In their meeting held on March 10, the Rochester Planning Board discussed a previously approved application for the Cranberry Highway Development. The reopening of the discussion was sparked by changes to sign location and orientation on the site.
Phil Cordeiro of Allen and Major Inc. came before the Planning Board to explain the amended plans to the board members. According to Cordeiro, the plans for placing signs on the development have been in progress throughout the application phase and ultimately fall under Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals jurisdiction.
After meeting with the ZBA, Cordeiro identified changes in his plans that would need to be brought before the Planning Board for its records and maintained consistently among the plan sets. The changes to the plans were caused by ZBA requirements to identify the lines of sight surrounding the sign placements.
As the signs are positioned near the road, it is important that the positioning and orientation for signs do not impede the view of oncoming traffic. This point is particularly important for the signs positioned along Route 28. At those junctions, drivers will need a significant amount of vision to anticipate oncoming vehicles before turning.
Cordeiro went to the site and took pictures of the locations where the signs would be constructed. In addition, he shared images of the lines of sight with drawings of the signs superimposed so that board members could more accurately understand the impact that signs would have on limiting the view of oncoming traffic.
Due to Cordeiro’s design, the signs’ impact on the sightlines is limited by their spacing at least 11 feet away from the road at all points. This means that, even if the signs are substantial in size, drivers will still have the ability to see around them when turning out of the development.
The Planning Board was generally satisfied with the position and orientation of the signs, as Cordeiro effectively demonstrated that the signs would not cause any significant restriction to the sightlines. With that, the board informed Cordeiro that it would inform the ZBA that it is in favor of the updated changes to the position and orientation of the signs.
The next Rochester Planning Board meeting is scheduled for March 23 at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Planning Board
By Matthew Donato