16, 18, 20R Franklin Street residences project2.6 Project Alternatives
The Project site is located in the North River Canal Corridor zoning district and is subject to the use and dimensional requirements of the zoning for the area. Commercial uses are
located south and southwest of the site and residential neighborhoods are located north and west of the property. The site is also located adjacent to the North River and contains
wetland resource areas and is almost entirely comprised of filled tidelands. Combined these factors place development constraints on the site and limit the ability to locate structures
in order to comply with the governing regulations. City ownership of Parcel A also creates a pie shaped Project site and the Proponents commitment to the City to improve Parcel B
with landscaping further limits the area available for development of the Preferred Alternative - Option1 (see Site Development Constraints Map).
The Project site for Option 1(which includes Parcel B) is almost entirely located within Chapter 91 jurisdiction and the implementing regulations impose dimensional restrictions on the
property including an 87.2’ Water Dependent Use Zone within which only water-dependent uses can be placed and a 100’ Facility of Public Accommodation Zone within which only facilities
of public accommodation can be placed on the ground plane/ground floor. Combined, these two requirements remove a large portion of the site from consideration for residential development
and, because Parcel B is unbuildable, less than half of the 2.25 acre Project site, 48,276 square feet (49.3%) is available for the placement of buildings, interior circulation and
parking.
Both the Chapter 91 regulations and local zoning impose height restrictions. The existing zoning for the site limits building height to 50 feet and 4 stories. Additionally, because
the site is almost entirely located in filled tidelands, building heights are limited to 55’ measured inland 100’ from the shoreline with allowances for an additional ½ foot in heigh
for every one foot landward of the 100 foot line.
City and Community Project Review Process
The Project underwent more than four years of local site plan and design review prior to receiving permits in 2018. As a result of these reviews, several changes were made to the Project
layout and design to address neighborhood concerns and to ensure that the Project was compatible with the character of the neighborhood and complied with zoning to the greatest extent
possible.
The Planning Board in its May 18, 2020 Special Permit Decision noted in part that “The Planning Board finds that the size and scale of the development is appropriate while preserving
the historic neighborhood character given the massing of the development is stepped with lower townhouses along Franklin Street to the taller midrise buildings in the back and since
the project complies with height requirements per the zoning ordinance.”
2.6.1 Project Alternatives
A discussion of the alternatives evaluated as part of the planning and regulatory review process and a No Build Alternative are provided below.
No Build Alternative
Under the No Build Alternative, the Property would remain in its undeveloped, contaminated state until such time the current property owners decide to make changes or sell the property
to others who may make changes. Public access to and along the North River would be nonexistent. Several proposed Project benefits would not occur including:
Remediation of a site that has been contaminated since the early 1900’s
Redevelopment of an underutilized, blighted former auto salvage yard
Creation of a significant waterfront public realm
Creation of over 438 linear feet of public access along the North River and a connection path to Franklin Street
Improved stormwater management
Creation of 3-4 units of affordable housing
Cleaning of and improvements to city-owned storm drain line and outfall
Economic benefits including real estate investment, jobs and local tax revenues
Previously Considered Alternatives
As noted, several alternatives were considered for the build out of the site over the past 4 years as part of the local planning review process (see Table 2, Summary of Alternatives
Analysis). Prior to submitting local permit applications, three neighborhood meetings were held to get input on the initial conceptual development program that included a 5 building,
52-unit residential development with a looped interior access way (Figure 8 Alternative 1). Based on comments received at the first meeting, the number of buildings were increased to
6 but the number of units were decreased to 44, an accessory parking garage was added and the looped accessway remained. A second neighborhood meeting was held to review the revised
concept which resulted in another alternative that reduced the number of units to 43 and adding a parking garage. This plan was submitted to the Planning Board and presented at a third
neighborhood meeting. As part of the Planning Board process, the plan was changed several times finally resulting in a five building, 42 unit development with 65 parking spaces (at
grade or underneath buildings) and a single versus looped access from Franklin Street that was approved by the City of Salem in 2018 (see Figure 9 2018 Approved Plan).
2020 Alternatives
Part of the Project site presented in the 2018 approved plan included land adjacent to Furlong Park and occupied by the Ferris auto salvage yard that lacks clear title. The Proponent
has been working with the City to address the ownership of this land (known locally as “Parcel A and Parcel B”) and shown on Figure 10). As a result of these discussions, the Proponent
agreed to remove Parcel A (located along Franklin Street) from the Project Site. The Proponent then revised the Project design by removing Parcel A and a building that was formerly
proposed on that parcel, relocating the site access about 55 feet southerly and reducing the number of housing units and parking spaces.
Two options were presented for consideration by the Planning Board both of which proposed four versus five buildings with 57 parking spaces. Option 1 shown on Figure 10 is a 37 unit
development on a Project site comprised of a 1.89 acre parcel and the adjacent 15,297 square foot Parcel B. Option 2, shown on Figure 11, is a 31 unit development that includes the
same 1.89 acre parcel as Option 1 but excludes Parcel B from the Project site. As discussed, the City of Salem Planning Board approved both Options in May 2020 with the approval of
Option 1 contingent on the owner gaining control of Parcel B. Under both Options, the four buildings, interior circulation and parking are located entirely on the 1.89 acre site.
Preferred Alternative
Should the Proponent gain control of Parcel B, the Preferred Alternative is Option 1, a four building, 37 unit development. Should the Proponent not gain control of Parcel B Option
2, a four building 31 unit development would be developed.
The addition of Parcel B to the Project site, allows the density to increase from 31 to 37 units (the same density approved in the 2018 Plan) and will result in the following public
benefits:
Environmental remediation of Parcel B by the Project Proponent
Provides an additional 15,297 square feet of open space (increases the improved landscaped area from 33,390 sf in Option 2 to 49,260 sf)
Adds 86 additional feet of Harborwalk along the North River
Extends the Harborwalk to the city-owned Furlong Park
Accommodates re-locating the public access proposed from Franklin Street to the North River in a more direct route possibly along Furlong Park when and if the City improves “Parcel A”.
As indicated in Table 2, Options 1 and Option 2 have the least environmental impact of the seven alternatives analyzed. Compared to the densest alternative (Alternative 1 with 52 units)
the Preferred Alternative (Option 1) has reduced the number of buildings from five to four; the number of residential units by almost 29% from 52 to 37; the number of parking spaces
from 78 to 57; average daily traffic generation from 335 to 242; sewer generation from 15,620 to 11,000 gallons per day (gpd); and water consumption from 17,182 to 12,100 gpd. Additionally,
Options 1 and 2 create 37,320 sf of imperious surfaces compared to 52,620 sf created in the 2018 project. This change represents a 15,300 sf (30%) reduction from the previously approved
2018 plan. The reduction in impervious area will similarly result in reduced stormwater flows to storm drainage system.
Table 2
Summary Alternatives Analysis
Alternative
# of Buildings
# of Units
# of Bedrooms
# Parking Spaces
Sewer Generation (gpd)
Water Consumption (gpd)
Average Daily Traffic
No Build
1
0
0
9
50
55
20
1
5
52
142
78
15,620
17,182
335
2
6*
44
125
67
13,750
15,125
283
3
6*
43
120
69
13,200
14,520
278
4
5
48
130
74
14,300
15,730
308
2018 Approved
5
42
115
65
12,650
13,915
272
2020 Option 1 (Preferred Alternative)
4
37
100
57
11,000
12,100
242
2020 Option 2
4
31
84
57
10,164
10,648
208
*5 (five) residential buildings and one free standing garage building