Good evening.

I would like to call the September 9th, 2025 meeting of the planning board to order.

Please rise to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

My name is Joe Fioli serving as chairman tonight, members of the planning board sitting tonight to my right, Bianca Carlson.

Good evening, Sam.

Sean Lewis.

To my left, uh Town Council Rhett Paul Pelletier.

Good evening, Salem.

Jim Harvey.

Good evening.

And Damon Norcross.

Hello.

With us tonight and the from the planning department is Planning Director Jacob Lafontaine.

The agenda for tonight is as follows.

We have a public hearing for the presentation and adoption of the Depot Village Master Plan.

We have minutes for August 26, 2025.

We're going to table.

One item of old business, that's Bank of America site plan.

It's a public hearing for a 5,685 square foot bank with drive-thru at 69 Central Street.

Two items in new business, Swayze Family Camp Subdivision Plan.

That's a preliminary hearing for a lot consolidation and line adjustment at 205-207 and 209 short drive.

And second item of new business is the Turner Homestead Range at Scottish Highlands Site Plan.

It's public hearing for a new two-story retail office in utility building at 72 Brady Ave.

Any withdrawals tonight?

No withdrawals, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

With that, we'll go to open up the public hearing for presentation on the depot village master plan.

Good evening, members of the planning board.

My name is Craig and Brubaker.

I'm the community development program manager.

I'm also one of the co-chairs of the Depot Village Advisory Committee.

So the Depot Village Advisory Committee is a town committee that reports to the town council that consists of numerous representatives from the town council, the budget committee, the chamber, Friends of the Salem Bike Ped Corridor, the Rec Committee, and then various uh veterans and historical groups.

The committee was formed several years ago from the town council in order to look at the town and state-owned publicly owned parcels to look at potential recreational or community development opportunities that exists on those sites.

So in late 2024, the committee uh had some funds uh through the 2024 budget.

Uh we contracted with Tyne Bond to go through this process uh of this project and ultimately develop this final conceptual master plan that will be presented to you tonight.

Uh in early 2025, the committee met several times to kind of get input from all these different groups uh and kind of formulate this final plan.

So we started off with a site walk in January uh on this on the site.

Uh we looked at the different uh opportunities there.

We met in the the chamber building and kind of envisioned what we would look at from there.

Tie and bond developed three conceptual site alternatives and then further condensed that down into two and one based off of committee and public feedback that we received, and then ultimately prepared a final preferred alternative based on further input from VAC.

Uh the final project renderings and uh plan was presented to DVAC on May 21st, 2025, and the committee unanimously voted to recommend the plan.

So some of the guiding principles that guided the development of this conceptual plan was kind of looking at what opportunities uh presented itself, particularly with the the purchase of the former China Star lot for recreational opportunity as well as the uh parcels that have been acquired over the years from the town and from the state with the depot intersection improvements and these opportunities that have come up really as an opportunity to define the depot as an attractive space as a town center that's kind of identified in the townwide master plan, uh one of those poly cent polycore centered uh centers in the town of Salem.

And then consistent with long-standing plans, what does it look like for uh a park in that uh area, etc.

etc.

So the one of the main guiding principles of this plan was to maintain the veterans plaza design, which was generously donated by several veterans' groups, uh making that a focal point of the uh depot area, uh as well as that the space to the east of the plaza maintained as a passive recreation space, uh as well as the the building in the depot that houses the chamber, keeping that as a historical uh keeping deference to that historical nature of that building uh and making sure nothing uh obfuscates the the frontage of that.

Uh as well, we wanted to create a hub of activity along the rail trail.

So the rail trail is one of the great amenities of Salem, especially for it in terms of recreation.

So a space that the community can engage with the rail trail eventually when phases four and five come through to be paved to connect along there in the center and incorporate that as a part of the depot area as well.

This plan is contingent on a land swap with Liberty Utilities to kind of create a better defined boundary and create an open space in that area so that there's more usable land, and then to create a visually coherent frontage along the gateway between Broadway and Main Street frontages.

So this, if you look at this, uh we're gonna break it down section by section, uh, but this is the preferred plan.

Uh and then so we'll we'll kind of go by section by section and then zoom out at the greater uh look at it at the end.

So the area with the depot building.

So this is on the corner of 28 and Main Street.

Uh at the bottom left of that picture, that's the old Tuscan kitchen.

So that existing building uh where the chamber of commerce is located that currently exists.

Kind of the the thought is to create a switchback accessible accessible uh ramp uh for both for bikers and for people with ADA to comply with ADA accessibility standards and kind of create a community garden sort of sense in this front parcel.

We didn't want to uh do anything that would uh block the view of the building from 28.