Somerville Somerville Planning Board 08-21-2025

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Meeting Title: Somerville Somerville Planning Board 08-21-2025
City: Somerville, MA
Date Published: 2025-09-12

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AI Disclaimer: Summaries and transcripts above were created by various AI tools. By their nature, these tools will produce mistakes and inaccuraies. Links to the official meeting recordings are provided for verification. If you find an error, please report it to somervillecivicpulse at gmail dot com.

Time & Speaker	Transcript
SPEAKER_15	Good evening everybody this is the August twenty one twenty twenty five meeting of the planning board of my cap you on on the chairman of the planning board with me tonight is our clerk. Our members, Lynn Richards, Luc Schuster and Michael McNeely. The planning board has a quorum. Pursuant to the act chapter 2 of the acts of 2025, this meeting with the planning board is being conducted via remote participation. A video recording of these proceedings is available on the city's website and emailing planning board at some of the gov. This meeting is being recorded and we have a number of items on our agenda tonight. We'll get through them. With with all deliberate speed. So, 1st, on our agenda is minutes approval for July 17, 2025. Does anybody have any suggested revisions to the draft minutes of. July 17 yeah.
SPEAKER_19	Thank you Mr. chair. I just had a. Quick question on the meeting minutes. Under the general business, it says there's three lines, and in every single line it says, following motion by Chair Capuano, seconded by Acting Chair Aboff, the board voted unanimously to approve the meeting minutes. I just wanted to double check to see whether the acting chair is necessary in this case, since you were, I believe, also present during that meeting. Should be the vice chair.
SPEAKER_13	Yeah, Steve carry this. That should say that should say vice chair.
SPEAKER_19	Okay, thank you. Mr. chair and thank you Steve.
SPEAKER_15	And John, just so, you know, with Amelia's a absence tonight, you are the acting vice chair.
SPEAKER_19	Understood Thank you. Mr. chair.
SPEAKER_15	So, let's make that correction with that correction. Anybody else have anything we would like to add or revise. Okay, seeing none, the chair moves to adopt as amended the draft meeting minutes of July 17, 2025, seconded by Jahan. Steve, can you call the roll?
SPEAKER_13	Jahan Habib? Aye. Michael McNeely? Aye. Lynn Richards?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Luc Schuster? Aye. And Michael Capuano? Aye.
SPEAKER_15	Hi, we have minutes what I'm going to do is take up a few things out of order. So, 59 street has requested a continuance to September for the chamber was to continue that agenda item to September for seconded by John Steve. Can you call the role?
SPEAKER_13	Hi, Michael.
SPEAKER_09	Hi.
SPEAKER_13	Lynn Richards, Luc Schuster. Hi, and Michael.
SPEAKER_15	All right, the agenda item is continued. I would like to bring up 379. some will have it is my understanding that. There's not yet been a meeting or discussion between the staff and this particular applicant as the planning board had suggested last time. But I'm hoping that the applicants representative can fill us in and I'm assuming we're going to need another couple of weeks.
SPEAKER_23	Yeah. So, you know, it's always a tough time of year, you know, August, but we had requested a continuance and, you know, waiting for planning staff to get, and as soon as we do, I don't think it's going to take very long. So we're hoping that it's all ready to go for the next planning board in two weeks.
SPEAKER_15	And just for the record, can you just introduce yourself?
SPEAKER_23	Apologies. I'm so sorry. Attorney Ann Vigorito on behalf of the applicant for 24 Broadway Somerville.
SPEAKER_14	Okay. Um, and our next meeting is September 4. do you want to continue as to them? Or do you want later than that?
SPEAKER_23	September 4, you know, if obviously, if we still need more time, we'll ask for further continuance. Sure.
SPEAKER_15	Okay. Um, Jay moves to continue to September 4 for 379. some of the Avenue 2nd to buy Jahan Steve. Can we have a roll call?
SPEAKER_13	Hi, Michael McNeely.
SPEAKER_09	Hi.
SPEAKER_13	Lynn Richards. Hi, Luc Schuster. Hi, and Michael. Hi, thanks very much.
SPEAKER_23	Thank you. I'll see you a little later tonight.
SPEAKER_15	You might not be waiting too long. The next thing we're going to take up is 44 white street, which is going to be just like that.
SPEAKER_23	I'm back. Yes.
SPEAKER_20	Miraculous.
SPEAKER_23	And I have attorney on behalf of the applicant. I have extremely little to say, because this is for a waiver. It's not a public hearing. I don't want to waste the board's valuable time. I'm going to hand this right off to my favorite traffic engineer. Steve.
SPEAKER_13	This is Steve Carey. I'm going to promote Mr. Siragusa to panelist.
SPEAKER_15	And Steve, just to be clear, we also have a representative from mobility in for staffs.
SPEAKER_13	That's right. Yeah. Greg is here from ability. If you guys have any, any questions you can, he sees he's on hand.
SPEAKER_15	Yep, yeah, I always want to take both the, the applicant and staff's position before we.
SPEAKER_00	um vote if we can so i appreciate that all right good evening can everybody hear me okay yes sorry you cut in and out uh really quickly uh as i was being promoted panelists so i'm not sure if i missed anything there um okay i i just i don't want to hear from you and also from uh from the city staff so Stephen Serragusa, Sure, so my name is Stephen Serragusa, I'm with Bowman Consulting, we are in 350 Miles Standish Boulevard in Taunton, Massachusetts. Stephen Serragusa, So we prepared a couple of Stephen Serragusa, couple waiver requests and to get a So for parking utilization, we submitted a study on that, and we also submitted a memo to kind of just help understand what the parking situation is in this area of Somerville. I know we've had some back and forth with mobility and trying to kind of uh come to a consensus on you know what to present um and how to present it and i'm more than happy to answer any questions about anything that we've submitted and i know i'm sure greg will have some comments as well and i'm more than happy to discuss as needed thank you i i appreciate that um
SPEAKER_15	So, we, we have a, you know, waiting for a, for a, and I would love to get the. Weigh in of our mobility division as it relates to this project, because as attorney said, this is not a public hearing. This is a request for usual requirements for for an application. So.
SPEAKER_18	um hi everyone uh greg hennepin uh transmission planner in the mobility division So, as Stephen said, we have been having some discussions about this project, and they have applied for a special permit for parking relief to exceed the maximum allowed number of vehicle parking spaces in the zoning ordinance. This is a project in the Mr. Four district in a transit area, and a half. It's a residential project, and point five vehicle parking spaces are currently allowed per dwelling unit. It's a a three unit building. So uh half of three 1.5 so as not to exceed the maximum uh requirements the uh isd has made the termination that one vehicle parking space is what is currently allowed under the zoning ordinance um so typically uh as it's written in the submittal requirements in order to as part of the special permit application to exceed a parking maximum. A Tis is required, and what we would typically look at in this type of situation is a parking utilization study is usually the the study that we um would request for the surrounding area because this is in a transit area and residents of this building are not eligible for on-street parking permits in this specific case uh The mobility division does not feel that parking utilization study of the surrounding area is relevant to the determination of whether a parking maximum should be exceeded because residents would not be able to utilize that parking under the current zoning regulations. Christopher McConkey, So the mobility division doesn't feel that there is a transportation study that can be provided as support for exceeding the parking maximum, so we are in support of the applicant requesting their waiver.
SPEAKER_15	Right so we've got the applicant asking for a waiver for the report. We've got the mobility division in support of that request. Does anybody on the planning board have any comments or questions? Of the applicant or of staff as to again, this is not the, the application for the building. This is not the application for the special permit. This is the request to to, to, to wave a certain requirement to submit something to the city in order to get to the next step. It seems to me as a both sides are on the on the same page and I. I would be in support of waving this particular requirement because the city doesn't believe it needs it. Um. Let's have some any, any questions or discussions by. The board, if if at all.
SPEAKER_14	Okay.
SPEAKER_15	Seeing none, the Chair moves to waive the requirement for a TIF report for 44 White Street, seconded by Jahan. Steve, can you call the roll, please? Jahan Habib?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Michael McNeely?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Lynn Richards?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Luc Schuster? Aye. And Michael Capuano? Aye. Okay.
SPEAKER_23	Thank you chairman couple on all members of the board. We hope to see you soon for a public hearing.
SPEAKER_15	Okay, so you in the next couple of weeks, we will say, and we have you for for more things.
SPEAKER_23	No, I just, I'm all done. So you're here for the evening.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you. Go home have a have a have a have a cocktail. Next up 199 Elm street, which is a continuance from the previous meeting. So if we could have 199 Elm Street, please be unmuted. Please have the folks promoted as necessary.
SPEAKER_13	This is Steve Carey. I'm promoting Paul Miller and Pablo Picker, two panelists. And Pablo, let me know if there is anyone else in attendance that should be promoted.
SPEAKER_11	Hey, Steve, I think you cut up. You got Paul. Oh, and Curtis should be out there. Is Curtis there as part of our landscape architect team?
SPEAKER_13	I will promote him as well. Great. Thank you.
SPEAKER_11	Let me know if I should jump in. Very good. Good evening, Board Chair Capuano and board members. Good to see you guys again. Just a quick introduction. My name is Pablo Picker. I am the developer at the site 199 Elm Street. Two weeks ago, we had a great discussion in presenting the plans for this project. We spent the last couple of weeks addressing some of the requests that the board made at the last meeting. We think we made some good progress and we're looking forward to sharing those tonight with you in the public so I'm going to pass it off to Paul Miller who's the principal architect on the project and uh and looking forward to the discussion afterwards thank you thank you thanks Pablo um good evening everyone I'm Paul Miller as Pablo just said
SPEAKER_16	Christopher McConkey- principal at neighbor architects leading the design team on 199 elm street and happy to be back tonight to present some updates in response to the comments we received two weeks ago. Christopher McConkey- So i'm going to go ahead and share my screen. Christopher McConkey- let's see it says. Christopher McConkey- Sharing needs to be turned on.
SPEAKER_13	Steve Carey I did just give you permission, so you should be able to share.
SPEAKER_16	Christopher McConkey- Perfect Thank you Steve. okay can everyone see my screen okay terrific okay so um just a quick recap um for those who are joining tonight and maybe weren't at the presentation two weeks ago um the proposed project is a four-story building on an mr4 parcel near davis square in somerville at 199 elm street The proposed project includes a ground floor commercial space and three floors of residential apartments above with a mix of unit sizes. Our design started with the idea of preserving this mural and kind of lot line windows on the neighboring cafe revival and stepping the building back to create a small entry courtyard in the front that would give access both into Christopher McConkey- Our commercial space at 189 LM and also the residential lobby. Christopher McConkey- And then above the building picks up on that stepping idea and steps two more times to create space for. Christopher McConkey- balconies for each of the street facing units, and so the overall kind of design ideas here were a clear kind of base. of the building that picks up on the scale of the context, the neighboring cafe, and there's a couple other restaurants down Elm Street. And then above this sand or buff colored brick that recalls the kind of brick you see throughout Davis Square. and an oblique view kind of showing the lot line of the building. You can see that we broke the upper massing into three distinct pieces by splitting the building with the stair tower and putting a glazed blue brick on that. And that helps break the scale of the building down into apartment-sized pieces. And so Those design ideas we want to use to inform any other design decisions that we make. In the last meeting, we heard from the board that they would like to see a public art or a mural component on the building, as well as some articulation at the top of the building. So we're going to show a few different ways of achieving those things today, and then we'll tell you what our preferred option is. Okay, so here is option one. Christopher McConkey- The same front elevation i'm going to zoom into it to show the details here, so this this for the at the top of the building we're showing two. Christopher McConkey- rows of soldier course brick and then an aluminum drip CAP and the kind of black accent color you see down at the base and on the balconies and then there's also a precast concrete lentil over the windows. um and you can see on the stair tower we're showing a mural this is just a placeholder when the project moves forward we anticipate that we would be working with a muralist we met with a local muralist this past week who did some work at revival and started a conversation so we feel really good about adding this kind of public art component to the project and we feel that the Christopher McConkey- Putting it on the steric tower integrates it really nicely with the architecture and it becomes kind of part of the architectural concept of the of the project. Christopher McConkey- And we also this is going to be our preferred option we like the subtlety of this we like that it the building is still read through its massing. Christopher McConkey- This idea of having these vertical kind of apartment sized pieces across the front of the facade to break it up. this cornice and lintel concept enhances that design idea. We're going to show you two more ideas just for kind of as a counterpoint. This scheme has a more distinct cornice on the top, shown here in a kind of black aluminum, which again, the color of the balconies and the commercial base And it is that cornice steps along with the massing and is aligned to the sides of each of those vertical upper massing pieces of the project, which is in contrast to this next scheme where the cornice is continuous across all of the upper massing. Christopher McConkey- So this one starts to break apart that reading that we that we want to make sure that we have in the design of those distinct kind of vertical parts of the upper the upper massing. Christopher McConkey- And then here's those three options next to each other, just for comparison so again, we would like to proceed with option one. Christopher McConkey- And that's all the way prepared tonight we're happy to take any questions or comments from the board.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you very much. Sorry, I was finding my mute button difficult. I have my thoughts on, first of all, I appreciate you coming forward with a couple of different options. I have my particular preference and some thoughts, but I would love to hear my colleagues' thoughts. So I think I saw Lynn's hand, despite not being a yellow Simpson's hand,
SPEAKER_10	I can do. There we go.
