Taurus seeks parking relief and floodplain adjustments at 30310 Baker Avenue; Planning Board to draft Jan. 7 recommendation

Taurus Investment Holders (CD210 properties) presented plans Dec. 17 to the Town of Concord Planning Board for alterations at 30310 Baker Avenue, where the applicant seeks parking relief, joint parking arrangements and site-plan approvals while addressing minor floodplain impacts.

Kevin Hurley, a land planner representing the applicant, said the property would be divided into Lot A (55 acres, modified office building ~400,000 square feet) and Lot B (10 acres, 201 residential units previously approved). Hurley said the zoning formula used by the former building commissioner yields a requirement of 1,486 parking spaces for the combined uses; the application proposes 1,304 spaces — 182 fewer than zoning requires — and asks the Board of Appeals to waive that shortfall.

Hurley presented parking surveys by VHB showing 1,591 spaces in the wider study area and 1,361 spaces on Taurus/CD210-owned land; a June 2023 count found 559 occupied and 802 vacant on the owner’s land, and a Sept. 10, 2024 re-check showed roughly 5% more vacant spaces. The applicant proposes 54 new parking spaces created by removing a 60-by-90-foot portion of the existing building, relocation of a pair of handicap spaces, and a joint-parking scheme: office uses would forgo use of 21 Lot B spaces during normal business hours and residential uses would have access to up to 40 office spaces in evenings, weekends and holidays.

Dan Feeney, the project civil engineer, described floodplain and stormwater work. Test pits conducted with the assistant town engineer showed seasonal high groundwater slightly lower than originally estimated; the design was revised to avoid net fill within the floodplain. The project proposes approximately 13 cubic yards of compensatory floodplain storage as a small allowance for construction tolerances and adds subsurface infiltration and a rain garden to manage runoff. Feeney said the team will continue to refine stormwater and utility responses to the town’s peer-review comments.

Hurley said the Natural Resources Commission reviewed the floodplain work and issued a draft order of conditions to be finalized in January once peer-review questions are resolved. He also told the board there are recorded joint-parking agreements with the Residence Inn and that the shared-parking agreements are recorded at the registry of deeds.

Board members asked for further documentation and peer-review responses; staff and consultants confirmed outstanding items (lighting, stormwater, utilities, floodplain compensatory storage and hydrant testing) would be addressed before the Jan. 7 meeting. Hurley committed to drafting materials so the Planning Board could prepare a recommendation to the Board of Appeals scheduled for Jan. 9. The board directed staff to draft a recommendation for the Jan. 7 meeting, contingent on consultant responses to peer-review comments.

Additional project details discussed included an approximate 10,000-square-foot increase in impervious surface on Lot A, the commitment to construct 1,200 feet of the planned trail and to grant an easement from Baker Avenue to the river, and a note that final decisions on potential future removal or reallocation of surplus parking would require Town approval.

The Planning Board did not finalize a formal vote on recommendation at the Dec. 17 session; staff will place a draft recommendation on the Jan. 7 agenda for possible action ahead of the Board of Appeals hearing.