“Nonstandard” Design Approved For UMass Five College Credit Union Branch On Northampton Road

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Planning Board, June 1, 2022

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. The recording can be viewed here. The packet can be viewed here
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Present
Doug Marshall (Chair), Maria Chao, Jack Jemsek, Janet McGowan, Andrew MacDougall, Thom Long, and Johanna Neumann. Note: MacDougall arrived one hour into the meeting

Staff: 
Christine Brestrup (Planning Director), Nate Malloy (Senior Planner), and Pam Field Sadler (Assistant)

Nine members of the public were in attendance

UMass Five College Credit Union Branch Approved Despite Safety Concerns
The public hearing for a branch of the UMass Five College Credit Union at 398-406  Northampton Road was continued from May 18 to answer several concerns raised by the Planning Board at the earlier meeting. Although Jack Jemsek was absent for the May 18 meeting, he did watch the recording of the meeting and so is able to participate in the determination according to the Mullen ruling. The UMassFive was represented by Attorney Tom Reidy of Bacon, Wilson law firm, architect Aelan Tierney of Kuhn/Riddle Architects, and landscape architect Rachel Loeffler of Berkshire Design.

Of the issues raised by the Planning Board, most attention was given to Andrew MacDougall’s concern about the safety of locating the three drive-through ATMs at the rear of the building, where they are not visible from the street. MacDougall, a landscape architect who advises banks on their construction projects nationwide, noted that, typically, drive-throughs are located on a side of the building. 

Reidy pointed out that most larger banks have branches on corner lots, so the drive-throughs can be on a side, but this site is in the middle of the block. He said the credit union’s security team was comfortable with the rear drive-throughs at this site because it is better for traffic flow, protection from street noise, and design. He added that there would be security cameras (not monitored at night) and adequate lighting of the area. During the day, the drive-throughs would be staffed by tellers.

MacDougall said that the Florence Bank on Route 9 in Hadley was not on a corner lot and still has drive-through bays on the side. He asked if the credit union had checked with the police to see if they are comfortable with this design. Reidy replied that he had not contacted the police, but would check with Police Chief Scott Livingstone the following day. Janet McGowan agreed that the covered drive-through areas would be safer on the side.

Jemsek felt that these concerns were “projecting way past what the Planning Board should be concerned with, and if the credit union is satisfied, I am as well.” Chair Doug Marshall said he does feel it is the responsibility of the Planning Board to protect the safety of the public. Both he and Thom Long said they would not make a large withdrawal from these ATMs at night, but if the credit union wants to keep them, it is their decision. Maria Chao agreed that she was thankful that the board was being thorough, but it can’t solve every situation, so she is comfortable with the design.

Tierney stated that architects must take the safety of the public into account. She noted that the primary use of the drive-throughs would be during the day, when tellers are present, although the ATM will be operational all night. Reidy noted that there are two ATMs in the vestibule at the front of the building for people to use if they are uncomfortable with the drive-throughs. Planner Chris Brestrup noted that the Florence Bank location does not have the noise of the car wash vacuums to contend with, as does this site, but added that using the indoor ATMs would involve getting out of one’s car, which may feel unsafe to some or not be desirable in poor weather.

In public comment, Claire Bertrand asked if there had been any robberies at the Westgate Center Drive branch of the UMassFive, which is far from a main road. She likes the proposed design, and said she would have no reservations about using the rear drive-throughs. Reidy replied that no robberies have occurred at the Westgate Center Drive site.

Planner Nate Malloy read the eight pages of findings and conditions for the project. Minor concerns raised at the previous Planning Board meeting involved adequate screening on the Greenleaves (west) side of the site, use of the outdoor deck for community events after hours, the evergreen hedge near the Hawkins Meadow apartments, the covered bicycle shelter, and the width of the sidewalk. Reidy said that screening evergreens are planned for the west border of the lot. The evergreen hedge on the east side belongs to Hawkins Meadow apartments, but the credit union would replace it if it is damaged during construction or erect a fence if it is removed. He added that the rooftop deck would rarely be used for community events after hours and that parking for those events could be at the Westgate Center Drive site, with a shuttle service to the new branch. He said the sidewalk cannot be widened due to existing utility poles. The architects are working on a film coating for the large windows to prevent bird strikes.

Reidy noted that the 12% slope of the entrance drive would serve as traffic calming, so no speed bump would be necessary. He wanted the conditions to specify appropriate maintenance of the grounds, in case the planned “no mow” grass does not take or is not available. Because of the 24-hour ATMs, the lights cannot be dimmed after 11 p.m., but they will all be dark-sky compliant. The design team decided to keep the small seating area out front, despite noise from the street, noting that they did not see it as a place where people would be spending a significant amount of time.