SPEAKER_14	I just did it and hand and bend it. Let's go.
SPEAKER_10	Thank you so much for integrating the mural on the revival side of the building. Love the blue love the vertical aspect of it. Love that. You talk to a muralist. I was also hoping that you would do a mural on the other side as well, because that's a big, big blank wall.
SPEAKER_16	I think we're right.
SPEAKER_10	Yeah. So I go ahead and put it in the conditions. But I did want to, to do I did want to kind of ask on that other big, big blank wall.
SPEAKER_16	Yeah. Thank you for that. I'd like to let Pablo respond to that. And then I can throw my two cents in about design as well.
SPEAKER_11	um yeah thank you remember richard uh yeah we we actually had a uh earlier today, just kind of preparing for the meeting and that we had that same discussion. That's the plan. We would like to do that. We kind of, we didn't show that view just because it didn't seem to be needed. But yes, we feel like the mural should kind of wrap to the other side. You know, that coming down Russell and that view with the site next door being set back so much, that's Despite the tree there, we actually had a conversation with the muralist around the tree. It's not on our site. Obviously, we don't want to be cutting down trees, and regardless, it's not our property. But this particular muralist, whether she's the one that does the project or not, she said, it's totally fine. We actually looked at shots of the tree in Google Earth when it didn't have leaves. She said, totally fine. We can integrate something really nicely on that side. We're in agreement and would be happy with that condition.
SPEAKER_10	Lindsay Bass- Excellent Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_16	John Potter, yeah and then from the design side I think it's the same, you know the idea of the stair tower breaking down the scale, the massing is the same on the. John Potter, North side of the building, and so I think it's it would be excellent and. John Potter, we're excited to see that become part of the project.
SPEAKER_15	John Potter, Then anything else.
SPEAKER_10	Nope, I'm good. Thank you.
SPEAKER_15	Okay. Michael's got his bot Simpson hand up. Let's go.
SPEAKER_26	that's right thank you mr chair um so i'd like to express you know excitement about these designs to really appreciate that you're providing all these options i'm definitely not the expert here so i'm not gonna weigh in too hard on these three but i appreciate that you're taking uh the comments to heart and trying to work on a great project here um i want to follow up on two items uh that both the the vice chair and i brought up at the last meeting the first one being um basically if you've given it any more thought about how to handle the unit mix. I remember right off the cuff you expressed that you had spent a lot of time thinking about it and that you didn't see a pathway to increase the number of bedrooms. And so I wanted to follow up on the Vice Chair's ask to maybe get a little bit more creative about accessibility as maybe a good fallback option.
SPEAKER_16	Sure. Would it be helpful to talk about the constraints on the project that make a three bedroom challenging?
SPEAKER_26	I mean, honestly, I kind of am going to trust you guys on this one. You guys seem to have spent a lot of time thinking about these constraints and concerns. And so I'm not too worried that you're kind of lying to us or anything like that. So if you want to jump right to explaining as to whether or not we can start including some more accessibility features, I think that would be a more prudent use of time personally. But I welcome the board to say otherwise.
SPEAKER_16	so the project is required by code to for all the units to be group one accessible are you um are you talking about uh group two accessibility yes okay um pablo do you want to speak to that yeah we can start um
SPEAKER_11	Thanks, Michael, for bringing the conversation back to that. So just quickly, in terms of the unit size, we don't want to spend too much time on it, but just to give context to the approach to the project from the beginning. The very beginning, we had versions of this building with one bedroom and studio. And as a team, we had discussions very early on about, can we get three bedrooms? into this, or can we increase the bedroom count? And it's just given the width, the two staircases, we would end up essentially with like a 2,700 square foot, three bedroom unit, which just seemed kind of not helpful generally. It seems like way too much space for those types of bedrooms. So these two bedroom units, we, we like put a lot of emphasis as opposed to come in with, you know, more one bedrooms. We kind of said, okay, these are really nice, generous two bedrooms. You know, I have personally, uh, uh, me and my partner have a daughter. Uh, an apartment with two bedrooms is more than enough for like our family. So that was just contextually like the approach to try to make this work, not try to maximize, you know, this kind of development from a financial point of view, um, So bringing it back to the accessibility, I mean, I think that what we discussed as a team is that it starts to get a little bit difficult to make a group two work. If we're talking about one unit, I know that as a team, we discussed that group two gets triggered at 20 units. And I think at the minimum, it's 5% of those 20 units. in that kind of bigger development totally makes sense to me to even push that five percent to something bigger in a smaller development with you know with this unit count it starts to feel challenging to make all of those conditions work you know within, for example, if we take the approach of one unit, it feels really challenging and we've looked at that. I can let Paul speak more to the architectural and spatial issues, but with regards to the circulation in the bathroom, the kitchen, the balcony going out, the door being zero threshold, it starts to feel tough to take that on on this development. of course, open, you know, to the conversation and push back. But we discussed it and felt like it was kind of too big of a burden on such a low unit count. And given that we did a lot of, you know, put a lot of work to try to make these two bedrooms to cater to, you know, not big families, but families, felt like we were trying to kind of find that balance. Those are my thoughts, but open to... to come, you know, more conversation. And Paul, please feel free to jump on that.
SPEAKER_16	I'll just add a little bit. Generally speaking, to change a group one unit to a group two unit, the bathrooms get a little bit bigger and the kitchens have to be modifiable so that you have knee space underneath the sink and the cooktop and the space between the sink and the cooktop. And so, you know, we're talking about special cabinetry And then the spatial challenge is a tough one on a tight site. Like making one unit have a bigger bathroom means that there could be plumbing transfers and the layouts shift from one floor to the other. And Pablo was starting to hint at this as he was talking. It is difficult to do in a small building, which I think is why the code is written in the way that it is, where that threshold is 20 units where the group two um requirement kicks in um and so yeah i will just highlight again that the building is going to provide group one units um all the for all the units and we also have an elevator going up to the rooftop for the amenities space so that will all be accessible as well And so I think we're just talking about the level of accessibility here and whether or not the kind of financial cost of upgrading to a group two unit for one unit is, you know, appropriate for this project, given the scale and the tight site.
SPEAKER_26	that's helpful um so look again you know i do appreciate that you guys did uh come to us with a two-bedroom mix right you're right you definitely could have tried to come with a bunch of studios and one bedrooms and that would have been extremely disappointing so i do appreciate that you guys take you know a little bit of effort to to move this more towards something that is addressing you know the the family-friendly shortage that i think we have um you know still a little bit disappointed there's no way to work in a three bedroom but understand that as well and i think that's why uh vice chair buff and i are kind of hoping that there's a little bit more flexibility on this subject because to your point you know that cost is real right and it definitely would be expensive for someone to undertake on their own if they were to modify this assuming they've got the ability to do so in the case of say a condoization right um so you know i do think you're highlighting a challenge that uh a class of folks in somerville have and that's why we want to continue to advocate as this being a potential solution for improved diversity of housing stock for folks so um you know it's definitely not something that i think would hold up the project in my view but would love for you guys to continue to think about this as as you guys look forward at more projects and If you guys do pursue bigger and bigger projects, I'm going to hold you to that, trying to push beyond whatever the code is in the future. So thanks for highlighting that. The second thing, Mr. Chair, if you don't mind me hogging the floor a little bit longer, was to talk a little bit about the vault in the front again. So I know that was a topic that we brought up as a point of concern just because of the water table nearby and wanted to know if you guys have any other comments to add to that discussion at this point.
SPEAKER_16	we don't there's been no suggestion from um the engineers who we've been working with that there would be an issue with the um below grade vaults okay well then uh to the rest of the board i would like to at least propose the idea of adding an amendment um such that if
SPEAKER_26	There is a trigger in the vault and a material way that it brings a project back to the board for review. Because I think that could fundamentally change this project in a big way. And I'd just love to see it again at that point.
SPEAKER_15	Okay, without being an architect or can I ask you what that means?
SPEAKER_26	So I think what i'm worried about Yeah, and and look I i'm not an expert here either. What I'd be worried about is when they bring that above ground, that it materially impacts the interaction of everything in the front there, whether it be the cafe or the entrance and exit and egress with the residential access, how it impacts You know their central theme of spot adding a spotlight to the revival mural and I just want to make sure that if there's something that material that we've got a chance to take a look at it again.
SPEAKER_15	Is this can I can I bring Stephen real quick just to. Have staff position on this. Who is who is the case point on this one Steve is it you.
SPEAKER_13	It's not me, I believe it is kit luster. I believe we have here. Okay. Yeah, there's there we go.
SPEAKER_15	Hey, can I ask you what what staff's position is as it relates to. Michael's question, and as you've spoken to other city departments on this.
SPEAKER_05	Yes, just so I understand it is, Michael, are you asking that if the transformer was not able to be underground that it would have to come back to the board and you would want that in the decision? Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.
SPEAKER_26	Pretty much, yes.
SPEAKER_05	Okay. It's my understanding that that would trigger a plan revision that staff would either determine to be a major amendment or to be de minimis if that were to happen either way.
SPEAKER_15	let's say this then, Michael, if you're willing to take it, let's make a determination right now that this would not be a deminimus change if it needs to come back so that we will have an opportunity to review and revise any conditions that we might have.
SPEAKER_26	Yeah, I'm okay with that.
SPEAKER_11	Also, if I may, I mean, I think fundamentally the project doesn't work if that transformer has to be brought out you know, in some kind of, um, on the, uh, you know, in the facade, like it, I mean, we're just, we're in, we're in another, as a team, like we're in another realm at that point. So I think that we're from the beginning, like, yeah, our, our intent is to make that work because it's, that's the way this project benefits, like the community and the neighborhood. It's just amazing.
SPEAKER_15	nuts to bring the transformer there so we're fine i mean i'm anticipating papa that won't be the case um i think what michael's trying to do is make sure that we have the opportunity to take a look at it if if if it doesn't work out 100 i think we're all rooting for you uh and making sure that everything works the way it's supposed to supposed to work you guys have um Always worked very, very well with with this board and in your project. So, you know, I, I don't, I don't see you as somebody who's trying to skirt. You know, anything that's under the planning board's purview. So.
SPEAKER_26	Yeah, and if I'm a mystery, I definitely echo that. And as I highlighted the last me as well, I think you guys are trailblazing on the gas availability for the restaurants here and everything. So really appreciate you guys bringing this project.
SPEAKER_15	Michael, is that everything you wanted to raise on this is on this application? Yes, Mr. chair. Thank you. Okay. Anybody else. Uh, things are switching around. I see Luke.
