The Concord City Planning Board on Oct. 15 approved a minor site plan for renovations at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car service center at 28 Manchester Street in the Gateway Performance District, including demolition of an existing single-bay structure and construction of a new two-bay garage (the applicant clarified the new garage footprint will be about 1,003 square feet; the net increase in impervious area was noted as roughly 760 square feet).

Planning staff recommended conditional approval, and the board discussed multiple site elements: replacement of broken vertical granite curbing on the Manchester Street frontage, immediate sidewalk replacement adjacent to the curb, stormwater improvements to infiltrate new and existing impervious areas, relocation of two trees removed for site work with replacement elsewhere on the site, dumpster pad and orientation, generator pad location and snow-storage, and ensuring adequate turning templates for service and emergency vehicles. Staff also recommended a condition that the applicant specify whether a floor drain will be provided so that wash water will be handled internally rather than discharged to an on-site dumpster or open collection.

Ian McGregor of Northpointe Engineering and Becky Marcinkovich from Enterprise explained the business need to expand indoor vehicle preparation capacity so employees can wash and prepare multiple rental vehicles undercover; Marcinkovich said the expansion "provide[s] an area for [employees] where they can clean multiple vehicles at the same time, be undercover and ... have a better working environment." The applicant agreed to relocate the dumpster pad, supply turning templates to verify access for waste trucks and fire apparatus, adjust landscape plantings so tree root zones remain on the property, and add site-grade spot elevations to demonstrate drainage toward the proposed stormwater facilities.

The board denied the applicant's waiver request to avoid providing a sidewalk connection to the building entrance and required the connection as part of the site plan (the applicant had requested a waiver on the basis of pedestrian safety in an active vehicle circulation area). The board also denied a waiver on the municipal utility/drainage/lighting items where staff found the submission incomplete; the applicant agreed to provide required utility profiles rather than seek the waiver. The board voted to grant ADR approval (applicant had presented to ADR and was recommended for approval) and then voted to grant the minor site plan approval subject to the staff-recommended precedent and subsequent conditions plus additional conditions added by the board: provide additional spot grades for drainage, provide turning templates demonstrating ambulance and truck movements, show removal and restoration at the stairwell on North State (for related item earlier), and place a floor-drain note on the site plan confirming internal sanitary capture of wash water.

Why this matters: The project alters vehicle preparation operations and the site's impervious footprint; the board required specific stormwater, sidewalk and public-right-of-way restoration measures to prevent the project from creating new pedestrian hazards or drainage impacts. The sidewalk connection requirement followed the board's consistent practice of promoting pedestrian connectivity along Manchester Street and of coordinating with future city roadway improvements.

The board carried the motions to approve ADR and the minor site plan. As part of approvals, the applicant will update the plan set to include the specified details and submit final materials for staff and engineering review before receiving building or site permits.