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2023-02-22 Meeting MinutesCity of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Board or Committee: Design Review Board – Regular Meeting Date and Time: Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 6:00 pm Meeting Location: Remote Participation via Zoom DRB Members Present: Chair Paul Durand, David Jaquith, Glenn Kennedy, Catherine Miller, Marc Perras, Sarah Tarbet DRB Members Absent: J. Michael Sullivan Others Present: Kate Newhall-Smith Recorder: Colleen Brewster Chair Durand calls the meeting to order at 6:00PM. Roll call was taken. Signs in the Urban Renewal Area 1. 72 Washington Street: Annie’s Asian Mart, continued from 1/25/23. Yonghui Liu, co-owner, was present to discuss the project. Kennedy stated that at the previous meeting Perras requested it be continued for appropriation purposes. Perras noted that the symbolism behind the graphic needs to be understood. Liu replied that is a traditional Japanese image that his wife found it on a website, and it will alert people to their traditional Asian foods. Perras noted their previous concerns with the apostrophe. Chair Durand noted that the vertical placement seems strange. Kennedy suggested placing the apostrophe equidistant between the ‘E’ and ‘S.’ Public Comment: No one in the assembly wished to speak. VOTE: Kennedy: Motion to approve moving of the apostrophe centered vertically and between the two letters. Seconded by: Jaquith. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6- 0. 2. 75 Washington Street: Dire Wolf Tavern Monica Hauenstein (Serenity Restaurant Group) and Michael Smith (CFO for Serenity Restaurant Group) was present to discuss the project. Smith stated that the proposed blade sign replaces the old Opus sign and is 30-lbs lighter, 39-inches-high x 34-inches-wide. They proposed window graphics in one of the four storefront windows to the left of the entry door and in one of the three storefront windows to the right of the entry door. The lettering will be black, and the rest will be see-through. One window graphic is proposed on the one alley window in the middle of the window. They reduced the size of the window signage to 22 SF, 44-inches-wide x City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes 21-inches-high. It will also have black lettering with a frosted surround that you will be able to see through. They provided specifications on the nail heads on the blade sign. Miller asked what part of the front windows would be frosted. Smith replied a small outline around the center circle. Tarbet asked why a second board was shown about the front storefront windows. Hauenstein clarified that it would not be used. Miller asked if the large windows graphics will have a circle, which appears to be larger than the window. Smith replied yes and noted that the circle would fit within the single window frame. Kennedy raised concerns with the similarity to Howling Wolf. Smith replied that the are not concerned although it has been mentioned. The name comes from a Grateful Dead song. Hauenstein noted that they intentionally made their wolf different. Kennedy asked if any concerns from the owner of Howling Wolf. Smith replied no. Newhall-Smith asked if there will be text in the sign band above the entry. Smith replied no. Miller asked that the band be repaired after the removal of the Opus sign. Perras stated that the sign band in the alley window seems odd and suggested it also be a circle. Smith replied that the background is only a light frosting that’s meant to highlight the arrow. It was this way originally, but it was reduced in size to meet signage size requirements. Perras noted his preference to center it on the glass with clear glass background since it’s a band. Kennedy preferred a circle frost be used as a background. Kennedy agreed. Hauenstein noted that the text size would need to be reduced. Tarbet suggested the horizontal lettering would compete with the circle and requested clarification on the lettering color. Smith replied black with the white areas see-through. Tarbet suggested lowering the alley sign to shield patrons. Hauenstein raised concern with losing visibility from the street. Smith requested a preferred clearance around the alley sign. Chair Durand suggested 3-inches of space on either side. Public Comment: No one in the assembly wished to speak. VOTE: Jaquith: Motion to approve with 3-inch margins on alleyway sign. Seconded by: Perras. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6- 0. Projects in the Urban Renewal Area 1. 301 Essex Street: Schematic Design Review – Erect a three and one-half-story addition above the existing building (known as Jerry’s Army & Navy Store) with eighteen (18) residential units and twelve (12) onsite parking spaces located inside City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes the building at the first-floor rear with retail space fronting on Essex Street, continued from 01/25/22. Request to continue to 03/22/23. VOTE: Jaquith: Motion to continue to March 22, 2023. Seconded by: Perras. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6- 0. 2. 