SPEAKER_08	Thanks Mr. chair couldn't find my Simpsons hand. I just want to say I missed the last meeting, but watch the video for this project and. Pulling up my notes. 379, so just want to say, I submitted the affidavit on that so I can participate in conversation, but I don't have anything else to add.
SPEAKER_15	Much appreciated. Thank you. John, do you have anything on this? I will say this can we go back to the to the 3 options? I will be the only 1. Expresses a preference. Um. You guys have said option 1, I will tell you, I am not an architect. I took some design courses in college over at gundall and I was all well and good. And who cares? But I will just tell you, I am not a fan of option 1. I think the top looks kind of naked and as a guy's lost a lot of his hair look somewhat similar. So, I will be more in favor of options 2 or 3 kind of either 1. the other thing that I'm kind of noticing and I'm wondering Paul, I think this is your screen. Can you bring us back to the. Bigger facades of options 2 and 3. Sure, and do all of them have the piece on top of the window? The articulated piece on top of the windows. They do not. Option one and option three have that. Is there a reason option two didn't?
SPEAKER_16	We liked it. The option two compositionally without it. Again, trying to really let the minimalist massing here do the talking for the architecture as much as possible.
SPEAKER_15	I'm not going to get too Deep into a fight with a previous member about. Window sizing at 1 point, and I'm not going to do the same thing to you guys. But I always liked the idea of having an articulated top of the window, but that's that's just me. I personally like either 2 or 3. I think it gives a little bit more definition to the top of the building. If the intent that you all had was to make it a little bit more minimal, I think 2 probably meets that more than 3. So, with, I think what you're stated. um preference for the design of this building is to be a little bit more minimal um of those two i'd i'd say you know option option two works better for me um in what i would like to see as well as what you think your stated design for the um for the building is but anybody has anything that like that i see yeah thanks like take all the ornamentation away give me a box
SPEAKER_10	No, I, you know, as an urban design professional, I actually preferred option one. And I can tell you why. I like the articulation of the sandstone above the windows, but I liked the subtlety of the lines up top. It, to me, it carried, the same type of articulation that you see from the from the from the ground up. Like you've got that revival. They pulled in the same coloring and the same thickness from revival on that first floor. And then the windows actually are framed with very light and then light, you know, light framing and then at the very top of the articulation kind of carries that through. right so to me it flowed a little better um i can't even tell you how much i'm in love with the blue railing um and and that design element so for me michael i when they that's why i didn't you know i i think this is kind of outside the purview of the planning board you would know that better but to me they liked option we do this all the time but just you know i i don't want to get too
SPEAKER_15	too deep in but we we we do talk design quite a bit but since you went with option two or three and you're like well no one's gonna offer an opinion it's like oh i got an opinion go for it that's why that's kind of why i said i was i was hoping somebody was gonna give me something um then the the only the only comment i have on your thought i i appreciate the the way you're looking at it is you know revival might not always exist as revival exists so i'm looking at this as a you know 50 years, 60 years, 70 year building, knowing that what's next door might might change. Substantially in any period of time.
SPEAKER_10	Yeah, as I, in addition, additionally, architectural trends will will change. Like, we've all seen those terrible buildings of the 19 seventies with no windows. Right? And it's like, ah, take it down. Yeah, no, I agree with you, but, you know, one can hope that whatever replaces revival and more importantly, whatever goes on the left side, as I'm looking at it, you know, we'll pick up some of these architectural features or not. It's, you know, the more unique and variety, the more interesting the walk. So...
SPEAKER_15	I'm certainly not going to vote against this project because my preferred little hop design isn't supported by you, Lynn. I think this is a great project. I don't want to hold you guys up too much. Pablo, yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_11	I just wanted to throw a couple quick things in. I think in the rendering, the soldier course at the top is not showing as well as it will in reality. I think that that, because Chirikopwana, we had as a team also that context of, or this conversation of a cap and kind of a hat on this, something that kind of terminated. But I think like we all kind of followed Paul, this was like Paul's, Paul put a lot into this from the beginning. And I think we could feel as a team outside of Paul, his reluctance to us driving this kind of cap version, because I think Paul's vision from the beginning was this kind of this verticality. And so I think the soldier horse kind of has this nice in-between. It kind of creates a little bit of this like, at um you know some termination again it's to everyone's opinion but it's subtle and just speaking with in terms of the windows i think for sure we're going to have those those stone lintels articulation on the windows i think the other version we talked as a team that we're going to have this kind of funky metal termination that i think won't look as good i think that this version Again, wherever we land on the top, but this version of the lentils as a stone or precast is a lot more successful. So, anyways, I just wanted to give that.
SPEAKER_15	You sold me. We're good. Anybody else have a problem with option one? We can. Okay. I think we're good to go. Anybody else have anything they would like to add? Okay. Thank you all for the indulgence. Of course. Okay, we have a couple of votes to take on. This 1, so let's go following public testimony review. This has been a materials and deliberation of the required considerations outlined by the ordinance. I moved to approve with the conditions as outlined in the staff memorandum and discussed by the planning board, the site plan approval to develop a general building in the district. Seconded by. Steve, please John.
SPEAKER_13	Michael McNeely?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Lynn Richards?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Luc Schuster? Aye. And Michael Capuano?
SPEAKER_15	Aye. Following public testimony, review of the submitted materials and deliberation of the required considerations and findings outlined by the ordinance. I moved to approve of the conditions in the staff memorandum, and as discussed in the planning board, the request to establish a residential housing use of the 4 zoning district. 2nd, by Jahan Steve. Go.
SPEAKER_13	Johanna. Michael McKinley.
SPEAKER_09	All right.
SPEAKER_13	And then Richard's. Luke shuster and Michael.
SPEAKER_14	All right.
SPEAKER_15	Okay, last 1 following public testimony review this minute materials and deliberation of the required considerations and bindings outlined in the ordinance and to approve with conditions in staff memorandum. And as discussed by the planning board, the request for a mechanical penthouse height, exceeding the 10 foot maximum in the district. 2nd, it by John. Steve.
SPEAKER_09	Hi.
SPEAKER_13	Michael McNeely hi Lynn Richards hi Luc Schuster hi and Michael Capuano hi congratulations good luck thanks thanks board members thank you thank you everyone have a good night thank you okay um
SPEAKER_15	I'm going to bring up 74 Middlesex next. I'm going to step away for about 30 seconds. So just let the applicant get squared away.
SPEAKER_20	Let everybody share their screen and I shall be right back.
SPEAKER_13	This is Steve Carey. I am promoting Darren Baird, the panelist. And then Darren, once you're joined, if you could let me know who else on your team you'd like promoted.
SPEAKER_12	Sure thing. Good evening. Anthony Galluccio should be promoted as well as Charles Spivey.
SPEAKER_13	Great. All right. They both should be joining shortly.
SPEAKER_12	I try to share. Is there if I try to set up a screen share now so that we're ready to roll when the chair returns?
SPEAKER_13	Yep, that's fine. You should have. Yeah. Yep. Great.
SPEAKER_20	Yep.
SPEAKER_15	And with 74, middle sex, before we actually get started, you know, what this is technically a new case. Can I have you read into the record the notice of public hearing please?
SPEAKER_19	Absolutely Mr. share. Seventy-four, Middlesex Avenue, 74M property owner LLC seeks to install nonconforming wall signs in the Assembly Square Mixed Use District, ASMD, per SCO 7.4.9.B, which requires a special permit, ZP25-000076.
SPEAKER_15	Could the applicant's representative and team, if any, introduce themselves and.
SPEAKER_02	Let's get going. Hey, good evening, everyone. This is Charles Spivey. I'm on the asset management team here at Graystar. We have Darren Baird here and Anthony Galluccio as well as council. So today we are seeking special permit for the building identification signage. It's located on the north, south, and west building entrances at 74 Middlesex. Darren, if you want to go to the next slide, just give a quick kind of overview of 74M. Yeah, so 74M is a 15-story, 525,000 square foot lab office building located in Assembly Square. The building achieved certificate of occupant, or excuse me, substantial completion in September of 2024. And we are wrapping up final construction in the neighboring civic space currently. So I will turn it over to Darren, who will talk about the request today.
SPEAKER_12	Great. Thanks, Charles. Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the planning board. We'll try to be brief here. So we are here tonight to talk about three specific signage locations on the building that are above the south, north, south and west entry doors on the building. And they are property identification signage. So while they're wall signs, they don't technically comply with the wall signage requirements, which are really meant to be tenant driven. and occupant driven right but we think it's important way finding for the building and so here is just in all three of these signs are exactly or all three of these property identification signs are the same it's a 74m as shown on the screen here this is above the south entry which faces the kensington avenue civic space which abuts the property and i'll i'll zoom out to a site plan that reorients folks i know we've been here a couple times but uh you guys see a lot of cases um and so it's really a 74m with a circle adhered to um you know the glass above the doorways and here's the south elevation view of it this is also the south here's the civic space to to plan left is the civic space at kensington and there's the there's the signage there above the door on the north side this is along the graph highway same thing you know five foot diameter circle with lettering that says 74m and then on the west side at the bike room entrance um same thing five but you know five foot diameter circle with 74m in the middle as shown graphically on the site plan here's the building at 74 middlesex here's the kensington avenue um civic space and the building signs are on the south side here north side here and west side here so here really as as detailed in the staff memo in our application there are a couple of there are a handful of instances of non-conformity first You know, under Article 10.8 of the of the ordinance, the wall signs are really address identification. They're not for a ground story business. And so that's technically a way that these wall signs don't comply with a letter of 10.8. They're also here to the glass curtain wall above the entry doors. And as a technical matter, wall signs are not supposed to be adhered to windows or any architectural element. They also provide property information and don't contain a business name or logo, which technically is not permitted under 10.8 for wall signs. And they're located at the three separate entrances. So each tenant in a building is allowed to have one wall sign, unless they're a corner tenant, and then they can have two. Here, this isn't a tenant, right? This is building identification signs. So we technically don't, aren't, you know, having signage in connection with a tenant. um and then finally can i ask you a question do you already have signage up the signage is already up and it was installed because we thought it was wayfinding it wasn't in property identification not technically a sign and so isd pointed out that yes it's signage and they would like us to come in and try to get you know get relief necessary to be able to maintain it So that's why we're here this evening. It was not, you know, had we had we realized it was signage when it was put up, we would have been here first. But now we're here. So, yes, it is up in all three of those locations. Um, I think last but not least is the diameter of the sign as a technical matter. The you know, the the diameter of the circle that encircles the 74 M lettering is 5 feet instead of 4 feet, which 4 feet is the maximum height of a wall sign under 10.811a of the ordinance. Again, that's the extent of the circle. The lettering is much smaller than four feet. And so we're hoping that the lettering is really what the focal point is and not the circle. So that's what we're looking for from the standpoint of James Rattling Leafs, Changes I don't want to see variances but changes from what is otherwise required under 10.8 to be able to maintain the signage. James Rattling Leafs, We think that the signage is very helpful from a way finding perspective and fits with the aesthetics of the building and. James Rattling Leafs, You know, as detailed in the staff memo think that you know all the findings under 15.2.1. for a special permit as well as 7.4.9 are findings that the planning board can make favorably in order to allow for the special permit to be granted. So I really don't have much else. These are the required findings. I know you guys are familiar with them. They're outlined in the staff memo. So rather than continue to go on, I guess we'll open it up to questions from the board. If you guys have any, happy to answer them. And that's it.
SPEAKER_15	The only thing I would ask right now is if there is a representative from or from staff who might be able to talk about this application before I open up public testimony, because it is a public hearing and then planning board can get.
SPEAKER_13	Thank you Steve care here. I was the case planner for this. We don't have a representative from here tonight. But from what I understand about it, it's, you know, it's. as the applicant described it as consistent, you know, they there was their understanding that this wasn't this is way finding out a wall sign. And as soon as ISD flagged it as something requiring relief, they, you know, filed filed their application accordingly.
