terms of landscaping, 15% of the lot would be required to be landscape for the calculation, that street tree will qualify us in terms of square footage and actually not only meet but exceed the landscape requirements. The tree by itself. Yeah.
Speaker 4
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Is there any other permeable surface on this? The purple section or none none nothing else is permeable?
Speaker 8
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No. Nothing is permeable. So that, in terms of the, roof and, all of the roof leaders, yes, that is gonna be directed, not into a bay commission, CSO, a combined sewer, but it'll be in a, city owned drain line on that discharge. So we we recognize how tight this is in the urban area that it is in. And in our meeting with the city forester, Doug was specific in that he wanted this Japanese alkava there.
Speaker 8
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So that existing street tree is gonna be removed, replaced. And then I I believe we agreed on the the pit and the grate and so forth and so on.
Speaker 0
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Do you have any other questions?
Speaker 4
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So the proposed the size of the rooms or the apartment, two bedrooms and three bedrooms, could would this be student housing primarily?
Speaker 6
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Well, it's not necessarily student housing. Typically, we do student housing.