From: Karen Edwards Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 9:02 AM To: Karen Edwards Subject: FW: CORRECTED VERSION: Points of Concern for Future Drafts of the Mill Plaza Redevelopment Plan Karen Edwards We have recently moved our offices. Please note new address below. Town of Durham 8 Newmarket Road Durham, NH 03824 (603) 868-8064 www.ci.durham.nh.us From: Charles Forcey [] Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 6:08 AM To: Karen Edwards Subject: CORRECTED VERSION: Points of Concern for Future Drafts of the Mill Plaza Redevelopment Plan NOTE: Karen, I made some much needed typo corrections to this version — I am sure mistakes will remain, but if this version goes to the planning board in place of the other one, I will be a little less embarrassed! Dear Planning Board, Thanks as always for the time and effort you put into reviewing building projects and fairly assessing whether variances to our zoning rules should be granted and under what conditions. I know of many projects in Durham that moved from awkward first drafts at odds with the established flow of the community, standards of energy efficiency, and the New England aesthetic to become—through your collaborative planning process—true assets not just to the tax base but to the broader social fabric of the town. I was thrilled to hear about the recent plans to redevelop the Mill Plaza (within walking distance of our house and one of our prime shopping spots through the wonderful wooded path connecting Faculty Road and Chesley drive). The current buildings are themselves well maintained, but as one story buildings they make poor use of the square footage they occupy, exhibit indifferent strip mall styling, and have a frontage of acres of parking broken only by sparse plantings entirely unwelcoming to bicycles and pedestrians. The news that the plaza was to be redeveloped to the next level, becoming more energy efficient, more densely compact, and aesthetically improved, was therefore most welcome. The initial plans, as many have noted before me, seemed to be just that: initial conceptual drawings done on a short deadline. Like so many projects at the first draft stage, it gets some things right — breaking the open expanse of parking with a perpendicular building, routing traffic and drive throughs in a more thoughtful pattern, and above all increasing the density of the space so that more students and residents can live and shop in downtown Durham and avoid needless car trips. With the good qualities of the developer’s first draft plans in mind, I am writing to urge the planning board to work collaboratively for changes necessary to make the development a true asset to Durham’s emerging downtown core. Among the many ideas presented during the 2008 Mill Pond Study and since, I would be particularly happy to see the developer address the following pain points of the plans currently before the board: * planning for bicycle and pedestrian traffic flowing from the Chesley/Faculty neighborhoods so that children walking to school and residents doing shopping among the businesses have safe, attractive paths with clearly marked traffic crossings and gathering spaces. * enhanced access from Main Street and especially by the old Grange and the new student development so their foot and bicycle traffic to campus can benefit businesses in the Plaza and relieve main street of the temptation for wrong way bicycle traffic in particular. * attention to the Mill Road frontage with perhaps small scale buildings to extend an emerging park and patio restaurant zone that if successful would connect Pauly’s, Kaleida-Scoop, the Works, and some new retail shops along Mill Road into a single vibrant stretch of outdoor/indoor establishments. * parking de-massification with plantings, pedestrian zones, hidden residential parking behind buildings, and storm water run off abatement rain gardens. * bicycle parking (ideally sheltered) for residents and shoppers who currently have to chain bicycles to building columns and retails structures. * special attention — as many have requested — to the brook area as a logical border for a buffered pedestrian and bicycle path, sitting areas, including careful management of storm run-off and litter. * affordable workplace housing in a semi-detached location suitable for individuals and families with larger bedroom sizes and some physical separation from the designated student housing. * attention to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other best practices to reduce the long term environmental footprint of the new buildings as per the Energy Committee checklist recommendations As always, I so appreciate the time and effort that the volunteers on the Planning Board, the Town Planner, and our town staff put into these hearings and the many win-win solutions resulting from this thoughtful process of approving zoning variances contingent on positive adjustments to the project for the community. If this project goes the way our best projects have gone in the past, the architects who sketched out the first revision will be able to accommodate these items without threatening its financial viability. In this revised and enhanced form, the project will bring a much needed facelift and a great new center of shopping, eating, and public space full of pedestrians, cyclists, and shoppers, relieving some of the stress on the Main Street loop to accommodate all the town’s new residents. Best wishes and thank you for your attention to letters from residents, Charlie Charlie Forcey 12 Thompson Lane Durham, NH 03824 857.488.3514