Jemsek then made a motion to approve the proposed plan with the stated conditions. McGowan said she was uncomfortable voting without more information on the safety of the drive-throughs and would prefer to delay the vote until the next meeting, which is in two weeks, in case these concerns necessitate a change in design. MacDougall offered to bring in safety data and standards from the banking industry for the June 15 meeting. 

Chao said she felt like the board was “second guessing” the architects and safety consultants who work with the bank. MacDougall then asked Tierney how many bank branches her firm had designed. She replied that she was unsure how many the Kuhn/Riddle had worked on, but she had designed three or four. McGowan asked if any of those had rear-facing drive-through ATMS. Tierney said she has worked “mostly” with downtown branches that don’t have drive-throughs.

Despite these safety concerns and unanswered questions, the Planning Board approved the design by a vote of 5-2, with MacDougall and McGowan voting no.

Floodplain Maps And Bylaw Introduced And Continued Until September
As required, a public hearing was held to present the updated floodplain maps and article 16 of the zoning bylaw, which creates a floodplain overlay district. A similar hearing was held at the Community Resources Committee Meeting on May 26. The maps and bylaw need to be accepted by FEMA in order for the town to participate in the flood insurance program. The current maps were produced in 1983, but mapping technique has become much more accurate since then.

The town has been working on revising the flood maps since 2017. It hired AECOM consulting firm to survey watershed areas of more than one square mile in area. The new maps have been available for review since July, 2021. The required three appeal periods have passed with only one appeal being filed. All property owners in the 100-year floodplain have been notified. However, the town has yet to receive the letter of final determination from FEMA, so cannot accept the maps and bylaw until early fall.

Brestrup noted that the Tan Brook, which runs from a pond in Wildwood Cemetery to the Campus Pond, is not included in the maps because it does not qualify as a watershed by FEMA guidelines. However, the Conservation Commission is working with UMass to protect it during the construction of new dorms on Massachusetts Avenue.

Several Planning Board members wanted to compare the old maps to the new ones. Malloy said that 90% of the land in the flood plain is permanently preserved. Very little of it is available for development, but any alteration of a property in the zone would require extra permitting as determined by the planning director, who will serve as Floodplain Administrator. Brestrup said that despite predicted increasing rainfall and flooding due to climate change, FEMA only considers past events when making its findings. She said any resident can purchase flood insurance, even if they are not in a flood zone, but the insurance only covers the building, not the land. Structures in the flood zone may be required to have flood insurance in order to receive a mortgage. The property values of these parcels may be decreased, and they may be subject to increased scrutiny.

In public comment, resident Janet Keller thought that the Conservation Commission should be the first to weigh in on any development proposed for the floodplain. In response to her question on how long comments would be accepted on this topic, Brestrup told her that the hearing would be open until at least the Planning Board meeting on September 7. The CRC is taking up the topic again on September 8. McGowan said she would like to examine the wording of the bylaw with Malloy and Brestrup prior to bringing it back to the board in September. 

After the Planning Board and CRC meetings, the maps and bylaw will need to be passed by the Town Council before being forwarded to FEMA for acceptance.

Definitive Subdivision Plan For Center East Way Accepted
When the mixed use building bylaw was revised last fall to require 30% of the amount of ground floor area to be nonresidential, John Wrobeleski filed a preliminary subdivision plan for his property at 442-462 Main Street to freeze the zoning there so that he does  not have to comply with the bylaw. He and attorney Tom Reidy appeared before the Planning Board to obtain approval of the definitive subdivision plan. 

The project was reviewed by the Board of Health on April 5, as required for all subdivision plans, and approved by that board, with the recommendation that the sewer line be upgraded from six to eight inches in diameter. 

Since the project had been discussed at several meetings previously, there was little further discussion. Twenty-four draft conditions were read, and the plan passed 5-0-0. McGowan was not present at the May 4 meeting, so she abstained. MacDougall had not yet joined this meeting. Wrobeleski has six months to have his final plan accepted. However, he does not intend to construct this subdivision, but instead plans to build a second mixed-use building on the site.

Hearing To Modify The Parking At Amherst Office Park Postponed
Due to the extensive discussion of the UMass Credit Union project, which did not end until 10:25 p.m., the hearing for modification of the parking at Amherst Office Park, 463 West Street, was opened but then postponed until 6:35 on June 15. Owner Ron LaVerdiere agreed to the postponement.

Interviews For Vacant Planning Board Positions Were Held June 2
The CRC held  interviews for two upcoming vacancies on the Planning Board on June 2 (Indy link). Bruce Coldham and Karin Winter were recommended to the town council for appointment to the Planning Board..

The Planning Board meeting adjourned at 10:46 p.m. The next meeting will be June 15.