SPEAKER_15	And Steve, just so I'm clear, the the only real condition that that staff recommends that you recommend through staff and the administration is to make the sign four feet instead of five feet.
SPEAKER_13	Right. Right. That's that's one of the there's a few different sort of aspects of the sign ordinances is nonconforming with. And I think that staff's recommendation is to go from the five feet to the floor because it seems like it would be the most straightforward way to have a wall sign that's closer to compliance with the ordinance, whereas sort of the content and location where
SPEAKER_15	we're comfortable with can i well while i have you steve um actually you don't get to go anywhere tonight um how is this not a de minimis change i think that um if it were you know just a conforming wall sign that weren't
SPEAKER_13	originally part of the um original approval we could look at that and say this is you know there's clearly de minimis um compared to you know in the scope of what was approved um but because it's non-conform because it's something that requires a discretionary approval um despite it being Reasonably small in scope, it still is subject to the board's review because it's because of the discretionary permit and not like a revision to a, um. You know, a previously approved plan.
SPEAKER_15	Yeah, it gives me some context and how I'm looking at this done. So I appreciate that. Does anybody else on the board have any comments or questions of the applicant or staff before I open up to testimony? Seeing none, what I'm going to do is I'm going to open up this public hearing to testimony for anybody that wants to speak in support of this application. Please raise your hand, little button, and I'll call on you. Anybody that wants to speak in support. Going once, going twice. Seeing none, I'm going to close that portion of the public hearing. And open it up to anybody who wants to speak in opposition to the application. Going once going twice. Okay, seeing none, I will bring it back to members of the board. Anybody have anything that they would like to address? I see Luke.
SPEAKER_08	Thanks, Mr. Chair. Just confirming the back and forth you and the team had just a couple of minutes ago that the signage is already up, right? The language in our agenda talks about it as a future thing, but that's just the sort of legalese of the agenda. And to me, I'm asking because this does feel somewhat material. On the margin, you know, I guess going to four feet would be better, but if it's already up, it does feel to me like it's so minor. I don't have a major concern with it staying. Um, so I see some heads nodding.
SPEAKER_15	So the signs are from what the applicant said that the stuff's already on the building.
SPEAKER_08	Yeah, you know, it's just hard. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01	Yeah, I didn't want to Mr. chair it. If it was, if it would be helpful, because I, we didn't want to. hide the bouncing ball you you hit it right away mr chair and luke uh member schuster they are up they are affixed um if it was a matter of reducing we would although i would say because they're wayfinding um we think they're the appropriate sign it's actually as darren attorney baird said it's just the circle that goes outside the four feet But as you know, if you've pulled up to one of those blocks, it is the way to distinguish that building. And we think it's helpful to assembly in general to have the address identified. So I can't say we would easily make them smaller if they weren't affixed, but because they're not, it makes it a lot more challenging for us to change the design and we would appreciate um consideration from the board obviously gray stars worked hard to get the building up and we're hoping to get it occupied but um and we apologize that that it came in this way but it they are up and affixed already again that's that's helpful one final question for me is um again i'm inclined to just think all of it's okay as is but i am curious
SPEAKER_08	Could the circle just come down? And is that one of the options on the table, keeping the 74M or whatever, and the circle comes down and then all of a sudden it's complying on the size front?
SPEAKER_02	So within the vestibule, there is hardware that kind of backlights the sign that it's the same diameter as the existing circle. So yeah, we could take the window vinyl off, but that kind of design intent would have to be reworked.
Unknown Speaker	OK.
SPEAKER_08	It's all for me. Thanks.
SPEAKER_15	to me originally i was like oh god somebody did something they weren't supposed to do and now they're coming for forgiveness instead of permission what the hell are we doing and then i'm like okay the circle is a few inches too big and am i really going to hold your feet to the fire for having a circle that's slightly too big and that's to me silly um i i actually in looking at this now i think this probably should have been a de minimis thing that shouldn't have come before the board, but it is something that did come before the board. I don't care. You guys are fine in my book. This is a little bit silly, and looking at the window based on this graphic, a smaller sign would have looked weird on that window.
SPEAKER_14	So, yeah, fine by me. Okay. Anybody else?
SPEAKER_10	I agree with you, Michael. I also think, you know, the Boston Globe has just done a story that highlighted this building, like lab buildings are underutilized. I really would like to, you know, support these guys to get tenants versus fussing with signs. So I agree with you, Michael.
SPEAKER_15	case of the oversized sign um okay following public testimony review of the submitted materials and deliberations of the required considerations and findings outlined by the ordinance i moved to approve um the staff memorandum but as modified to allow this five foot circle uh because the staff memorandum recommends a four foot uh diameter Um, so we're, we're planning what I think is is uniform and saying, we don't. Need you to modify the shape of the sign. Um. The request to install or keep installed non conforming wall signs in the assembly square mixed use district. 2nd, and by Jahan Steve.
SPEAKER_13	Johanna. Hi, Michael McNeely. Hi. Lynn Richards. Luc Schuster and Michael.
SPEAKER_15	Hi, I just want to say, if if the modification that you would already put in with a resign or something else that was so different from what we had permitted, we might have looked at this differently. There is a, there is a building that I still want to rip the brick facade off of. I won't tell you which building staff knows which one it is, but this is this is not that. So. we thank you thank you very much thank you uh Mr chair and board have a good rest of the summer we appreciate it thank you you as well okay uh last up is 3 Craig Street slash 675 Somerville Avenue um as the applicant team are getting unmuted and shared I will ask John to read into the record that notice of public here.
SPEAKER_19	absolutely mr chair 3 craig street 675 somerville avenue 675 somerville llc seeks to develop a general building in the mr3 zoning district which requires a site plan approval zp25-000016 675 somerville llc seeks to establish a residential house use in the mr3 zoning district which requires a special permit
SPEAKER_13	zp25-000017 thank you mr chair okay and do we have an applicant team and everybody who can be shared unmuted all the good stuff this is steve carey i just promoted adam dash to panelists and adam if there's anyone else from your team that i should promote please let me know
SPEAKER_25	PB, John Gerstle:" Indeed, Sir Alexander for Ellis Sylvia shell doll and paxton shell doll they may be on one together or not. PB, John Gerstle:" Christian mania. PB, John Gerstle:" And Krista Lucas. There we go. While we're doing all of that, Attorney Adam Dash representing 675 Somerville LLC, who's the applicant and owner of the property. Alexander Varelis is here from 675 Somerville LLC. Sylvia Ilya Sheldahl and Paxton Sheldahl, the architects from BOS Urban Architecture. Christian ammonia is from offshoots is our landscape architecture firm and Krista Lucas from Howard stein Hudson the traffic engineers also here, so what we'd like to do here if we could give Sylvia the opportunity to share slides that would be fantastic. So while we're doing that, we are here tonight regarding reposed redevelopment of the property known as 675 Somerville Avenue and 3 Craigie Street, as it sits on the corner. This, there you go, this is the gas station and auto body shop, auto shop, I'm sorry, shown in the photograph there, which is at that corner. And it's been in the Varelis family for generations. This is near Porter Square. The proposals to demolish the existing structures and build a new three story 14 unit building with commercial space on the first floor no car parking is being proposed and no car parking is required. The applicant if we go to the next slide Sylvia. Uh, the applicant is seeking, um, there goes a summary of the project and words. The applicant is seeking site plan approval to construct a three-story general building in the MR3 zone and a special permit for the residential housing use in the MR3 zone. That's the only relief we're seeking. We're going to be taking up both of those relief requests together tonight for you and our expert team will now show you the project details. I'll turn it over to Sylvia.
SPEAKER_21	There we go. Can you hear me? Excellent. And just want to double check that you're seeing a full slideshow and no comments or notes.
SPEAKER_15	Right now we're still seeing the project narrative.
SPEAKER_21	That's right. Perfect. Mariana Alegre- Well, good evening for Members check upon our neighbors Thank you for letting us show this project like Adam was saying i'm just going to maybe reiterate some of the features. Mariana Alegre- we're developing a three story all electrical mixed use general building featuring commercial space on the ground floor rental housing units. On the ground are ADA and the upper floors. We have a studio within MI Free Zoning District. Project of the year is to all criteria specified in the Somerville zoning ordinance, including 14 rental units. To contribute to Somerville housing stock, we offer seven two-bedroom units and five one-bedroom units and two studios, with two of these units designated as affordable according to Somerville zoning ordinance.
SPEAKER_15	So can I introduce you, interrupt you real quick? Which two, if you know, are going to be designated as affordable?
SPEAKER_25	Yes, Mr. Chair, that's a matter we're going to be discussing with the housing division. I believe there's a condition to that effect being proposed requiring us to work that out. There are going to be two units of some mix or match, and we'll have that discussion if and when we get approved. Sure.
SPEAKER_21	So moving to our sustainability narrative, the project, again, no motor vehicle parking. It will not add to traffic. It will not promote adding fossil fuel burning vehicles to the city. We are filling in all the existing curb cuts and that will increase pedestrian safety. The project will comply with green score requirements. We will remove the current motor vehicle used on the site. The orientation of the building will allow for better cross ventilation of the units. The project is pursuing a HERS certification for projects under 12,000 square feet of residential to meet the standards of the Specialized Energy Code. and will promote the goals of Somerville Pollinator Action Plan with pollinator-safe planting. So just a quick overview of the site. Located at the corner of Craigie and Somerville Lab, the site is served by two bus lines, 83 and 87. We are within the half mile radius to Porter Square. This is, again, that corner. We're going to be walking a little bit to the right to see the abutter to Fort Evenson Street side. You're going to notice there is a fire escape. There's a prescriptive easement to accommodate this fire escape. Going around, this is the back of the lot abutting 5-7 Craigie Street. And now we're going to be flying a little bit, looking from above all four sides. This is to the north. to the east, to the south, and the west. You can see here the car wash across the street. So the development is, again, not asking for any zoning relief. It is by right and complies with all our zoning requirements. We can come back to these slides if needed later on. The corner is a corner lot, right? So we have two fronts, a primary front on Somerville Ave and a secondary front on Craigie Street. So it has three sides and one rear. We have a 10-foot setback abutting NR and a 20-foot rear setback abutting NR. And we have a zero-side setback abutting MR3. but we will provide a minimum setback required for our neighbors, fire escape and egress. This is a proposed demolition of the structure. That's one story building that needs to be demolished. There'll be some concrete curbs that also need to be demolished and awning and a roof overhang with a concrete base columns and the sign also will be demolished. So onto the proposed design. We are developing a walk-up housing with duplexes and flats, again by rights, subject to special permit site approval, no unit parking, transit area, commercial space, on Somerville app, cross ventilation, for better living and units, no elevator, and standardized units. Overall, we are looking at 14,679 square feet of development. were 11,969 square feet of residential with 2,710 square feet of commercial. That yields 14 units, about 83% efficient. And the mix that we have, like I said before, sorry, I'm repeating so much, five one-bedroom, seven two-bedrooms, two studios, two accessible units, which are tier one and tier two. Again, like Adam said, This is maybe still debated, but they won't have 0.8 remainder on the table. Alright, so we organize these slides to sort of look at first all of the ground plane features and the design has. So here in this slide you're going to see the main access points on Craigie Street is the main residential access. for the units. On some of the labs, there's a main commercial access, and there is also a secondary residential pedestrian access right next to our neighbors. And that takes you to a secondary access on the back. There is going to be a transformer in this location. right here, the transformer. We have received a preliminary load letter and we have started conversation with Eversource, our engineer. I've identified that we need a 50 kVA transformer and this is the proposed location. The unit will be screened and will be open air. Now we're going to talk about trash. During neighborhood meeting one and two, there were several comments about trash location. how will trash be handled and how and then and secondary meeting was how uh um have you thought about putting the trash on craig street and we really want to talk to that point directly you know alex direct us to study a sketch that was proposed by our the neighbors of 2-4 evanson depicting their desired location of a two yard container uh for trash uh Patricia D' It basically a trash room on the credit side, the image shows the area proposed by that sketch in red. Patricia D' The issue, and this will have to have a curb cut right to access and a role, a roll up door to access it. Patricia D' They just we encounter with this idea where that our commercial space depth will be reduced beyond what's allowed, which is a 30 foot depth minimum. And the rolling dumpster will require a curb cut and that will not allow us to infill the existing curb cut that's on Greggie Street. So that will reduce, you know, further reducing the possibilities of improving the street parking. And it will also, basically it wouldn't allow us to put the planter and will reduce our green score. Again, it will require an 8x8 roll-up door right next to a residential entry and Lupita D Montoya, Per udc comments, this was really frowned upon. Lupita D Montoya, So after looking at all these options are you know approved location for the trash is on the east side towards that second entry. There are two zones highlighted in green. One zone is almost like built into the building itself, screen and cover trash area right here at the bottom. At the top, there's a screen and cover recycling area. And this is really the option that yields the most functionality and flexibility. And it's been approved by the UDC. Soledad Villarreal, We are also looking into that exterior recycling area we're looking at enclosures that systems we're looking into that hopefully. Soledad Villarreal, You know, we can afford them that are rust and rat proof, so that they're not just things so we're looking into that idea and i'm going to hand it to krista to talk about curb cut changes and bike parking okay. Thank you.
