Let's do a roll call. Do you wanna go in this direction? Will you wanna start?
Will Sherry. Noel Sanchez.
Charlotte Lipshut. Nicole Verde. Chayan Mandrick, our DPD staff.
Megan DeSanto, of counsels of the CDC.
And I before we do the approval of the minutes, wanna welcome our newest member. We're very excited to have Charlotte here and have more folks to participate in state government. Let's approve the minutes from the 06/27/2023 meeting. Do I have a motion?
You make a motion to approve them.
Do I have a second? Second. Everyone in favor say aye.
Anyone against? And the minutes passed. Do we have a director support?
We do not. But before we jump into the agenda, I'd just like to say for anyone online, in case we have problems dealing with the Internet or with the Zoom, please continue to stay in the Zoom room. We will we will resolve any issues, and the meeting can come continue as normal once we've sorted things out. Thanks.
Alright. Let's take item number one, which is a major land development project for a public informational meeting. Case number 23Dash030MA108110WatermanStreet. The applicant is Walter Barnhardt.
Do you want it? Yeah. Alright. And thanks, madam chair. Let me give a quick introduction while the applicants set up.
So this is a request for master plan approval for a mixed use land development project that consists of a mixed use building with 26 dwelling units and commercial use on the Ground Floor at Waterman Street. So it is proposed to be located on the site of an existing building that is proposed for demolition. The building straddles two lots, and the applicant is proposing to merge those lots after demolition and construct the new project. And they will be talking about how the project conforms to zoning. And in doing so, they also will be requesting, dimensional adjustment for one story and 10 feet for a total height of 60 feet and five stories where the maximum height permitted is four stories and 50 feet.
So we have the applicant here, and they can tell us more.
Madam chair, members of the board, John Garrett here on behalf of the applicant. I have engineer Joe Casale and architect Oscar Ramirez here with me to talk about it, and that will be our our presentation. For those of you that have have been here, this may look familiar, and it is familiar because we did receive approval for a project that is very similar to this at 116 Waterman Street. So this is a similar project up the street on on Waterman, which has many of the same characteristics that 116 have. So we'll we'll go over those A couple of preliminary matters, if I may, madam chair.
The stenographer is here as is required to take down the transcript of the meeting, and I did provide the certificate of notice to your staff before the meeting began so that they have the notice, which was in the the Providence Journal and, notice to abutters as required by law. As I say to all my clients, make the project comply. Make the project comply. So this project is a compliant project with the zoning ordinance. It meets all of the requirements of the zoning ordinance with respect to density and and height, and I'll talk about height in a minute, and all other requirements of the zoning ordinance.
So it's a compliant project seeking 26 residential units and one commercial unit. The commercial unit is on Waterman Street, which is is is required. But but in order to comply with a with to get a zoning incentive to allow for additional story, we have the the requirement of commercial and more than 50% residential. We comply with that requirement. So what we're requesting in connection with this application is an adjustment, not a variance, not a modification, an adjustment, which is provided for by the zoning ordinance that allows for an adjustment for land development projects when you provide certain certain incentives.
the incentives being commercial and more than 50% residential. We meet that requirement. We are we the zoning ordinance allows you for two additional stories or 24 feet. In this case, we are asking for one additional story
of approximately, Oscar, 10 feet. So we're certainly within the requirements of the zoning ordinance. So at that point, and we'll be happy to answer any questions. I'm I'm familiar with the staff report and note some information in there, which we are prepared to address at the appropriate time. So at this point, I'll have mister Kasali make the presentation, and he has the PowerPoint presentation to present.
Sure. Joseph Casale, registered professional engineer, 300 Post Road in Warwick. Good evening, madam chair, members of the board, commission. Excuse me. Just for the record, my name is Joe Casale.
I'm a registered professional engineer, with offices at 300 Post Road in Warwick, and with me is Oscar Ramirez from a Heronian associate. Our Oscar, excuse me, is a registered architect. And together, we're just gonna quickly go through the presentation, and both of us, will be here to answer questions of you or members of the board.
Excuse me. I would just I'd like to note for the record that commissioner Casada has joined us. Yes.
just in terms of where we are, in the city, Thayer, Brook, Waterman, and and Phones Alley. And the first subject parcel specifically assesses, Plat 12, Lot 183. Smaller lot, a little bit shy of 6000 square feet entirely in your C 2, in IE 3 Overlay even though you'll see, madam chair, none of the project this evening, is anything in terms of educational or, institutional. Also, adjacent assessor's plat twelve, lot one eighty four, also a piece slightly smaller than 6,000 square feet, again, entirely in the C 2 And I E 3 Overlay District. The proposal is to raise an existing three story multiunit mixed use building and also to combine about 1,744 square feet with the adjacent Lot 181, Removing a couple of interior property lines, in essence, will be left with two pieces, two lots that are, one is slightly less than 10,000 square feet, and one is slightly more than 9,000.
But we're gonna focus tonight's efforts primarily on the, the 9,862 square foot lot. Again, that existing multiunit, it's about 12 units will be raised. We're cognizant of the overlay, the zero to five foot build two zone, and I'll I'll flush that out a bit little bit later in the project. You can see, madam chair, in terms of zoning, again, entirely the lots are in that c two and in the, the I e three overlay. In terms of the proposal, it's our proposal for the proposed mixed use building, five stories, 26 residential units, and one commercial unit.
