Prior to granting approval or disapproval, the Site Plan Review
Committee shall make written findings with supporting documentation
as specified below.
A. Approval.
(1)
The Site Plan Review Committee may approve an application, based
on its review of the projected development impacts and the proposed
methods of mitigating such impacts, if said Committee finds that the
proposed development is in conformance with this chapter, and that:
(a)
The traffic-carrying capacity of the intersections and streets likely to be affected by the proposed development will meet the standards set forth in §
440-1509A.
(b)
The proposed development will comply with the environmental impact standards set forth in §
440-1509B.
(c)
The planned capacities of public facilities such as water supply,
sewage and drainage systems are adequate in the vicinity of the site
to serve the proposed development.
(d)
The proposed development will comply with the community impact standards set forth in §
440-1509D.
(2)
In addition, the following specific items shall be addressed:
(a)
Convenience and safety of vehicular and pedestrian movement
within the site and location of driveway openings in relation to traffic
or to adjacent streets.
(b)
Adequacy of the arrangement of parking and loading spaces.
(c)
Adequacy of methods of disposal of refuse and other wastes.
(d)
Relationship of structures and open space to the natural landscape
and existing buildings.
(e)
Protection of wetlands, watersheds, aquifers, and well areas.
(f)
Conformance to City health and fire codes.
(g)
Adequacy of projects to address sewer and water impacts.
(h)
Compliance with all provisions of this chapter.
(i)
Compliance with the requirements of any other City board, agency,
commission, or department rules and regulations.
(j)
Compliance with the general requirements under §
440-1508.
(3)
Such findings shall pertain to the entire proposed development,
including any site plan or design modifications imposed by the Planning
Board as a condition of its approval, and off-site improvements proposed
by the applicant or required by the Site Plan Review Committee as
a condition of its approval.
B. Disapproval.
(1)
The Site Plan Review Committee must disapprove an application
if it is unable to meet the requirements for approval.
(2)
Notwithstanding the above, the Site Plan Review Committee may
approve an application if the adverse impacts of the proposed development
are not significantly greater than the impacts of uses which are or
can be made of the site under existing laws and regulations without
a requirement for site plan review.
An application for site plan review and approval under this
article shall be prepared by qualified professionals, including a
registered professional engineer and, where required by state law,
a registered architect and/or registered landscape architect, and
shall include the following items and information:
A. Waiver. Waiver of the submittal requirements may be requested as
follows:
(1)
Staff. The applicant may request waiver of certain of the submittal requirements by application to the City Planner. If granted, the City Planner shall list specifically what requirements have been waived and transmit it to the reviewing agencies with the application as per §
440-1504. Should any agency or, at its next meeting, the SPRC object to the elimination of any requirement, the applicant shall be responsible for providing the additional requested information. In order to provide the full time period for review, the applicant shall extend the time period within which the public hearing and the decision are required to be made by the number of days between the day the original application was received and the day the additional information was received.
(2)
Site Plan Review Committee. Prior to application, the applicant
may request waiver of certain of the submittal requirements by application
to the SPRC. The SPRC may publish in its rules and regulations standard
waivers which may be granted to applicants meeting a prescribed set
of standards.
B. Site plan. A site plan containing the following shall be submitted
at the time of application:
(1) A title block containing the name of the project, type of project,
legend, scale (one inch equals 40 feet), North arrow, name and address
of owner or applicant, name and address of engineer/architect, date
of plan, zoning district and legal description of the site.
(2) Registered professional engineer's and registered land surveyor's
stamp.
(3) A locus plan, showing site and its relationship to City of Taunton.
(4) Site data including:
(b)
All lot lines and dimensions, including road frontage, width
and depth.
(c)
Statement respecting the datum used for all elevations (USGS
or City datum requires a permanent benchmark be established on the
site and its elevation noted on the plot plan).
(d)
Easements and other restrictions pertaining to the lot.
(e)
Overlaying districts (including local historic district, floodplain
district, special flood hazard district, groundwater supply district,
etc.).
(f)
Rivers, streams, intermittent streams, brooks, creeks, lake
houses, and ponds.
(g)
Wetlands (marshes, swamps, bogs and wet meadows).
(h)
Existing vegetative cover.
(i)
Existing and proposed ground elevations (at two-foot contours).
(j)
Existing buildings and other structures.
(k)
All names of abutters and owners of land within 300 feet as
determined from the most recent tax list.