SPEAKER_27	I'm Crystal Lucas. I'm a senior transportation engineer with Howardstein Hudson. We submitted the transportation access plan to the mobility division as required for the project. As Sylvia mentioned, no vehicle parking will be provided on the project site. It is residential units and the location itself is very well suited for commuting. It's adjacent to the 83 and the 87 MBTA bus lines and it's less than half a mile or less than a 10 minute walk to Porter Square Station, which hopefully you all know has both the MBTA red line as well as commuter rail services and additional bus lines. So as this slide shows, three curb cuts are going to be closed, one on Craigie Street, that up and down one on the left side, and two on the Somerville Avenue. So those are the ones on the bottom right and left. So three curb cuts are being closed. Again, no vehicle access here, and so all of these can be closed and there won't be any curb cuts provided. uh bike parking next slide excellent sylvia's ahead uh bike car parking complies with somerville zoning ordinance the project is constructing a bike room uh that's that that top right box is pointing uh to that that 14 uh space bike room those are covered and secured for residents with access from the lobby and then there is a another set of two covered racks uh for uh for visitors and those are in that that middly box um pointed out and i don't know if sylvia i don't know if you can actually i don't know if you can just if you can in fact gesture through those with the mouse um but so we have uh two cup two covered racks which is for four spaces for visitors Krista Egger, In that courtyard and then on the bottom along somerville have there's another rack for another two spaces so again it's six visitor spaces and 14. Krista Egger, Permanent permanent covered indoor spaces for residents, so the project is exceeding the minimum requirements for bike parking and now i'm going to pass it back to Sylvia, thank you.
SPEAKER_21	Sylvia Jones, Thank you krista. So on to other site issues. We want to talk about visibility from the corner. We know visibility is very important at the corner, so we're proposing a glazed corner to minimize visual obstructions. Here is a view looking through that corner. We're on Craigie Street going towards Somerville. Josiemer Mattei, PhD, MPH, So here in this diagram, we are showing the open common space areas where we are providing planting, seeding and visceral lighting. Josiemer Mattei, PhD, MPH, And then also here are the ground floor units private outdoor amenities, so they have their own little yards. Another comment from UDC was about adding a gate or fence behind the abutter's fire escape access to secure the site. In this diagram, you see a dashed blue line. This is the line where we are planning to install this type of fence. I'm going to blow that up a little bit so you can see it in more detail. the fence will be located within our property line on a curb that is beyond the fire escape to maintain access to our neighbors who have an easement. And this is a kind of before and after view to sort of get a sense of the quality of that space. I'm going to blow that up a little bit more. You're going to see the fencing beyond, this is all kind of blending in with the material of the sidewalk. And so there's no obstruction. And to clarify, triple clarify, this is a pedestrian walkway. This is just to access the second residential entry and to maintain the egress to some of the lab from our neighbor's fire escape. And because it came up in our neighborhood meeting number two, we just want to reinforce that there is no regular access to the space, the curb cut as shown here will be filled. All right, so moving on to not the site, but the building in green here, you see the residential units in the back. There's two studios and in teal there's one bedroom. In purple, there's the commercial space. In gray is the common interior lobby. the triangle show the access to stairs and units on the ground floor you take both stairs up to a common terrace and from that common terrace you have access to in green two bedroom duplexes and in teal one bedroom units from the terrace and then from you know there's a discrete entry for the third floor unit Again, the green is a duplex unit so they're moving internally and in teal you have the access to the one bedroom units which are located on the third floor. Now let's look at massing and facade. So the massing in this corner lot is broken into two blocks. This allows us to provide northern and southern exposure to all units for better light and for air circulation. At the bottom, you will see that the massing retracts, creating a recess that signals the residential entry that is now covered by the massing above. There's this continuous commercial space that allows flexibility and a really nice corner presence. We also have a green roof. I'm going to keep moving on. Ana de Bettencourt- Our primary material is brick is a face brick in copper tone and it has two color accents that are going to be jade and coral too much as the brick these are fiber cement panel accents. Ana de Bettencourt- Here we have an elevation so primary elevation and, as you can see we're playing with the detail of the brick. We like to, you know, we're organizing the nothing in this grid, but we're playing with the movement, the ins and the outs of the bay to provide privacy to the balconies and to create also interest on some of the love. The color that we're using, this sort of green monster green, I guess, creates a focal point. And you can kind of start to see here the planter that we're We're loving this planter, which provides us with green score, but also creates a beautiful bench as he approaches the corners. It's a little bit of a social space as well. This is the Craigie Street approach going into Somerville Ave. The windows are varied, create a nice articulation, and the window frames also provide a subtle color, the pop-up color. In terms of signage, here's a strategy for awning and signage on the primary facade. I'm going to move to this view. The awning is a thin metal extrusion as if you extruded the mullion out. It is supported by the balconies above. We think that locating the signage to the front makes it a little bit more visible. so you can see the detail on the brick here corbelling up that adds texture and add detail to the facade as you get close to it the ins and outs again provide privacy they provide structural continuity from top to bottom and they provide shading another um important aspect is contextual uh to our building is you know there's the question of sound and noise um are one in meeting uh number one for the neighborhood meeting number one the owner of the car wash cross summer of the lab said that he was supportive of the project but was concerned about residents in the new building complaining about having a 24-hour car wash across the street counselor even camping asked whether the units could be soundproof in some way such as by using special windows so we make this diagram just to show that there is not just a car wash it is also the existing mdta commuter rail both produce sound that is you know loud 60 decibels for the car wash by 85 for the commuter rail the commuter rail is a is a short 30 second sound the car wash we estimate a half an hour of constant sound as sound travels towards our building it diminish a little bit uh so we estimate that an 85 ends up being a 65 decibel, a 60 decibel ends up being almost like a 40 decibel when it hits the facade. So how do we counteract that? We're gonna have triple pane glazing in the bedroom areas that has an STC of 37 that will reduce the sound to 2.3 decibels for the 30 minute car wash sound and it will reduce it to 28 decibels for the MBTA sound. On top of that, we're going to follow best practices for acoustic design, right? So like acoustic caulking, sound insulation in our wall assemblies and sound reducing curtains could be another strategy. Another UDC comment we want to address today was to review the structure and the thickness of the balcony elements, ensure that the detailing comes across, and review how the windows interact with the flooring due to the thickness of the wood construction. I think our logic is that this grid reads very well, that there would be three equal horizontal bands. The design intent is that Ana Vizcarra Rankin she, Spandau condition be equal across all floors. It would be about six brick courses, 16 inches is the current assumption to accommodate the structure, insulation and floor assemblies. If additional space is needed, the detail will work properly and the logic of equal, equal, equal will be respected. Ana Vizcarra Rankin she, And also here you see a little bit of like our sun daylighting strategy. Okay, so now i'm going to move to landscape and Christian is going to present our landscape and i'll patient you got to tell me next slide and i'll.
SPEAKER_03	yep yep absolutely Christian money everyone from offshoots starting at the ground level plan in our main goal here was to really create a nice outdoor communal space and amenities so we're showing this courtyard on the northeast. that corner with cafe style seating and catenary lighting and being framed by planting on the building side and on the property line side as well. This area also includes, as Krista mentioned, the outdoor bike parking, as well as enclosed trash areas, fully enclosed just to limit odor and make sure to produce rodent activity. Along Plan North, showing the three private patio spaces for the ground level units with low fences between them to divide each of those spaces. Along Craigie Street, we're showing that planter along the facade of the building as really an opportunity to bring greenery to the streetscape. And then on the Somerville outside just to echo what Sylvia said, making sure to provide the secondary pedestrian access while while maintaining safe and clear access to the butters fire escape. On the left are images showing the material choices, cast in place concrete paving along the streetscape to match Somerville standards and then a permeable unit pavers and P stone paving in in the areas along the back of of the of the building. On on the next slide you'll see some precedent images that give you a sense of these two main spaces. You know, simple movable furniture in the courtyard to create a flexible flexible space for for residents and. This this concept of the back patios being simple piece stone paving with with paving within just as a low maintenance way to create a green buffer without ground cover planting that that. We hope to turn you know, creating spaces for for rodents to to nest in in these areas. On on the next slide on Level two there's a terrorist that serves a circulation connecting the units, but also gives us the opportunity to create both private and communal spaces appear so. We're strategically using freestanding planters to create some visual separation between some of the private patio spaces created by the architecture and giving us the opportunity to have some communal tables out there as well along the railing on the north and east side of the terrace. On the next slide, throughout the This whole process we take into account, you know the specifics of the site in terms of sun exposure ground water flow and prevailing seasonal winds and, in particular, this helps us inform our plan. decisions to make sure that they're well adapted to these micro conditions and ensure maintenance and longevity so. You know, on the next on the next slide we'll see that this this project sits within a dense neighborhood so every bit of planting is is important and our office recently authored the Somerville pollinator action plan so we're excited to have. All of our planting strategies follow those guidelines and prioritize native plants that are that are actively supporting pollinator species and ecological diversity. and You know, offshoots in general as a practice is always thinking about performance, especially in these urban conditions. So as we do in a lot of our projects where we've been sure to include a selection of tree species that have been shown to trap airborne pollutants, as well as deep rooted tree species that provide long term improvements to soil and groundwater qualities by sequestering and breaking down pollutants. So going back to that ground level plan our planting strategy here includes a basswood at the northeast corner of the property just to act as as a canopy tree and along those back patios showing Canadian service very for. ornamental accents and throughout that portion of the site mixing in quaking aspens and hybrid poplars, which are some of those species that have been shown to pull pollutants from the ground and the air along that northern to be productive and act as a seasonal buffer. We're also showing in that area Virginia creeper along the rear wall just to add a vertical greening element. And we've also added a black Tupelo street tree on Somerville Ave, a species that's resilient and performs well in a streetscape condition. At the main entrance and along the courtyard edge, we're showing a mix of perennial species. That was right, Sylvia, on the next slide. Nope, nope, you're fine. And this is one of our selections from the pollinator action plan and chosen to have great seasonal interest and includes false indigo, clustered mountain mint, swamp milkweed, just to name a few. And on the second level, we're showing selection of shade-tolerant pollinator plant species. um which will be planted in in in those freestanding planters just to make sure that this becomes a a you know a low maintenance space that that can perform well and has serving ecological benefit uh up there on the roof level are the the planting strategy that we're that we're showing is using sedum cuttings mixed with native plug plantings to create this ecological green roof that has seasonal interest and creates a biodiverse planting palette that goes you know, beyond the green carpet of a single species, but really can begin to be a productive, you know, a productive landscape on a portion of the site that's usually very passive. And, you know, to wrap this up, the material selection of the design have allowed us to meet the target green score for MR3. So ensuring that, you know, all of these developments would bring ecological benefit and resilience to the neighborhood.