152 Washington Street: Small Project Review and Sign Review – Façade paint, canopy, and building and site signage for Dunkin’. Tyler Rosa (JTE Construction) and Bill Gavigan (Poyant Signs) were present to discuss the project. Gavigan state that most of the proposed improvements relate to rebranding, changing façade colors for Dunkin’ which is complimentary to the downtown with a proposed grey color palette. The architectural plans have been revised to include painting a band orange rather than adding an I beam. The proposed signage is PVC lettering, existing external illumination will be painted Iron Ore, the new canopy of the pick-up window will have downlighting, canopy signage will be 3/4-inch-thick PVC lettering 9-1/2-high. A second canopy is proposed over the entry door with “DD” lettering between the window and entry. The proposed signs are significantly less square footage. The existing direction signs at entry and exit will become an aluminum panel that illuminate when headlights shine on them, and the poles will be painted grey. The canopy over the window will be 6-feet-wide x 3-feet-6-inches deep. The canopy over the entry door will be 4-feet-7-1/2-inches-wide x 3-feet-6-inches deep. All existing awnings will be removed to clean up the façade. Perras requested clarification that no awnings will be placed along the Washington Street façade. Gavigan replied that is correct. Perras asked if the façade will be painted, and the field will be darker. Gavigan replied that all trim is existing will be painted with new colors. Perras and Jaquith had no issue with the proposed design. Tarbet suggested the use of orange was too bold for this location, nothing that other locations have gold or pink. Miller suggested that the gold may have been a nod to historic look, she was in favor of keeping the gooseneck lamps, and had no issue with the use of orange and pink. Jaquith agreed. Kennedy noted that this was not a historic building. Tarbet raised concerns with the plans for the dumpster enclosure along Washington Street and if it will match the new color concept. Rosa replied that they will paint the existing chain-link Iron Ore. Kennedy suggested new paneling to match the paneling used on the left side of the building, since the blue dumpster is visible through the chain- link. Rosa agreed to speak to the owner. Perras agreed that the paneling should match and asked what is concealed behind the slats on the left side of the building. Rosa replied to a walk-in cooler. City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Public Comment: No one in the assembly wished to speak. VOTE: Perras: Motion to approve with a closer look at the dumpster enclosure to an opaque to match the walk-in cooler enclosure. Seconded by: Jaquith. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6- 0. Projects Outside the Urban Renewal Area 1. 266 Canal Street: Design Review for Entrance Corridor Overlay District – Redevelop the property by removing all existing buildings and infrastructure and constructing five new buildings for a total of approximately 73,615 square feet with 250 residential units (of which 20% will be affordable), commercial space along Canal Street, and preservation of nine acres of open space. The project also includes construction of 117 surface parking spaces, 196 garage parking spaces, and supporting infrastructure. David Seibert and Kevin Paton of BKA Architects were present to discuss the project. Atty. Correnti stated that the entity is Canal Street Station, LLC, a joint venture between Juniper Point Investment Co. and Beverly Crossing. This complex project will be reviewed by numerous city boards and the property includes Rosie’s Pond off Jefferson Avenue. Proposed are 250 dwelling units within 5 buildings, 1,500 SF of retail, with 20% affordable at 60% AMI (a total of 50 units.) 313 parking spaces are proposed as garage spaces under the buildings and surface parking, with 32 EV charging stations. The site consists of Bertini’s Restaurant, the parking lot and up to the mouth of the new Rail Trail, the nail salon, car lot, the long kennel buildings, and boat storage area will all be removed. They reside on 4.5 acres of developable space and 9.2 acres of conservation land (Rosie’s Pond) beyond. A portion of the site falls within the Entrance Corridor giving the DRB jurisdiction over the project. The Rail Trail northern entry point off Canal that runs the length of Canal Street and into the downtown and this new site will connect to the trail and over the wetlands to provide public access. Five buildings are proposed, A through E, with the quad with buildings being B through D, and Building A, a smaller mixed-use building along Canal Street entrance corridor with some commercial spaces. Seibert stated that of the 5 buildings, Building A has first floor commercial, while the four other buildings will be 3 to 5 story podium structures with at grade parking. Current Unit Count is 250 units: Building A: 28 Units, Building B: 62 Units, Building C: 64 Units, Building D: 48 Units, and Building E: 48 Units. The unit mix is currently 4 studios (2%), 115 1-Bedrooms (46%), and 131 2-Bedrooms (52%.) City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes Green space and planting beds have been designated around the quad that will connect to the Rail Trail and be a welcoming entry into the site. They used the massing to step down and provided a rooftop common deck amenity and the quad level buildings beyond gain one additional floor. The buildings have a masonry base at the garage levels, aluminum glass storefront at the retail and amenity spaces, garage openings are infilled with metal screening to shield the view of vehicles. The muted façade consists of dark accent