I think that's a great rendering of what the proposed program will look like. As all of you may know, the difference in grade from phones to Waterman architecturally was was challenging. I think Oscar and company did a great job in the way they they fit out this building. In terms of programming, our own residential access from a in a budding lot owned by the realty company lobby, elevator. And then on that ground level, you'll see there's a program of four units.
Three of them are two bedroom, and one is a one bedroom unit. And, also, we'll be housing the trash room there, which I'll I'll flush out a little bit more later. In terms of the seller, again, own, access for the residents. That elevator is also there, and there'll be two two bedroom units, in the seller plan. And, also, we'll have the bike room there.
And, also, madam chair, we'll flush out a little bit of the requirements of the bike spaces, later in the program. Also, our utility room, the sprinkler room, and then most importantly, there's the 1,100 square feet of commercial space right on Waterman Street, with its own access right to the main, thoroughfare. The other levels, specifically, two, three, and four are typical in that they're all five unit, two bedroom, spreads as you see here, elevator, balconies on on all of them. And then the top level is a mixture of our mechanical and utility space, but we also have a rooftop barrier, solely for the residents of the building. In terms of elevation, that's the grade change that I spoke of.
You can see how, phones is is higher in elevation, by a good five feet than Waterman, and how, the architectural program had to fit into, those specific dimensions. Looking at a shadow study, that was performed, you can see that a majority of the building is out of, the auspice of any of the adjacent buildings. There are some commercial spaces that do just touch, across the street. I believe it's the Crapery and other businesses that exist right across. In terms of parking, as you know, being in a c two zone, madam chair, being less than 10,000 square feet, we're exempt from vehicular parking spaces.
Bicycle spaces are required. Five, one for every five units being 26 units. Six are required. We're proposing eight in the, in the seller plan. In terms of, I understand in the staff report, and there are prior agreements that an existing parking space dedicated to, 134 Waterman Street, needs to be provided, and we're going to put that in one of the spaces on adjacent Lot 181 also owned by the real estate company.
That is the lot that we'll be doing the administrative subdivision with combining that 1,744 square feet. You see the local traffic neighborhood map, the proximity to the bus stops, and bicycle friendly roadways. And then in terms of trash, we do have that on the Ground Floor. It's our proposal to have rolling dumpsters that will go out through an overhead door, and then ultimately be picked up on phones. That is what exists today.
Those dumpsters, that exist today, those will now be inside of the building and then will be able to be rolled out, along that access way onto the onto the alley. Overhangs, we're cognizant of and understand that, we need to ask the public works director, for approval on any overhangs into the public right of way. In terms of landscaping, we, not only meet but greatly exceed, the threshold. I believe that 1,700 square feet or 1,500, excuse me, square feet, 15% of the 10,000 square feet is needed. And so in existing, honey locust tree exist on Waterman, that is gonna, excuse me, garnish a thousand square feet.
And then with some of the proposed medium trees will be, those in your code, as you know, madam chair, 700 square feet, three of them another 2,100 square feet in a bunch of peripheral landscaping that while it's not on the list will still be robust. So we will meet or exceed the threshold of of landscaping. In terms of utilities, fortunate enough to have a cast iron water main, both an eight inch and a 24 inch, on Waterman. We'll take domestic and fire protection off of the eight. We have a CSO or a combined sewer overflow also on Waterman that will tie the sewer service into.
We have a dedicated storm drain, excuse me, as well as gas. So in terms of drainage, while all of this water currently sheet flows to Brook Street, we will continue that in the future. But most importantly, hopping back on that landscaping, we'll have a reduction in peak volumes. We'll have a reduction in in in attenuation in in peak rates, because of the landscaping and the removal of the, some of the impervious areas, that exist today on the site. We've also discussed transformers and switches.
Those transformers and switches will be able to not only deal with, the 108110, proposal tonight. It'll also handle the dwelling on Lot 181 as well as the, building at 116 Waterman Street that attorney Gary, he spoke about. It may be familiar to many of you. It's a very similar building that we were just here before you. Lastly, just to wrap this up, madam chair, as you know, we are here tonight asking for a master plan approval.
The only adjustment, and it it is not a variance or a waiver. It is, we're asking for one additional, height in terms of one additional floor because of the composition of the mixed use, including the commercial and more than 50% residential. Respectfully, the code does speak to allowing two floors. That's not our proposal tonight. It is just one additional floor.
And then in terms of where we need to go, should we grant get be granted approval tonight, we still have a ways to go with the city engineer and traffic, the forest or the bay commission, Providence Water, and then back to the plan commission for preliminary and with any luck, final plan delegated to the administrative staff. I know that was a lot. We are here though to answer questions of you or or, members of the of the public.
Is that the completion of the presentation?
Do any of the commissioners have questions for the applicant?
Can you go over the trash pickup? Are they coming in from Brooks, I assume?
so Waterman, to the to the right of your screen of Phones Alley to the left. So the trash will be adjacent. There'll be a and this will be a better picture. The trash will be coming out along that side of the building. We'll be completely housed within the building, but we will have an overhead door where the rollaways can be rolled out to Phones Alley and ultimately be picked up, and then the receptacles can be rolled back in and, housed into the building, at night.
But how how is it being picked up by the truck? They're coming in coming in from Brooks Ave and then what? Turning back around? Because that's a pretty tight tight street. I'm just trying to get a picture in my
head how that works. Yeah. So today, the way it's done is they just they just pass straight through. I don't anticipate them changing routes. In essence, the two yarders will be, left where they are today.
Only the betterment of it is that they will be completely housed, you know, six and a half days a week.