SPEAKER_23	Thank you.
SPEAKER_25	Thank you. thank you sylvia so this proposal mr chairs to wrap up meets the requirements for site plan approval for the building and special permit for the residential use because this is an allowed building type in the mr3 zone the project meets the goals of both the summer vision 2040 plan and the mr3 zone as stated in the central zoning ordinance since it willfully it will facilitate transit-oriented neighborhood infill development create a place to live work and play ensure properties can adapt to meet the needs of residents, provide badly needed housing, including two affordable units, fit in with the neighborhood, which is a mix of residential, commercial, and mixed-use structures of varying shapes and sizes, is the same number of stories as the existing structure on the side of it along Somerville Avenue. I will remove an automotive use and replace it with housing and first floor commercial space as befits the MR3 zone. the project is sustainable as the experts have explained unlike the existing automotive use the project will reduce motor vehicle trips by having no parking whatsoever on site the current the currently entirely paved lot will have landscaping and extensive green roof which will help mitigate the heat island effect the project is dimensionally fully compliant with the somerville zoning ordinance for general building in the mr3 zone and no variances are being requested or required The project has been long owned and operated by the Varellas family, and Alex is here tonight. The family is seeking to redevelop their property to meet Somerville's changing needs and goals while respecting the abutter, particularly the abutter with the fire escape on the side, in order to keep that emergency egress along their property and providing sound attenuation regarding the train, the street, and the car wash noise as described. So, in all, the relief sought is the minimum relief necessary for a mixed-use building in the MR3 zone. An applicant requested this board grant, the site plan approval, and special permit being sought. Thank you.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you, Attorney Dash and applicant team. I do have a couple of comments and questions, but I'm going to hold off until we take some public testimony. But before we do that, I just want to make sure there's anybody on the planning board that wants to ask any questions of the applicant or staff before we do that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_10	Yeah, Michael, and if you want me to hold off on this, I will, but the current existing use is a gas station. And gas station will have underground storage tanks and there has been no mention of how those tanks are going to be removed and any kind of brownfield phase one testing so. I love the pollinator etc, etc, but if we're going to be green, we should make sure that we're not building on top of a brownfield site, so if the team could clarify this or Michael if you think we should pump this to a later discussion i'm happy to hold off on this.
SPEAKER_25	We're happy to address it now if you'd like, because I guess Alex has done this work and actually has had the tanks pulled. Alex, do you want to describe what your family has done?
SPEAKER_24	Yeah, that's right. So in 2018, we had the tanks removed with an LSP on site. All tanks, product pipes, dispensers were pulled out as well as an in-ground hydraulic lift. The LSP sampled all the soil around those potential contributors and all the soil was clean. And we have a report to that effect.
SPEAKER_25	And there's also a condition to provide that, but we already have it, but we'll provide that as part of the condition if and when we get approved.
SPEAKER_09	Thank you.
SPEAKER_15	That's great. Lynn, that satisfies your concern, huh?
SPEAKER_10	Oh, no, I have more, but that seemed like a good clarification going into public comment because if I was a member of public, I would have that question. So that's why I asked it now.
SPEAKER_15	Nobody likes green on top brown. Who else before we move forward? What I'd like to do now is open this up to public testimony for anybody that wants to speak in support of the application. Please raise your hand and I'm calling you in the order that I saw you. The 1st person that I saw was crystal half. So, as a reminder for anybody that wants to testify, please give your name and address for the record.
SPEAKER_13	This is Steve Carey. I'm unmuting Crystal Hough. Crystal, you'll just need to unmute on your end.
SPEAKER_06	Hello, everyone. The city solicitor said that because I have a stalker, I can give my ward rather than my specific address, and I have done so in other public hearings. My ward is Ward 5. I hope that's it looks like that's okay. I live in this area, and that's probably an odd thing to say, having just said the previous, but I think it's important that people nearby come out and say how they're thinking about something. that's going to be near them. I am primarily in support of this project. I love the idea of there not being a parking lot there in that site. I love the fact that there's going to be a ton of housing in this project if it moves forward. have personally eaten canadian serviceberry so they are edible fyi by humans but they're not just decorative um and they're a native which is great um i'm not worried about the trash i'm i'm not worried about the sound from the car wash the train etc um I I do want to put a note in that because this is currently zoned for Mr. 3. They can only be 3 stories tall, and is not required to have an elevator, and we have very little housing in Somerville that is Jessica Keever- elevator accessible wheelchair accessible, etc, there are two units in this that looks like they're going to be. Jessica Keever- wheelchair accessible, which is great, we have tiny amounts of affordable accessible housing and I, I would just put a note in for like can at least one of the accessible units be also designated affordable. I know that can't be answered during this hearing, but I want to put that note in, or that can't be answered to me directly anyway. I also wanted to put a note in that people who use wheelchairs also sometimes use bikes, and it might be good to take a look at the bike parking room and consult with someone who's a wheelchair user and a bicyclist and see about an adaptive bike parking option to make that accessibility more complete. um I do see a lot in this plan that's to love in terms of um trying to plan for all bunch of uh needs and hopes but I did want to put that out there as well um and I I really appreciate this uh this project like trying to work with the neighbors uh with a lot of diverse comments so thank you thank you very much
SPEAKER_15	The next person I saw on my list was Lisa Bedford.
SPEAKER_13	This is Steve Carey. Lisa, I believe you've been unmuted on our end. You just need to unmute on your end.
SPEAKER_07	All right. Can you hear me? Yes. I live at 1012 Ibbotson. So abutting this property right on the corner there. Just want to say I really love this design. They've really put in all of the comments from the neighborhood. And I think it would be a great upgrade. No offense, Alex to to your business. We all love it. But this is going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. So thanks for putting all this effort in.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you very much. The next person that I see on my list is Aaron Webber. So if Aaron can please be unmuted.
SPEAKER_13	Aaron, I believe you've been unmuted. You just need to unmute on your end.
SPEAKER_04	Hi, my name is Aaron Webber. I live at 32 Summit Avenue. Obviously, I'm here in support of this project. I've got a couple of reasons. One of them is, you know, a lot of times when we see development proposals, we're concerned that they're by very large international developers, that they're too big, that they're out of scale. Here we are with a transit-oriented, low parking, Adrian Holovaty, modest size project from a local family. Adrian Holovaty, I think this is exactly in the sweet spot Adrian Holovaty, for Adrian Holovaty, redevelopment, especially because it moves from automotive uses to housing to transit-oriented housing. It really seems like very much in line with the city's goals of um emphasizing this sort of project as as the sort of project that it wants to see so thank you very much for your time I think this is a great idea yeah thank you very much does anybody else want to speak in support of the application please raise your hand once going twice
SPEAKER_15	Seeing none, I will open it up to public testimony for anybody that wants to speak in opposition to the application or express concern. Please raise your hand.
SPEAKER_13	I see Kenneth Leitner. Kenneth, you've been unmuted on our end. You just need to unmute on your end.
SPEAKER_22	Good evening, Mr. Chairman, board members. Kenneth Lightner for the abutters at 669 Somerville Avenue, Don and Lottie. 675. 675, I'm sorry. The abutters to the right, to the east of the project. And I have to speak to the impact that it's having on their property. We went through everything that you have. With the new building going up, they had windows to the side. They were going to generally lose their sight and the general airflow on that side of their building. And we went over the landscaping plans. There's no landscaping buffering this alleyway going down. It's just a causeway going down. And I imagine it's only for the purpose of getting the barrels down there and people coming up with bikes. It's been spoken. The architect first said that we have a prescriptive easement for the fire escape, which I would suggest is correct. So they had to keep that area open for the fire escape. But we are getting to take a... We're at the tail end of this. We're getting all the trashes located closest to our building, the recyclables and all the trash bins. There are 14 units and probably two commercial units. And how are they going to bring the trash down you know it's going to go it's going to come down between my clients building it's not going to affect these there are the residential units. And it's going to come down quite frequently and there's going to be quite a bit of trash, given the number of units, so we see that as a downside to the overall design. And, you know, we talked about putting it on the other side. They don't necessarily have to have a rollout. They could configure it to put it out on the Craggy Street side. But we're bearing the burden of all the trash coming down. We're losing some light and air there. They didn't talk about in the plans, the snow removal plan, where they're going to put the snow, you know, and what type of in what type of water prevention they're going to have against my client's building when they pave there. Are they going to put any sort of berm or buffer? I think it's things that have to be looked at. The site entrances are going to be on Craigie and Broadway, but everything, you know, the trash and the bicycles and the snow storage is all going to be on my client's side of the building. And we asked for some real consideration. I think it's a weighty matter. We're the closest of butter to them. And we're going to be at a burden of all of the trash, the traffic, the bicycles, trash removal coming up, and possibly the water flow. There was nothing, you know, we don't know if we're going to have any water problems coming down because there isn't, it is pitched down coming that way. Well, yeah, potentially deliveries on the side door to the two businesses coming up that private way. So I think we bear all the burden that I think it's unfair in that regard. You know, we don't have anything against development. We just think it should be configured in a different manner. None of the other butters are bearing this and really the residential units aren't it's all it's all it's closest to our building. So I want to pass that along.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you very much. Is there anybody else that wants to testify in opposition to the application? Please raise your hand. Once, going twice. I'll close that portion of the public hearing and open it up to the planning board for comments, questions of the applicant and of staff. Who would like to start? Nobody Lynn, so I'll go. Okay.
SPEAKER_10	Um. So, uh, I found it so I'm very thank you Alex for, um. Confirming that the underground storage tanks were removed. And the soils were sampled and all were clean. So then I have to ask the landscape architect as to why tree plantings were selected that soaked up pollutants. So those two pieces of information felt like they were in a contradiction to me, right? It's like if everything came up clean, why are we selecting a plant mix that will specifically help remediate pollutants from the from the ground. So that concern that concerned me a little bit.
SPEAKER_25	Take that question.
SPEAKER_03	Yep. Sorry. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a that's a great question. You know, in being a firm that practices in urban environments and that has done research in phytoremediation of plants. It's something that we as a practice make sure to incorporate in all of our projects, regardless of the site, just as really a way of ensuring that plantings are being productive and You know, not not just being reactive to the sites, but being forward thinking. And, you know, this is this is something that ensures that. Any any pollutants that may come from abutting properties, air particulate matter from abutting properties, groundwater again from from the general area is is something that we're we're thinking of. um in in the future and is something that we we like to incorporate again not as um not always thinking of it as a reactive measure but more as a proactive measure to ensure that um we're specifying plans that are that that go beyond just meeting and fixing uh the needs of one particular site but creating really a network throughout throughout the city so that's our general approach um in our in our practice and and to say is is no different
SPEAKER_10	So, thank you. Thank you for that. If I can ask a follow on question since since you try to be kind of forward thinking. So the site was, I'm guessing 100% impervious cover existing. Right? So you're putting new building on top of it. You're not changing the impervious cover at all. That being said, this is still an opportunity to use. um particularly the landscaping to help mitigate the runoff coming from that um impervious cover again i i'm not i'm not upset um you know it's 100 right now it's going to be actually less than 100 because you have a green roof so my question is can you use the ground plantings to further mitigate the runoff coming from the site um have you thought about that at all
SPEAKER_03	yep absolutely and we're you know we're excited in in the plan that you're seeing now that the the unit pavers and the planting areas are both permeable uh on on the ground plane so so basically what you're seeing in gray here except for where we're showing concrete paving um All of that is permeable pavers. So where the cursor is highlighted now, that courtyard space is permeable pavers. And then the piece stone in which the tree planting is coming out of is also a permeable material. So that entire area is working hard to infiltrate water that's on the site. And that's something that we, you know, that we're excited about getting as much water as we can into the ground rather than having it run off the site and cause issues elsewhere.
