By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Since early in the hearing process, the Zoning Board of Appeals has indicated that it would take up the size, mass and density of Cabot Cabot & Forbes’ proposed development at the head of the Lake once they heard all of the ancillary information first, like fiscal, traffic and other impacts that could dictate changes to the project.
Now that the traffic and fiscal impacts of the project have been presented and the size and layout of the project have changed in response to feedback from the ZBA and the public, the board plans to devote its Jan. 12 hearing to a discussion of the size, mass and density of the proposed 440-unit residential project at 200 Quannapowitt Parkway.
The board indicated its intention to address size and density after they heard about CC&F’s latest revised plans at their Dec. 15 meeting. In response to feedback from town officials and the public, those plans include a larger restaurant component and another reduction of the unit count to 440, spread among three buildings. (The original proposal called for 485 units.)
Brian O’Connor from architectural firm Cube 3 reviewed the latest design changes at this month’s meeting and landscape architect Ian Ramey discussed the updated landscape design.
O’Connor used a PowerPoint presentation to show the latest design updates, beginning with the expanded restaurant space at the southern end of Building 1 (closest to the Lake). The now 3,000 square-foot glassed-in restaurant will feature an outdoor dining area. O’Connor said that the interior restaurant space was not fully designed yet.
Buildings 1 and 2 will be closest to the Lake and will be three stories tall. Each building will be divided in two and have an upper-floor enclosed “bridge” joining the two sections. O’Connor said that this was done to increase the feeling of openness in the project.
Building 3 will have four stories and will be set back closer to the highway. Building 3 will feature three courtyards that are intended to enhance the “neighborhood feel” of the project, O’Connor said. The courtyards are designed to create “activity zones” along the main road going through the center of the project and will focus on amenities for residents, O’Connor said.
The plan is to reinforce the feeing of community, with warm, natural materials used on the building exteriors, O’Connor said.
Landscape architect Ian Ramey talked about efforts to bolster the green infrastructure of the landscaping with rain gardens, wet basins and conservation areas.
The rain gardens along the pathway on the Lake-facing side will be both functional and beautiful as a component of the stormwater management plan for the site, Ramey said. Like the rain gardens, the planned “wet basins” along the periphery of the site will filter pollutants and reduce runoff.
The conservation areas at the edges of the site will be planted with a native seed mix that will be seldom mowed. Smaller trees will also populate these areas with the intention to support wildlife.
Other plantings on the site will be done with an eye toward continuous blooms throughout the growing season and year-round interest with a broad color scheme, O’Connor said.
ZBA member Chip Tarbell said that he was concerned that the planting areas would require a significant level of continuing care.
O’Connor agreed and said that the landscape management plan would be part of the overall operations and maintenance plan for the project.
CC&F project manager Matt D’Amico said that the amount of community space has been increased by more than 50 percent and will include convenience-type amenities designed to keep people on site and reduce the need for off-site trips.
ZBA member Jim McBain asked about lighting along the public path closed to the Lake for nighttime walkers during good weather. The project team indicated that bollard lights were planned along the second path, closer to the buildings, which the public will be welcome to use. No artificial lighting is proposed along the path closer to the Lake shore as it includes habitat areas.
ZBA member Ami Wall said that she felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the plantings, calling it “a lot of stuff.”
Ramey said that the intention was to do something counter to what is there now, which is a lot of mowed lawn area and pavement.
Board member Mike Feeley said that he would like to see a rendering showing how the project would look from the opposite side of the Lake. O’Connell said that it would be hard to capture much detail from such a distant viewpoint but agreed to try.
ZBA member Joe Price said that he would like to see a rendering that shows what the enclosed “bridges” connecting the segments of Buildings 1 and 2 would look like.
Board member Greg McIntosh wanted more discussion of exterior materials and colors.
Tarbell requested more details on the types of amenities that would be available to residents on site, as well as other details like a lighting plan for the site. He said that it was time to “close the loop” on aspects of the project rather than coming back with more changes.
ZBA member Tom Lucey wanted a discussion of the size and scale of the project. Tarbell agreed that it was time, noting that the board had said that such a discussion would occur once they had a clearer picture of some of the other impacts of the project.
Board members indicated that they would like to see renderings of the project from as many different perspectives and vantage points as possible for their Jan. 12 meeting to aid in their discussion of the size and scale of the project.
O’Connor said that he would provide as much as he could for the Jan. 12 meeting and if the board still wanted more, they could let him know at that time.
The board continued the hearing to Jan 12.
