MINUTES OF MEETING
December 17, 2008
Present: Chairman, Frank Palange, Vice-Chairman, Aldo Bertera, Jose Irizarry,
Will Reichelt and Alternate Jill Fortier.
Absent: Katie Harrington
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
1. Public Hearings
7:00 p.m. (7:04 p.m.) – Scarfo Construction, Inc. (Special Permit) from Table 5-1 of the Zoning Ordinance regarding common driveways. The property is located at 1359 Morgan Road in the Residence A (RA) zoning district. Continued from 12/3/08.
Richard said this hearing has been pending for a year waiting for the transfer of property to be completed. The transfer is now complete and the applicant is requesting a withdrawal of the special permit application, without prejudice.
Aldo moved to allow the withdrawal without prejudice; Jose second. UAV.
7:00 p.m. (7:05 p.m.) – WS Town Council (Zoning Ordinance Amendment)- amend Section 9.025 relating to grandfathering of existing residential driveways. Continued from 11/5/08.
Richard updated the Board that at the last meeting the Board tabled the issue to allow for further consideration of the proposal. The Board has received Planning and DPW recommendations and also wording for a proposed update.
Frank said there is some confusion amongst the members on what they are taking action on regarding this amendment.
Richard read the petition from the Council regarding the grandfathering of all existing access driveways with existing single family, two, three, and four family uses. Commercial buildings are still subject to meet the current driveway requirements.
Aldo asked what the Council and Mayor thought of this proposal? Ms. Bourque came forward and said it has not come before the Council yet because they are waiting for a decision from the Planning Board. The Mayor had met with them when they were working on the proposal, and drove around town and measured driveways. To date they have not received any ideas from the Mayor on possible solutions.
Ms. Romaniak said the reason for the request is for people with existing non-conforming driveways so they can repave without having to meet the new regulations. This is a hardship for residents that just want to repave their driveways and older homes will not be able to repave.
Frank said there is so much involved with this and you do not need a permit to pave your driveway, but need a permit to pave in the street. He said he has an issue with grandfathering driveways that were done wrong.
Ms. Bourque said it is not a question of what is wrong, it was what was allowed in the past before this ordinance came into play. The Zoning Ordinance was changed and it is only fair to people without having to change their driveway location and lose access to their garages. Frank said that argument makes sense, but you have to grandfather everything, right or wrong.
Ms. Bourque said that 99 percent of the residents in this category need this amendment; why penalize everyone for the one percent that may be wrong.
Richard said the issue has been brought to light by the Town Council and it is recognized that we have two separate standards and this needs to be corrected. Richard recommended the town not to apply blanket grandfathering to all existing driveways because of some safety issues and paving tree belts, and instead have a Zoning Ordinance amendment that would accommodate existing driveways and allow driveways to be closer than 30 feet or those that do not meet the 40 foot intersection separation requirement. Town Council and the Mayor are the adopting authorities. There is time to work on the draft amendment as no driveways are going to be constructed over the next three months. This would meet the desires of the Council and the DPW. Richard said it is his
opinion that the standards not be in the Zoning Ordinance, but in the DPW regulations to allow for greater flexibility.
Frank asked why take it out of the Zoning Ordinance and Richard said if it is in the Zoning Ordinance it is hard and fast and to deviate from the ordinance requires and application for a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Richard said there is a possibility of a special permit waiver process for the Planning Board to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis, but the drawback is that it would take six to eight weeks and cost over $200.00 in fees to the homeowner.
Mr. Stanley Kusek of 55 Greenleaf Avenue said it would be impossible to fix all the driveways that have been put in since West Springfield has been established. He felt that grandfathering would be the best way.
Mr. Paul Boudo of 519 Gooseberry Road and Councilor at Large, said the whole issue is interesting and ¾ of the inquiries have been on paving issues. He said he was pleased to hear of the draft rewording of the ordinance or putting the responsibility with the DPW. There are areas in town where the lots are very small and have just enough room to put the house on the lot. Since there are hardly any one-car families anymore, he is anxious to see what Richard would come up with because he is not convinced grandfathering is the way to go with this problem; he is concerned with the aesthetics of the community.
Frank also noted another thing to consider is the restriction of on street parking in the winter.
Jill said if she were able to vote on the matter she would want more time to study this more.
Aldo felt having the Planning Board look at the situation when someone wanted to make a change was a good idea. There is not one fix for all driveways that are out there.
Ms. Bourque said there is no appeal mechanism if someone is denied by the DPW. Richard said under the current procedures the public can appeal to the Director of the DPW. Ms. Bourque said she felt that the only fair way is an appeal process to a town board. Ms. Bourque asked Richard if they could amend their proposal for zoning amendment? Richard said no, the only thing the Board is voting on is yes or no on the scope of the article to grandfather existing driveways. The Board could amend the starting date, but cannot adopt new standards; this would require a new public hearing process.
Frank asked Ms. Bourque if she would come back before the Board with another proposal? Ms. Bourque said she is open to suggestions, but would be going forward with the proposed amendment as it is now. The Board discussed the possibility of having a special permit granting authority with associated fees. Ms. Bourque said she would not be in favor of fees or a long time period associated with getting through the process. Ms. Romaniak said she does not want to see one person making the ruling. They met many times to finally come up with the grandfathering process.
Will asked how many people come for a permit each year? Ms. Bourque said she only knew of the ones that were denied. Jill said the Board could continue the hearing to get more information regarding the number of permits requested. Frank said the Board is still only voting on the grandfathering of existing driveways, and then someone would need to come forward with a new proposal for something different.
Jill asked how many complaints the councilors had received. Ms. Bourque said she received four, Ms. Romaniak received three, and Mr. Sweeney received ten. Jill asked what happens to the existing driveways when the town puts in a new sidewalk? Ms. Bourque said she had mentioned that point at the last meeting, and the town repaved the driveways as to what was already there. Ms. Romaniak noted the town paved more than what was there on Morton Street.
Aldo moved to continue the hearing; Will second. Aldo in favor, 2 opposed.
Will moved to close the public hearing; Aldo second. UAV.
Will moved to approve the grandfathering as in the proposed amendment from Town Council; Aldo second. None in favor, three opposed.
2. Acceptance of Minutes
Aldo moved to table the minutes of November 5, 2008, until the next meeting; Will second. UAV.
3. Action Items
a. Ordinance Amendments – No new business.
b. Subdivision Regulations – No new business.
4. New/Old Business
a. Site Plan Review - No new business.
b. Subdivision Review – No new business.
c. Board of Appeals – Richard reviewed the agenda for December.
d. Other Business – No new business.
5. Date of Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board will be held on Wednesday, January 7, 2009.
6. Adjournment
Jose moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:04 p.m.; Will second. UAV.
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