SPEAKER_09	I just don't want the trash here.
SPEAKER_10	Um, Michael, can I ask what can I ask? Thank thank you. Christian so much. Can I ask 1 more question?
SPEAKER_20	It's all here.
SPEAKER_10	Okay. Um, so love that. It's 14 units.
SPEAKER_15	Um, it's keeping your building.
SPEAKER_10	No, of course not. Somebody's not muted.
SPEAKER_15	Somebody somebody is speaking and they need to be muted. Who is not Glenn?
SPEAKER_10	Thank you. And I think this goes to the transportation. So 14 units, no parking, bike parking, Love all of that so, but I do anticipate that there may be an uptick in ride share pickup and drop off and have you all looked at potential. Like short term parking accessing the site for the for the potential increase in in ride shares taxis etc coming in and out of the building and where that might be accommodated.
SPEAKER_17	David Ensign PB, Peter Vitale MCB4 Co- Maybe we'll we'll take that and Krista could chime in if David Ensign PB, Peter Vitale MCB4 Co- But I, but I think that's a great comics. I do, I would anticipate that as well. Right now, the city is retaining control of those curb cuts for their own meter parking. Now that meter parking is We have some discussions with them in terms of move in and move out of taking those meters for temporary move in and move out periods, but we haven't had any discussions about your comment, Lynn, which I think is a good one. I don't think they're going to give us a drop off, dedicated drop off, but I think it is an issue that's going to create some traffic on Craigie.
SPEAKER_10	I think that has to Michael, from my perspective, that issue should be addressed prior to the permit being issued because if if it's all going to be metered parking chances are in that area. There's going to be, it's going to be. Filled and so drop off and pick up will then require double parking, which then will create. Um, backstopping so, you know, uh, not that, you know, what I'm what I mean, if somebody's double park, not to mention, I know there's a bike path there, which I'm always on. Um, and that's also going to create some potential issues. So, to me, this feels like an. Issue that that 14 units no parking love all aspects of it. There will be ride share. How will that be accommodated? Double parking doesn't seem to be the, the, the answer for that. Those are those are my, um, my questions for now. Michael, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_15	Yeah, no, then, um. You definitely hit on a couple of things that I was thinking of as well. Um, but I would like to before I get going. I just have a couple of things that I was going to raise. I wanted to. See, if my other fellow board members had anything that was like to ask. I'll go a couple of things generally. I'm very supportive of this building and it's great looking project. I think it. As as a lot of people have said, as as Mr Webber has said, it takes a gas station, which an auto use, which, by the way, I like, and I have used to something that is something that the city needs. I think it's a, it's a, it's a well, meaning and good project. Generally, and I'll kind of start with that. Some of the questions that I had not concerns. Not so much of the issue. I think things things that we can. Clarify and maybe make a little bit better or a few things. Some of which have been raised by by other people, so I'll start with with those the. Little alleyway between the 2 buildings between yours and it was a concern that. Was raised about trash. I was wondering if you can remind me how trash is going to be handled in your building where it's going to be because. I don't think it's fair to have a bunch of trash bins necessarily next to another residential use if at all possible. So I'm wondering if we might be able to revisit what your thoughts were on the trash situation with your building.
SPEAKER_17	So just to summarize, there's two different locations. And one was we are trying to remove any of the, let's say, more undesirable trash further away and put that actually in our building. And that's in the lower area just to the right of the bike parking. Right now, with the 80 gallon,
SPEAKER_21	They're the bigger ones, the 95, 96.
SPEAKER_17	So right now they're individual rolling trash bins, similar to what our neighbor uses. I think they store their trash kind of near our recycling right now, and they wheel it out to Ibbotson. It's going to be the same exact idea as we have the bins in the building here that have to be wheeled out through the gate, and they're going to sit on Somerville out on trash day. um the recycling bin we did move to the smaller area that's kind of also enclosed and covered um and that's kind of near the back end of the property here so those five recycling bins will be or six recycling bins will be kind of in the back area did that answer the question uh it it did for me um sure so so the next question that i had also had to do with some of the mobility issues that lynn raised um
SPEAKER_15	It's interesting to know that the city is intending to make that immediate parking. I don't know if I knew that. That's fine by me. The reality is, you know, Ubers and Lyfts and cabs are going to drop off where they're going to drop off. We've all been in them. I don't care where the designated drop off spot is. They're going to go where they're going to go. To the extent that we might be able to put them on On Craigie, instead of double parking on some of the Avenue, you know, that's, you know, I think a better option. You only have 14 units. So it's not going to be a massive amount of listen at a given point. as well as the fact that I know that there is a bike lane and we don't want to impede the mobility of vehicles and bikes and things like that on some of the left. The consideration could be, see if we might be able to encourage people to drop off on Craigie or further up the street or whatever it might be, knowing that UberDrop is going to do what they're going to do. The other thought I had actually, and this is our meeting when when Amelia is not with us right now, but this is speaking in Amelia's. Level of concern is where loading might go for for that commercial space. particularly in light of the other concerns that we just raised about the Uber and Lyfts. That's going to be a 30 second in and out for 14 units. This is going to take longer than that and impede multiple modes of transportation if it's done on Somerville Avenue. I'm wondering if we might be able to have some discussion on that. I see Krista, but this is an open discussion.
SPEAKER_27	I'm just going to jump in for both of these. Both Lynn and I completely understand your concern, particularly with that bike lane and knowing you use that bike lane, which means you know that People who, in fact, double park tend to do it in bike lanes, which makes bicycling less safe. But then, in fact, you know, to take the road, and this is an existing condition throughout Somerville and throughout all of our communities. We have, in fact, within the transportation access plan, we did, in fact, work with the city and mobility division to designate some of those meters during some of the day as loading and pickup drop-off. So those could be And again, in Somerville, you have the option to pull a permit for street parking for a moving truck. But like some of the commercial neighbors up and down Somerville have, we tried to be consistent. Within some of those meters are, in fact, it's limited between 8 and noon as delivery only. And then it becomes two-hour metered parking, which should help with, in fact, it will work If nobody is loading there, then in fact, Ubers and Lyfts can be there. It is limited. It is between 8 and noon, which then makes those meters available during the peak times when meters are most apt to be used, which tends to be more midday. So we have, in fact, worked with the mobility division to try to, in fact, maximize how this can best work. And then similarly along craigie street is adding some additional with closing those curb cuts we add some additional residents part residential permit parking. But also, hopefully, and it is good in somerville and parking is tight um but when when there are when they are not being used, you can still always. Do active loading or unloading without a permit so so if there is a space available when and you may have to drive a little farther down. to do your drop offs. So but anyway, but there is in fact a designated loading spot 8 to noon where those where some of those meters are as well as the meters as well as additional spaces and new spaces with all of these closed curb cuts. So hopefully that helps a bit.
SPEAKER_15	It does, and that actually brings brings up one more question, which sometimes that's how this works. Steve, we've got you right. Yes, I am here. Yes, I am here. Okay. We have our usual condition where no parking is provided. No residential spaces will be, no residential stickers are provided, right? That's included in our usual conditions.
SPEAKER_13	Okay. I believe that's right. I would confirm with our case planners, Madison Anthony, who I believe is with us and probably can confirm whether that's in the staff memo.
SPEAKER_25	I would note that this Adam dash, by the way, it is in under the mobility condition. Number 5.
SPEAKER_15	I thought I thought I thought I thought I'd seen. I just wanted to clarify because I only have 1 screen open and didn't want to toggle between a bunch of different tabs. Thank you. Um. 2 last points 1 question and 111. Concern question is about the commercial space. What are you guys planning on? Do you have a do you have an idea of how it's going to be used from the renderings? It looked like it was very obviously pedestrian friendly is going to be a cafe type of thing. What are you thinking of?
SPEAKER_25	I'm not sure. We don't have a tenant. I don't know if the building gets built, should you be so kind as to approve it, and then we go and look for tenants. It's a good location. There's a lot of foot traffic, certainly a lot of bike traffic right by Porter Square, and there are a lot of number of things that could go in there.
SPEAKER_15	I don't know if you had any preliminary discussions with... yeah because sometimes sometimes as an adam you know we we do see oh yeah we've we've had discussions with you know these folks and hoping they might be able to come in so i don't know if you had those kind of i don't know if alex you want to weigh in if you've had anything i certainly am not aware of anything i don't mean to force your hand i'm just kind of curious no i mean uh it won't be a garage i'll tell you that but there are we uh we're blessed on that block to have really great cafes i mean four just steps away and i you know
SPEAKER_24	Could somebody do as well as they do? Probably. But people know Forge. So I expect that the cafe is not going to be the tenant. Some people have recommended professional services. Even a daycare at one point was mentioned to me by someone. I'll be honest with you. I'm a mechanic by trade. I'm not in the development business. So I've been learning a lot of this as I go. Uh, if we are blessed with a tenant, that's going to be great and I'll, I'll be happy if they can do good business on some of the lab. But as of yet, no, no real concept yet.
SPEAKER_15	For sure, I appreciate that. And the last thing I had, I noticed somebody said, Facebook. This this, this board tends to be dis favorable towards kind of fake non full course brick. And I'm wondering if we might be able to make a change, at least on the ground floor to have something that's going to be a little bit more visually appealing than I think you guys were on the call. When 74 Middlesex came in and I was talking about the facade that I wanted to have ripped off and redone, that had to do with fake brick and face brick. So I'm wondering if we might be able to have a discussion on the logistics here on that.
SPEAKER_17	The term face brick is a full brick, just so you know. Thin brick is the fake things you're talking about. We are using a full brick.
SPEAKER_15	Okay. Go ahead. Steve, I know you and I have had this discussion before. Are we all talking about the same thing? I am not an architect or a materialist. I am merely a lawyer.
SPEAKER_13	I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I believe so. I mean, I think you're talking about the difference between a, I can't remember the word for a, you know, sort of brick where it's a sort of curtain wall facade or... I mean, yeah, yeah. As opposed to actually structurally being brick. Okay. So I think we've done the same thing.
SPEAKER_25	I think there's already meant is it's faced with bricks. Not okay.
SPEAKER_17	It's a it's a full brick. And it still is to just for Steve, it still is a curtain wall type of construction. Almost all masonry construction nowadays is because you have a drainage plane behind a brick, it preserves the longevity of the building, but it is a full, you know, three and five eighths inch by two and a quarter inch by seven and five eighths inch brick.
SPEAKER_13	Thank you. Thank you. Through the chair, the word I was trying to think of was veneer, and this is more than that, correct? Yep. Okay.
SPEAKER_24	And just to give some color to that selection, my intent is to long-term hold this building through the next few generations of my family. And so all the material choices are for longevity, low maintenance. The design is meant to hopefully stay appealing in generations as you talked about with previous projects. So fake brick wouldn't have passed muster with us.
SPEAKER_15	I appreciate that, Alex, very much. I think the project's a great one. I appreciate the application you guys have put forward. I don't know if there's anything else that the planning board has. I see Michael's hand raised.
SPEAKER_26	Thanks, Mr. Chair. I was waiting for you to ask about the stickers, so that's why I wanted you to go first. I had the same question, the parking stickers. But in terms of things that I actually do want to zoom in on, basically it's going back to the the unit mix a bit uh i'm a little bit concerned with the diversity of units that are being offered here uh specifically you know would love to see a three bedroom in this mix um and if not that i want to go back to the topic of potentially providing those uh accessible units to be affordable as well i think of that as another metric of diversity here on the types of projects or types of uh units being offered and would just like to understand if the project can consider some creativity there.
SPEAKER_25	The selection of the affordable use just to jump before I guess Paxton gets in the affordability units is usually a discussion after an approval with the housing division. And certainly we heard the member of the public's comment to that regard as well, as well as yours. And we would certainly, you know, talk to them about it. They very well may ask for that unit, one of those units anyway. But it's a point taken. I don't know, Paxton, what do you respond to the rest of it?