(5) Project data, including:
(a)
Proposed buildings by type (i.e., apartment, row house, recreation
building, etc.) with all dimensions including interior square footage.
(d)
Lot coverage by buildings.
(f)
Distance between buildings on same parcel.
(6) Transportation data, including:
(a)
Paved and other impervious areas.
(b)
Number and location of parking spaces.
(d)
An internal circulation plan, including width and location of
parking aisles and interior roads.
(e)
Names, widths and elevations of exterior roads.
(f)
Existing and proposed curb cuts and their widths.
(g)
Distance between curb cuts and nearest intersections.
(7) A landscaping plan, including:
(a)
All areas devoted to open space.
(c)
Trees, shrubs, and ground cover (including number, size, species
and location).
(8) A drainage plan, including:
(a)
Number and location of perk tests along roadway and in detention
and retention areas.
(b)
Complete soil logs, including depth to water table.
(c)
Two-foot topo lines, extending 100 feet from site.
(d)
Man-made and natural features, including streams, wetlands,
rock outcrops, septic systems, wells, etc. (these features should
be shown on site and extending 100 feet from site).
(e)
Maps showing subwatershed (also displaying land use, soils and
topography).
(f)
On-site drainage patterns should be displayed for pre and post
development (including detention and retention areas and location
of storm drains).
(g)
Travel time on site and subwatershed should be displayed for
peak flow pre and post development.
(h)
Design capacity and peak capacity calculations.
(i)
A plan for the control of erosion and sedimentation caused by
the proposed construction.
(9) Handicapped requirements, including:
(a)
Number and dimension of handicapped parking spaces.
(b)
Handicapped ramps (including elevation ratio).
(c)
Curb cuts for handicapped access.
(11) Utilities, including:
(a)
Proposed and existing waterlines.
(b)
Proposed and existing electric lines and poles.
(c)
Proposed and existing septic tanks and drain fields.
(12) Elevation drawings, including:
(a)
Height of structures and finished floor elevations above finished
grade.
(c)
Elevations of handicapped access ramps.
(13) Floor plans, including:
(b)
Square footage of rooms and units.
(d)
Layout of handicapped bathrooms.
C. Development impact statement.
(1)
A development impact statement is required for projects with
the following characteristics:
(a)
Multifamily residential projects consisting of 10 or more units
or containing three or more acres of land.
(b)
Commercial and industrial projects consisting of 3,000 or more
square feet of floor area or three or more acres of land area.
(c)
All projects which generate more than 100 vehicle trips per
day.
(2)
The development impact statement shall describe potential impacts
of the proposed development, compare them to the impacts of uses which
are or can be made of the site without a requirement for site plan
review, identify all significant positive or adverse impacts, and
propose an acceptable program to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts.
The development impact statement shall consist of the following four
elements:
(a)
Traffic impact assessment.
[1] Purpose. To document existing traffic conditions
in the vicinity of the proposed project, to describe the volume and
effect of projected traffic generated by the proposed project, and
to identify measures proposed to mitigate any adverse impacts on traffic.
[2] Format and scope:
[a] Existing traffic volume, composition, peak-hour
levels, street capacities, and level of service (LOS) on surrounding
streets.
[b] Estimated average daily traffic generation, composition,
peak-hour levels and directional flows resulting from the proposed
development.
[c] Impacts of estimated traffic impacts on existing
traffic conditions.
[d] The methodology and sources used to service existing
data and estimations.
[e] Proposed methods to mitigate the estimated traffic
impact.
(b)
Environmental impact assessment.
[1] Purpose. To describe the impacts of the proposed
development with respect to on-site and off-site environmental quality.
[2] Format and scope:
[a] A description of the relationship of the proposed
development to the major botanical, zoological, geological and hydrological
resources of the site; the impact of stormwater runoff on adjacent
and downstream surface water bodies, subsurface groundwater and the
water table; and the potential dangers of erosion and sedimentation
caused by the operation and maintenance of the proposed development.
[b] Description of proposed measures for mitigation
of any potential adverse impacts on the natural environment.
(c)
Fiscal impact assessment.
[1] Purpose. To evaluate the fiscal and economic impacts
of the proposed development on the City.
[2] Format and scope:
[a] Projections of costs arising from increased demands
for public services and infrastructure.
[b] Projections of benefits from increased tax revenues,
employment (construction and permanent), and value of public infrastructure
to be provided.
[c] Projections of the impacts of the proposed development
on the values of adjoining properties.
[d] Five-year projection of increased City revenues
and costs resulting from the proposed development.