bands, corrugated metal siding will provide some shelter to the outdoor patio spaces below along the north face of Building A. Along the façade motif they are trying to create design vignettes along the length of the buildings for visual interest, using fiber cement wood, painted panels, with black Andersen series 100 windows throughout. Miller asked if there will be Blue Bikes rack like at the other end of Canal Street and bike storage on site. She requested more information regarding street tree, incorporating trees into the landscape and parking lots, and whether solar collectors will be incorporated like Beverly has done with the behind the buildings on Cabot Street. Perras stated that it’s a difficult problem given the scale of the project and some ways are more successful. The Building A ground floor rendering acts as a reveal with storefront and metal screening with a mass floating above, and that language could be use at the other buildings. The masonry portion and garage zones should be darker and fall into shadow rather than tan banding that reads as a reveal. A couple different materials coming together and ganging windows to create an intermediate scale which would be more successful than the vertical banding, and that should be a guide moving forward. Jaquith stated that he was not impressed with Buildings B through E and he asked if 250 units was allowed. Atty. Correnti replied yes. Jaquith noted that there are too many buildings, not enough space between the buildings, there should have more variety, the proposed look is retro, and Building A should have more ground floor retail. Kennedy agreed with most comments made about bike storage and paths and asked how Rosie’s Pond was being incorporated. Atty. Correnti replied that it is not part of the PUD but part of the plan overall and they will improve access for the public. Tarbet agreed with Perras that the building design looks haphazard, she doesn’t see the blue as good contextual comparison, and she preferred the masonry buildings at Salem State campus. She was in favor of the masonry stair cores but not the framed ends which is overdone. She was in favor of more simple and timeless aesthetics and raised concerns with the balconies and roof terraces, which should be incorporated better, highlighting that the balcony structure was not completely shown. She appreciated the affordability and noted that the building design may be a product of that. The interior street between feels cavernous and surrounded by a parking lot. She suggested City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes livening up the site with green space, so the pedestrian experience is active and engaging. Perras suggested misaligning the opening between the buildings in plan to provide a view to the natural landscape beyond, or to offset their openings, since the symmetry makes it feel imposing. Jaquith agreed with adding randomness to help with density. Chair Durand also agreed. Public Comment: No one in the assembly wished to speak. Chair Durand agreed with the board and asked if there was energy efficiency planned or will it be pursued. Atty. Correnti replied that Councillor Cohen has raised that point and details about its inclusion will be provided at their next meeting. He noted that the DRB comments are helpful, and revisions are being made like the landscaping and boulevard between, and all other items will be addressed. Miller appreciated the diversity of the units, which implies that families will live there so outdoor space will be important. VOTE: Jaquith: Motion to continue to March 22, 2023. Seconded by: Perras. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6- 0. Newhall-Smith noted that as of April 1, 2023 the public meetings may need to switch to hybrid or in-person. New / Old Business 1. Approval of Minutes: a. January 25, 2023 VOTE: Miller: Motion to approve the January 25, 2023 meeting minutes. Seconded by: Perras. Roll Call: Jaquith abstained due to his absence, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 5-0. 2. Staff Updates, if any: Newhall-Smith stated: 1. Residences above The Derby: The oversized “for lease” sign has been removed. 2. Starbucks: Someone raised concerns at a previous meeting about their signage. She reviewed their file, and their signage seems to comply. City of Salem Massachusetts Public Meeting Minutes 3. The UPS Store: She will review their file and comparison to their current signage. 4. American Flatbread: The SRA sided with the DRB on their signage and the applicant should not have their sign illuminated. Tarbet noted that their sign was illuminated the previous night. Newhall-Smith to reach out to the applicant. Kennedy stated that Annie’s signage was continued at the previous meeting, and he raised concerns with continuing matters too quickly when issues could be resolved that same night. Chair Durand and Newhall-Smith noted that the applicant wasn’t present at night of the meeting and Board members had questions. Tarbet raised concerns with the appropriation of the imagery which the Board contextually should be careful about approving. Kennedy added that he had no issue with the doll, which he felt was typical imagery. Adjournment Jaquith: Motion to adjourn. Seconded by: Kennedy. Roll Call: Jaquith, Kennedy, Miller, Perras, Tarbet, and Durand were in favor. Passes 6-0. Meeting is adjourned at 7:45PM. Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-028 through 2-203