Planning commission scrutinizes latest Watertown building projects under new zoning rules
Jun. 25—WATERTOWN — Plans for a 120-unit affordable housing building on Commerce Park Drive and the medical professional office redevelopment on Clinton Street are the two first major projects going through the city's new zoning requirements.
The city's Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals are scrutinizing the two projects with a new way at looking at parking and requirements on how much can be seen into the two buildings.
The new strategies for transparency and parking are part of the city's new zoning laws — the first changes since the original document was written in 1959 — that the City Council approved in February.
Mainly accomplished through the use of windows, transparency involves the ability of seeing into the first floor of buildings. That strategy promotes a more friendly atmosphere for pedestrians, city planner Geoffrey T. Urda explained.
In recent years, the city has focused on making Watertown a more walkable city, and the new rules do that, he said.
"Walking and transparency are definitely related," Mr. Urda said, adding "it's a core principle of urban design" that's been used for decades.
Using transparency in urban planning makes it "more inviting" for pedestrians because they feel "it's a safer place to walk and a more comfortable place to walk," Mr. Urda said.
DePaul Properties, a nonprofit developer based in Rochester, is the developer of a four-story affordable housing project proposed for 4.5-acre site on Commerce Park Drive.
The developers of the $20 million housing project appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals last Wednesday night about seeking an area variance because it must meet 50% transparency for the first floor of the front of the building.
The multi-unit housing project is in a commercial district, consisting of retail businesses and hotels that require a 50% threshold.
They're also seeking another variance for "functional entry spacing," the number of doors along the front side of the building, so it "makes the building feel more active," Watertown senior planner Jenn Voss said.
Dan Glading, the architect for the project, told the zoning board that changes were made to try to achieve the 50% threshold. The developers added a community room at the corner of the building and office space that features more windows at an expense of $750,000.
They also lowered the apartment windows on the building a bit and made them a little larger, but still only could get to about 47%, he said.
"That's as close as we can get it," he said.
The zoning board took no action that night. The project still needs to go through the state environmental review process with the Planning Commission before the board can consider the two area variances.
The second project going through the new transparency criteria is a 28,500-square-foot professional office building that developer Michael E. Lundy proposes at the site of the former Medical Arts Building at 155 Clinton St.
Once completed, Mr. Lundy plans to sell the building to Corry J. Lawler, owner of The Lawman Construction Group, and Kim Allen, who owns United Professional Advisors. Mr. Allen's financial consulting firm would be a major tenant.
That project is in the downtown district, so it needs 75% transparency on the front of the building, Mr. Urda said.
Mr. Lundy hasn't provided calculations for the transparency for the redeveloped building to the city yet. Last month, he appeared before the Planning Commission and was told he needed to follow the new zoning requirements.
The city's Planning Commission told Mr. Lundy that the project has to follow new criteria in the city's comprehensive plan that didn't exist when he first proposed redeveloping the prime piece of downtown property three years ago.
At the meeting, Mr. Lundy was upset with the Planning Commission, saying that if he has to make changes to his plans it could jeopardize the project. He couldn't be reached for comment for this story.
If Mr. Lundy shows a goodwill effort to make a compromise, the zoning board will most likely work with him on the project and get it approved, Mr. Urda said.
Transparency criteria is nothing new. Cities across the country have used the concept for decades. Watertown is now just incorporating the strategy because the city just approved the zoning changes and the Lundy and DePaul projects are the first that must follow it, Mr. Urda said.
Transparency dates back to early 1960s when Jane Jacobs, a well-known urban planner whose writings in the book, "The Life and Death of Great American Cities," championed a new, community-based approach to city planning.
The more people in the streets, the safer they become. Their "eyes on the street" provide "natural surveillance" of an urban street, Mr. Urda said. That's why people feel safe in Times Square in New York City no matter the time of the day or night, he explained.
In Watertown, the buildings along Franklin Street, near Public Square, is a good example of transparency that already exists in the city, Mr. Urda said, noting that the offices of Neighbors of Watertown and adjacent storefronts have a lot of windows that give that inviting feeling to pedestrians.
Built decades ago, the downtown Key Bank and Community Bank buildings on Washington Street are a bad example. The sides of the two buildings along Stone Street are completely void of windows.
"Would you feel safe walking down the street?" Mr. Urda said.
The developers of the DePaul project have already satisfied the parking issue, but Mr. Lundy still faces some questions about his parking plan for the Clinton Street redevelopment.
Mr. Lundy has proposed either 89 or 90 spaces for the proposed office building.
His project will have to undergo a Transportation Demand Management Plan to justify the spaces he wants. As such, he will have to provide a "level of service analysis," showing the impact of the proposed development has on the surrounding roads, Mr. Urda said.
And both projects will have to get site plan approval from the Planning Commission before construction can begin.