(d)
Community impact statement.
[1] Purpose. To evaluate the impact of the proposed
project on the City, surrounding neighborhoods and City services.
[2] Format and scope:
[a] Site design and neighborhood impact. Evaluation
of the relationship of proposed new structures or alterations to nearby
preexisting structures in terms of character and intensity of use
(e.g., scale, materials, color, door and window size and locations,
setbacks, roof and cornice lines, and other major design elements)
and of the location configuration of proposed structures, parking
areas, and open space with respect to neighboring properties.
[b] Historic impact. Identification of impacts on significant
historic properties, districts or areas or archaeological resources
(if any) in the vicinity of the proposed development.
[c] Evaluation of impacts on the water system, sewage
system, the landfill, the school system, fire protection, police protection,
libraries, and parks and recreation facilities, and proposed methods
of mitigation for any adverse impacts.
The following standards shall be used in evaluating projected
impacts of proposed developments. Required standards must be met by
all developments subject to this article. Recommended standards are
set forth as guidelines to both the SPRC and applicants and are not
intended to be inflexible requirements or to discourage creativity
and innovation.
A. Traffic impact standards.
(1)
Required. The level of service (LOS) of all impacted intersections
and streets shall be adequate following project development. For purposes
of this standard:
(a)
Level of service (LOS) shall be determined according to criteria
set forth by the Transportation Research Board of the National Research
Council.
(b)
"Impacted" means located within 1,000 feet of the closest boundary
of the project site and projected to receive at least 5% of the anticipated
average daily or peak-hour traffic generated by the proposed development.
(c)
"Adequate" shall mean a level of service of "B" or better for
rural, scenic and residential streets and for all new streets and
intersections to be created in connection with the project and "D"
or better for all other streets and intersections.
(2)
Recommended. The proposed site plan shall minimize points of
traffic conflict, both pedestrian and vehicular. The following guidelines
shall be used to achieve this standard:
(a)
Entrance and exit driveways shall be so located and designed
as to achieve maximum practicable distance from existing and proposed
access connections from adjacent properties.
(b)
Where possible, driveways shall be located opposite similar
driveways.
(c)
Sharing of access driveways by adjoining properties and uses
is encouraged.
(d)
Left-hand turns and other turning movements shall be minimized.
(e)
Driveways shall be so located and designed as to discourage
the routing of vehicular traffic to and through residential streets.
(f)
Pedestrian and bicycle circulation shall be separated from motor
vehicle circulation as far as practicable.
B. Environmental impact standards.
(1)
Required.
(a)
The proposed development shall not create any significant emission
of noise, dust, fumes, noxious gases, radiation, or water pollutants,
or any other similar significant adverse environmental impact.
(b)
The proposed development shall not increase the potential for
erosion, flooding or sedimentation, either on site or on neighboring
properties, and shall not increase rates of runoff from the site to
the satisfaction of the City Engineer. Provision for attenuation of
runoff pollutants and for groundwater recharge shall be included in
the proposal.
(c) The stormwater management for the proposed development shall meet
the requirements set forth in the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook
(latest edition). Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) shall
be designed to optimize nitrogen and phosphorus removal.
[Added 4-5-2022]
(d)
The design of the proposed development shall minimize the destruction
of unique natural features.
(e)
The design of the development shall minimize earth removal and
keep volume of cut and fill. Any grade changes shall be in keeping
with the general appearance of neighboring developed areas.
(f)
The design of the development shall minimize the area over which
existing vegetation is to be removed. Tree removal shall be minimized
and, if established trees are to be removed, special attention shall
be given to the planting of replacement trees.
C. Fiscal impact standards.
(2)
Recommended. Projected positive net fiscal flow for first five
years after design year of occupancy.
D. Community impact standards.
(1)
Required.
(a)
Design elements shall be compatible with the character and scale
of neighboring properties and structures.
(b)
The design of the development shall minimize the visibility
of visually degrading elements such as trash collectors, loading docks,
etc.
(c)
The design of the development shall be consistent or compatible
with existing local plans, including plan elements adopted by the
Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission,
and other City bodies having such jurisdiction.
(d)
The location and configuration of proposed structures, parking
areas and open space shall be designed so as to minimize any adverse
impact on temperature levels or wind velocities on the site or adjoining
properties.
(e)
Outdoor lighting, including lighting on the exterior of a building
or lighting in parking areas, shall be arranged to minimize glare
and light spillover to neighboring properties.