Before the Marion Planning Board can get down to the nitty-gritty of voting to green-light Tabor Academy’s proposed Campus Center on the site of the present Hayden Library at 85 Spring Street, feedback is needed from town officials such as Chief of Police Richard Nighelli and Building Commissioner Scott Shippey.
Once again, Planning Board Vice Chairman Andrew Daniel presided in the absence of Chairman Will Saltonstall, who is recusing himself from the process as the lead architect for the Campus Center. It is an odd juxtaposition for the members, who work with Saltonstall every other week to deliberate many cases; however, this one is the clearinghouse for a project his company is designing.
Any sense of awkwardness with the task has not been apparent, as members once again picked at the plans for the 22,750 square-foot academic building that would replace the one-floor library with a modern, two-floor facility and surrounding infrastructure. This time, they did so with the added benefit of peer review.
On February 1, Bob Field of Field Engineering and Tristan deBarros of Saltonstall Architects fielded questions from the Planning Board in a continued public hearing for the major site plan review. Peer-review consultant Joe Connell of SITEC was present at the Zoom meeting to follow up on matters that revised plans did not specifically address.
“We believe we adequately addressed their comments and concerns,” said Field, adding he would be happy to discuss any focus points.
Planning Board member Eileen Marum referenced a recent regional energy meeting she attended that recommended that 10 percent of parking spaces have electric vehicle charging stations and that 60 percent have pre-installed 40 amp circuits and standby generators. She suggested the Campus Center be built ahead of the curve as vehicles trend toward electric power. “I’m thinking further out so you won’t have to be digging up parking lots and putting these in retroactively,” she said.
Planning Board member Joe Rocha confirmed that the sale of gas-powered vehicles in Massachusetts is scheduled to become illegal by 2030, but he also suggested that many vehicles powered by fossil fuels will remain on the road. Planning Board member Norm Hills agreed.
Field said, “We could put conduit in place for future wiring,” adding that he intends to discuss the matter with his team. “We’ll see what we can do on that issue.”
Board member Christopher Collings, who did not see eye to eye with Field or deBarros on Spring Street traffic issues, said, “I love what Eileen is talking about, I like the idea of being functional…. Let’s try to dovetail this with the town’s (outlook).”
Daniel pumped the brakes. “I have a hard time telling people to do something that may or may not come to fruition in 20 years.” Marum insisted that “it’s coming,” albeit while qualifying her remarks as a suggestion.
“No question, electric cars are going to be part of the future,” said Hills, noting his belief that gas-powered vehicles will not be going away any time soon. “I think Mr. Field’s comment about investigating how to have the stuff installed is the most important part.”
Citing consistency, Collings compared Marum’s suggestion to requests that the Planning Board routinely makes in asking Route 6 properties to consider the corridor study. “I think it’s consistent to ask these kinds of properties to add the infrastructure,” he said.
Citing Marion Bylaw 230-6.5 “Off-Street Parking and Loading” under Section D “Parking Lot Design,” Marum pointed out that parking areas with at least 15 spaces are required to accommodate one bicycle for every three parking spaces. Field said bike racks would be added with work by the landscape architect.
The number of spaces became a matter of discussion after Connell pointed out that the town’s parking requirement is calculated by occupancy and number of employees. No number is spelled out in the design plans. Connell said the prescribed parking is one space per four occupants for schools plus one for every two employees.
Field explained that a memo was submitted prior to the Planning Board’s last meeting to address parking because the building is not dedicated to a single use on a single lot but is part of a larger campus. Parking is not strictly for the building but serves a number of buildings and needs of the campus. DeBarros added that only a handful of employees will be in the building and that “everyone else in the building is transient in nature.”
Daniel said that if there is an actual number of occupancy, the board should know what it is.
Other points of discussion included fire suppression. Field explained to Daniel that the fire hydrants are to be located on the side opposite the proposed dumpster location. The hydrants did not appear on the drawings, Field said, because they can be coordinated at the building permit stage.
While it was learned in a prior meeting that the Campus Center would be 34 feet, 11 inches in ridge height to the average grade along Spring Street, Hayden is at its highest point, 29 feet. For points of comparison, Cornelia Hall girls’ dorm is 31 feet, 7 inches high, and Matsumura House boys dorm 30 feet. The maximum height allowed in Marion is 35 feet.
Speaking of height, one of Connell’s more intriguing discrepancies in the Campus Center design is the dark-sky requirement. Field said his understanding is the light fixtures “don’t quite meet Dark Sky (certification),” but the fixtures proposed match those that have been approved for Tabor in past projects. Likewise, deBarros said that the proposed LED fixtures spread all the beam into the parking lot and not toward the street or the neighbors.
Connell’s last suggestion found traction, as Field indicated the 20-foot passageway between the northern and southern parking bays would be widened.
The public hearing was continued to Tuesday, February 16, at 7:05 pm.
In other business, the board voted to support the Historical Commission’s application to seek state funding for its town-wide survey. The board also voted to pay a SRPEDD invoice dated January 12 for $262.06.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Tuesday, February 16, at 7:00 pm.
Marion Planning Board
By Mick Colageo