32A-255 (74) t
Northampton Zoning Board of Appeals
April 20, 1988
Page Three
all the latest changes, and Atty. Gervais told him they were
available in the Office of Planning and Development, and he could
get one to him in a day.
Mrs. David asked for more information on the housing units, and
was told by Atty. Gervais that, of the 38 units, six were
handicap accessible, and four of those six had been committed to
the Housing Authority. The housing units all have two bedrooms.
Ch. Buscher asked for proponents to speak, and the following
people were heard from: City Councilor Paul Bixby felt the
overall benefit to the city was very positive. Tom Hennessey, 28
Roe Avenue, representing the Chamber of Commerce, spoke very
highly of the Rostoffs, and said the Chamber was very much in
favor of the project. Jim McCruskie, N. Maple St. , Florence,
saw the project as being very beneficial to the quality of life
in Northampton. William Brandt, Board Member, commended the
Hotel people for "bending over backwards" and for having "done a
fine job. "
Ch. Buscher asked for opponents, and Mr. James Brooks delivered
to Ch. Buscher "a letter from Mr. Kirby. " No one else spoke.
Ch. Buscher brought up the "linkage issue," and "promises made,"
and asked Atty. Gervais if he "had any problems with the promises
that had been made by the Hotel people along the way." Atty.
Gervais replied that he did not, and said that part of the UDAG
Application is a commitment letter signed by the Rostoffs,
reaffirming their pledges to support affordable housing, daycare,
etc.
Ch. Buscher asked Atty. Gervais about time constraints, and was
told that there were two main ones - the August 15th deadline to
get the sewer work done, and a requirement of HUD that all local
approvals be received by May 15th. "A quick decision from the
Board will be appreciated," Atty. Gervais added. Messrs. Buscher
and Brandt agreed we must move quickly. Ch. Buscher asked to see
the UDAG Application, and specifically the commitment letter,
and to see one of the new project books. Mr. Brandt moved the
Public Hearing be closed, and that the Board reconvene at 5 p. m.
Monday, April 25 to render a decision. Mrs. David seconded, and
the motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:05.
Also present, in addition to those mentioned, was R. J. Pascucci,
Board Secretary.
Robert C. Buscher, Chairman
Northampton Zoning Board of Appeals
April 20 , 1988
Page Two
history of the project and the various formats it had taken, and
answered questions from the Board and the floor. Mr. Frank
Elliott, Architect for the project, showed many architectural
renderings of the project, pointing out specifically how the
above-ground portion of the project had "shrunk" from the
original proposal, described the "vehicular lobby," the
architectural treatment of the Gothic Street side of the
building, and the components of each of the five floors of the
project.
Mr. Brandt questioned the effect of additional traffic generated
by the hotel, and Mr. Elliott said the Hotel had hired HMM
Associates, a traffic consulting firm, to do a study. Their
metered counts, observations and professional judgement indicated
that in the peak morning traffic hours, (6: 45-9:45 ) traffic would
increase by 2%, and in the afternoon peak ( 3 : 45-6:45) traffic
would increase by 4-5%. They also suggested several "mitigating
factors, " where present traffic flow could be vastly improved by
taking minor corrective measures, this information having been
forwarded to the DPW.
Mrs. David said that "underground garages bother me," and was
concerned about soil conditions, "safeness and soundness." Mr.
Elliott explained that test borings had been done, and the
engineering plan was to build a 2 1/2-3 ' thick "concrete boat,"
which will not settle, and upon which the entire project would
rest.Mrs. David asked about sewer diversion, and Mr. Elliott
explained where the sanitary sewer and storm sewer lines would be
re-routed. He pointed out that "time is of the essence," since
King Street will be repaved to a point North of the Hotel by
August 15th, and the sewer relocation must be completed by then,
since once a new road is built, the State will not allow
excavation of it for five years.
Atty. Gervais went into a discussion of the statutory
requirements for "use" Variances and "dimensional" Variances. He
said, " The law is easier on dimensional Variances, and the Hotel
is not asking for any use Variances." He felt the property is
unique within the terms of the statute, and all the dimensional
Variances are a result of this uniqueness. He felt the
Variances, if granted, would benefit the public good and would
not derogate from the intent and purpose of the Ordinance. On
the one Special Permit being sought, (adding hotel rooms in the
CB District) hotel rooms are listed in the Table of Use
Regulations as allowable, and there would be no overload of
municipal systems, no undue traffic congestion, and a positive
relationship to the public good.
Ch. Buscher asked if there were "new books" on the project with
Northampton Zoning Board of Appeals
April 20 , 1988
The Northampton Zoning Board of Appeals met at 6 :05 p. m. on
April 20, 1988 in Council Chambers, Wallace J. Puchalski
Municipal Building, to conduct Public Hearings on the following
Applications -of Hotel Northampton Condominium Trust for relief
from the following Provisions of the Zoning Ordinance of the City
of Northampton:
1) Special Permit under the Provisions of Section 5. 2, Page
5-9, to allow construction of new hotel rooms adjacent to the
existing Hotel Northampton.
2) Variance, Section VIII, • Page 8-1, re: dimensions of
parking spaces as required by said Section.
3 ) Variance, Section 6. 2, Page 6-4, from the maximum Floor
Area Ratio requirement as it relates to buildings within the
Central Business Zone.
4) Variance, Section 6.2, Page 6-4, from the 15 ' minimum
rear setback.
5) Variance, Section 6. 2, Page 6-4, from the 55 ' height
restriction.
6) Finding under Section 9. 3B, Page 9-2 that the proposed
use of a section of the NB Zone for access to a CB Zone will not
be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the
existing use.
All requests are in conjunction with the construction of the
proposed "Northampton Plaza," to include additional hotel rooms,
conference facilities, retail office space, privately-owned
-`dwelling units, public areas and parking garage, per plans
submitted, all at property located at 36 King Street,
Northampton, MA (more particularly identified as Parcels 238, 309
and 254,255 respectively of Sheets No. 31B and 32A of the
Assessor' s Maps) .
Present were Chairman Robert C. Buscher, Dr. Peter Laband, and M.
Sanford Weil, Jr. Scheduled to sit, however, were Ch. Buscher,
Irene David and William Brandt. Mrs. David, an Officer of the
Florence Savings Bank, was detained by Bank business and unable
to be present until later in the evening. Dr. Laband moved the
Public Hearing be continued until 7:30 p. m. , Mr. Weil seconded,
and the Motion passed unanimously.
At 8 : 45 p. m. , the Public Hearing was reconvened. Present and
voting were Ch. Buscher, William Brandt, and Irene David. Ch.
Buscher read the Legal Notice as published twice in the Daily
Hampshire Gazette, and stated that at the April 6th Public
Hearing, the attorney for the Applicant requested a continuance
until tonight. He read six memoranda from the Planning Board
indicating that the six Applications under consideration were all
recommended for approval by the Zoning Board without one negative
vote.
Atty. Eric B. Gervais appeared for the Applicant, gave a brief