SPEAKER_17	Tom Epstein, yeah I think you know we're providing the three lower levels will be will be 88 units. Tom Epstein, We don't obviously we're under 20 as well, the same discussion from the from the previous group that we talked about the whole reason we could do walk up housing is because we're under 20 units that's why we get away from doing an elevator. But when I say get away from, it's not a negative. I think it's a positive. Think about MR3s as walk-up housing, as in terms of being accessible in a different way, because it does drive down the cost. It does drive down the rental cost of being able to live in this building, because it is an MR3 in that particular scale. So I think there's a unique opportunity for the MR3s to think about walk-up housing in terms of the urban condition. I think others have spoken of the scale of this building. And I think that's the benefit of doing the MR3s this way, personally. The three, the two versus the three bedroom, we you know, we we talked to you to see about the two and three, and I think kind of the general building versus apartment building kind of came up when we looked at Somerville zoning. If you look at general building, they they specifically say, you know, it's basically unit type sizes and bedroom counts for smaller households. So we take that as two bedroom versus the apartment is the same thing for larger households. And so that was our kind of threshold when we talked to UDC between the two and three. Rob Geddes, The. Rob Geddes, It could accommodate a three bedroom probably in the north building if we if we needed to, but I, but I think we prefer the two bedroom mix in general in terms of affordability, for many reasons. Rob Geddes, And that's kind of we're kind of where we ended up.
SPEAKER_26	Okay, so that's helpful to know that you guys are laser focused on affordability here, both from a build-out perspective, you know, trying to keep costs under control with having to pay for elevators, also trying to keep the apartments lean, such that you can keep them affordable. Can you talk a little bit about your strategy with regards to rent then? Are these going to be market rate units, or is the intention to try to keep them under market in some form?
SPEAKER_17	They are market rate units, but I think it is a competitive market. And I think Alex is, like he said, he's trying to hold this long term. And so I don't think we can speak to what exactly threshold we're coming in at. But the reason they're lean is because we can drive down the price of the rent. We're trying to hit kind of below market rate rent. And to do that, we have to be lean in terms of how we're planning it.
SPEAKER_26	Okay, I mean I would be honest that's not the best set of answers from my perspective. I think it would really go a long way if you could find an element to improve the diversity of the stock a bit. I do appreciate the general idea and sentiment that you want to make those ground floor units all accessible, so if there's any way to make that a little bit more firm, would definitely appreciate that. But yeah, if you're not going to find a way to keep rates low, but you're also going to make an argument that you want to avoid creating accessible housing to keep costs low, I feel like you're not doing what you can for the community in that way. So I just want to kind of put that general sentiment out there. And then finally, to wrap up, you know, would definitely love to hear if you guys have any more creativity around the trash. I think it's definitely worthwhile responding to the abutters concerns there. And then the last comment, just, you know, as much as I've been pushing on the diversity here, I do appreciate the fact that you guys are trying to put in a bunch more housing. So obviously, we need it. And, you know, I am at a high level supportive of trying to get more housing here.
SPEAKER_25	yeah I think just to just I think that and I know that Paxton already set up I mean that the trash is in the building so I think that the the comment from the abutter maybe they're misunderstood when we said this is where the trash goes that the back there in the middle it's in the building it's the recycling that's back in the corner which actually isn't up against their buildings if you can see on the plan there the building doesn't go that far back so and then they have their trash in the back in that way as well so it's only the recycling and then sylvia showed you that kind of robust recycling container so it's all contained in there and then the trash is in the building so i think that may just be a misunderstanding we're not shoving the trash up against them so now that now that we have a mouse can you kind of like circle exactly where the trash is going to be
SPEAKER_21	The trash is right here, it's inside. It will be closed and screened and covered. And then the recycling is at the north, the smaller amount of bins. And it's also, we're considering this more robust system of double enclosures, so the bins sit inside this, which are rat-proof and rust-proof. That's the plan.
SPEAKER_26	Okay, so when you say it's enclosed and screening covered, would a rat be able to access it? I recognize you're trying to make it difficult for them to access in general, but anyone who lives in Somerville knows rats are pretty resourceful.
SPEAKER_21	Well, the claim of this system is that they are rat-proof, so we'll have to look more into it. That is really kind of like popular in New York City. And I'm sure it's not the only brand. It's called Citibin. But that's what the whole marketing is about, is about being rat-proof. So again, that's kind of part of the plan, is to try to find strategies to do that effectively.
SPEAKER_26	Okay, I appreciate that. If that's really front of mind, then that's helpful. Because I think, you know, it's one thing to kind of manage the concerns potentially around visuals or smell, but I also would be super worried about creating a source for more rats to be living around there. So if that's like front and center, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_21	Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_15	Michael, by the way, I want to... I started a lot of you. You started talking about trash and he said, well, not that we have a mouse.
SPEAKER_26	Nice, that was unintentional, but I like it.
SPEAKER_15	No, say it was intentional. Take the credit man. Who else at this point would like to talk? I see Luke.
SPEAKER_08	Thanks Mr. Chair. I'll be real brief. Appreciate a bunch of the comments. I appreciate the responses to things like the concerns around the trash. It feels like a lot of the details of the project have been thought through carefully. Echo Member McNeely's concerns around the unit mix, so just another voice interested in pushing there. The couple other thoughts I wanted to share HAB-Jacques Juilland. : From my things, but I grew up just on the Cambridge side of the commuter rail tracks on the at the end of Oxford street, so I know this area really well. HAB-Jacques Juilland. : That in terms of noise, no one seems to be raising big concerns about that, but you know the trains. HAB-Jacques Juilland. : You get used to it right away, and if you have any removed from it on the other side of the street you hardly notice it over time at all um. Will Olney, And just big picture I really love the mix of housing first for commercial there it's a weird stretch of some of the lab where. Will Olney, If you're looking at this property to the left, you get the like awkward strip molly place with the laundromat and the subway and it's not very walkable at all, even though it's so close to porter square. Will Olney, So things have been added along the stretch between porter and and Union, and I feel like this project. Will add people and just vibrancy and if we get good commercial on that ground floor it'll feel much more like a neighborhood that could could you know it's going to take a lot of changes. For many properties along that whole stretch, but this is exactly the kind of puzzle piece that I think could get us there to a better neighborhood feel between porter and all the way up to Union so that's something I like a lot too so that's what I got.
SPEAKER_20	So, anybody else before we move along.
SPEAKER_15	Okay.
SPEAKER_19	Yeah, John, sorry if you wouldn't mind, I do have a question for the applicant team. I don't mind at all.
SPEAKER_15	John is the raise hand thing. You're on like a tan background. So the raise hand thing is blending in with you with your background. So I apologize.
SPEAKER_19	No, not at all. I'll have to find the Simpson colored hand and it'll take some research there, but I'll certainly find that. But thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to say that I certainly appreciate the applicant team's efforts for this project. I do think that Somerville needs additional housing. I think what the questions and concerns raised by most of my colleagues is something that I shared. So I'm not going to ask any any questions and repetition, but I do want to better understand when it comes to the building energy source. I know in one of the neighborhood meetings, there was a conversation around fossil fuel hookups versus electric. And at that point in time, the discussion was around the building is more likely to be electric. Just wanted to see if the applicant team has any updates or any other thoughts around energy conservation efficiency at all.
SPEAKER_17	Yeah, it is an all-electric building. It's kind of by our energy code. We have to do that now anyways. So it'll be basically just electric. That's our only choice.
SPEAKER_19	Okay. And is there any other thoughts around even, you know, conserving energy, you know, even with electric consideration?
SPEAKER_17	So I think one of the, one of the, if we take a step back, just like a housing typology, it's like the double loaded corridor is probably the least efficient building you could do because you lose cross ventilation because you have a middle corridor. You can no longer have differential pressure on two sides of a building. So this idea we can do walk-up housing, we can actually have exposure on north and south simultaneously. You can open a window on the north and open a window on the south with cross ventilation. You don't have to turn on your air conditioner, for example. So inherently built in the typology, I think it is more energy conscious, let's say. On top of that, I have to go back to that section, but the balconies are completely shaded in the summer, but then they also let sunlight in in the winter, for example. So there's a recess in the balcony that's intentional to kind of maximize solar heat gain in the winter, but then minimize it in the summer, for example. So I think there's a lot of passive strategies that are good. We're not actively generating solar power. It's not part of the project right now, but I think the passive strategies are very strong with kind of walk-up housing.
SPEAKER_19	Understood. That's very helpful. Thank you so much to the applicant team. And thank you, Mr. Chair, as well.
SPEAKER_14	Okay. Anybody else? I can't see your hand because it's on a tan background. Wave malignly.
SPEAKER_15	All right. Great. So I think we've had a really good discussion. I think there's some things that we need to think about as a planning board. One of the things I might Ask just because it was raised by 2 of my colleagues. Um. Is not necessarily a replan, but maybe a discussion next time on a potential to amend the unit mix. Um. Just because that is something that we always kind of keep an eye out on and, you know, several of my colleagues raised it. It may not be feasible, but it is certainly something that I think is is worth talking about. So, let's do this. Let's leave the written comment open until Friday. The twenty ninth at nine AM. Was it. planning board at SomervilleMA.gov. That is correct planning board at summer. The address has changed to the 29th at 9. A. M. and. Let's reconvene in 2 weeks next meeting is the 4th at 6. P. M. and we can see where we're at. But I think I think. Pretty pretty generally, we're, we're supportive as a board or certainly I am as as 1 member on on your project. So. I'm looking forward to continuing this discussion. Is there anything else that you as the applicant team want to raise before we move to continue and I go get something to eat?
SPEAKER_25	Yeah, no, I appreciate all the feedback from everybody, and thank you. This was a great discussion. I appreciate you taking so much time with us. Yeah, I mean, we'll come back next time. I mean, keep in mind, it is only an MR3 project. It's a relatively smallish building. The unit mixes have been sort of discussed, and we went over this with the UDC, as was said. It's not like we haven't, like we were just trying to not do it. We've actually looked into it. We just felt this was the best way to go and this is not a kind of a lean not a super profit building we're not building a high rise we're not high priced National developers it's just the varela's family doing a smallish building so just to keep that we'll look at it we'll look at it I'm just saying I figured that was going to be the case but yeah it's certainly we can look at a brief discussion I think is is certainly worthwhile since since we've had that I just want to set expectations is all. But yeah, we will go back, certainly. The Shell dolls are very smart people. We'll take a look at it.
SPEAKER_15	Wonderful. I would like somebody on some meeting to call me a very smart person at any point. So you guys are in good hands. You know, rare company. Okay, with this in mind, the written comment period is left open until the 29th. Next meeting is the fourth. The chair moves to continue this agenda item to the fourth, seconded by Jahan. Steve, can we have a roll call?
SPEAKER_13	Jahan, have you?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Michael McNeely? Aye. Lynn Richards?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	Luc Schuster?
SPEAKER_09	Aye.
SPEAKER_13	And Michael Capuano?
SPEAKER_15	I see you in a few weeks, everybody.
SPEAKER_24	Thank you.
SPEAKER_15	Okay, there is no other formal items on our agenda tonight. Right? Steve, we have the open discussion as a new standing item. If anybody has anything they would like to. Raise it is the context 833. Yeah. Okay. If nothing else, wonderful to see you all. See you in a few weeks. Chair moves to adjourn. Seconded by Jahan. Let's have somebody singing.
SPEAKER_13	Jahan Habib.
SPEAKER_09	Hi.
SPEAKER_13	Michael McNeely. Hi.
SPEAKER_09	Lynn Richards.
SPEAKER_13	Hi. Luc Schuster. Hi. And Michael Capuano. Hi. Thanks, everybody. Good night. Good night.
SPEAKER_19	Thank you. Have a good night.
SPEAKER_13	Bye. Night all.