MINUTES OF MEETING
July 1, 2009
Present: Chairman, Frank Palange, Vice-Chairman, Aldo Bertera, Secretary Katie Harrington, Will Reichelt, Jose Irizarry, and Alternate Jill Fortier.
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
1. Public Hearings
7:00 p.m. (7:03p.m.) - Joseph Breda (Special Permit) – Special Permit for the construction of 24’ x 28’ accessory structure on the property located at 592 Amostown Road in the Residence A-2 (RA-2) zoning district.
Mr. Breda said he would like to take down the existing garage and construct a new one in its place.
Richard said the plan showed a 12-foot separation between the house and the garage and under the zoning ordinance requires 15-foot separation. Katie asked if there was room to accommodate the extra 3 feet? Mr. Breda said yes, there is room.
Frank asked if he would be repaving his driveway? Richard said if the driveway were to be reconstructed, a permit would be necessary from the DPW.
Frank asked for questions from the Board. Aldo asked if he would need a permit for the whole driveway and Richard said for the access drive only.
Frank asked for comments from the audience. No comments followed.
Aldo moved to close the public hearing; Katie second. UAV.
Katie moved to issue the special permit subject to the conditions in the draft decision; Jose second. UAV.
7:00 p.m. (7:09 p.m.) – Attorney Richard Sypek (Zoning Ordinance Amendment) – Amend Table 9-1, Off-Street Parking Standards, to create a new parking standard for the use “Appliance Store” with a parking ratio of 1 space per 700 square feet of gross floor area. Continued from 6/17/09.
Attorney Sypek said the Town Attorney and Planner have tweaked the definition of large appliance store and they are in agreement with the definition as put forth by the town.
Frank asked for comments from the audience. None followed.
Katie moved to close the public hearing; Will second. UAV.
Katie moved to recommend to the Town Council the change to the zoning ordinance amendment for a new use category with the amended definition as presented; Jose second. UAV.
7:10 p.m. (7:11 p.m.) - George Martin Jr. (Site Plan Review) – for the construction of a 3,000 square foot office building with associated parking and site improvements at the property known as 57 Norman Street in the Business B-1 (BB-1) zoning district. Continued from 6/17/09.
Mr. Shute said the plan has been revised and he met with Richard to go over the changes. The changes include the typical wall packs on the building, the exit in and out, and a typical of what a doghouse manhole looks like. The distance between the driveways is noted on the plan, as requested, and the relocation of one driveway as required by Zoning. The tie in to the sanitary sewer system is shown. An oil-water separator will be located in the middle of the exit driveway.
Richard asked about the landscaping and Mr. Martin said at the last meeting he requested a landscaping easement in lieu of putting in the landscaping. Richard said he recommends that a buffer be installed because there is a two family unit on the other property and the residents would benefit from the landscape buffer.
Frank asked how much room there was from the driveway to the property line? Mr. Shute said the driveway is on the property line with a 5-foot buffer.
Frank asked for questions from the Board. Aldo asked if there were shrubs in front of the building? Mr. Shute said there is landscaping in front. Frank asked about landscaping on the other side. Mr. Shute said there is a 5-foot vinyl fence on that side. Frank said he was concerned about what may happen in the future if the house is sold, if there is no landscape buffer.
Mr. Shute said the buffer would be grass. They would be willing to put in arborvitae trees every 10-feet or so.
Katie said the trucks come out the back will need to make a three point turn to get out of the site. Mr. Martin explained how the trucks and cars would pull into the garage, park, and exit the site. Katie asked if the trucks leave at the same time in the morning? Mr. Martin said yes, they try to get out early in the morning.
Aldo said he thought it would work but it will be tight to fit all of this on one lot. Frank said the other lot needs to be residential only and have no vehicles parked for commercial purposes.
The Board discussed the 14-foot driveway and the need for 5 more feet to accommodate the vehicles. Katie asked if they could make the building smaller to make traffic on the site flow smoother?
Aldo said he liked the idea of moving the building over a foot. The Board discussed the options. Mr. Martin agreed to move the building over a foot.
Aldo moved to close the public hearing; Katie second. UAV.
Katie moved to approve the site plan with the condition that the building be moved over 1 foot on the southerly side. Discussion: Richard noted three additional conditions: prior to a building permit being issued, the landscape buffer and storm water easement language be submitted to the Planning Department; plans with the new property lines be submitted and approved; and the use of the property for oil delivery services be limited to six (6) vehicles. Frank added the arborvitaes would be planted every 10 to 12 feet on the side abutting the residence. Will second. 3 in favor; Katie opposed.
2. Acceptance of Minutes
Katie moved to table the minutes of June 3, and June 17, 2009, until the next meeting of the Board; Jose second. UAV.
4. New/Old Business (Taken Out of Order)
a. Site Plan Review – No action.
b. Subdivision Review – Zed Griffin is working with the DPW and the Town Engineer to meet on site to resolve the outstanding issues. There was a preconstruction meeting for the Condos at Beech Hill and work will commence next week. The project will be completed in two phases, which will be presented to the Board for review and approval.
c. Board of Appeals – Richard said the next meeting would be held on Monday, July 27, 2009. There are four items on the agenda.
d. Other Business – No action.
3. Action Items (Taken Out of Order)
a. Ordinance Amendments – Master Plan Update: Mr. Ed Sullivan came before the Board to present the 2009 update to the Master Plan. The document revision started in April of 2008 and this would be the third update. The first was in 1963, then 1977, and was last done in 2000. All of the members of the Master Plan committee were instrumental in the process. Mr. Sullivan recognized all the members by name. There was much public input and it helped to identify the needs and concerns of the public. People were very vocal with issues in taking the community surveys on line and in hard copy format. 398 surveys were turned in. There is an action plan, which is part of the document, which has strategies and goals. The implementation plan is in the front of the book because it is so important. There are nine elements of the plan (Mr. Sullivan read the nine elements). Completion dates and comments are listed. Mr. Sullivan recommended to the Planning Board that the committee
would like to see an ad-hoc committee established to keep the plan current and a real living and breathing document going forward. Rick and Joe Laplante were instrumental with their help as well as the consultants from Tighe and Bond and Beals and Thomas, Kristen and Tracey.
Richard noted all the committee members were very dedicated and put a lot of time and effort into the plan. They requested a lot of information and direction from Beals and Thomas and Tighe and Bond, as well as the department heads. Richard applauded the committee members and said they represented the community very well.
Mr. Sullivan said if the committee did not have the information, they would call on the experts to make sure that a lot of research went into this document. Katie added the way they put the document together is very user friendly. The community involvement was tremendous, which reflect the best outcome. Mr. Sullivan agreed with Katie and was impressed with the public turnout at the forums.
Richard told the Board the committee is looking for a recommendation for adoption as an official document. If there are questions, a vote can be delayed, but the document speaks on its own. If a motion is made then the committee can forward to the Council and the Mayor for endorsement. This will ensure the plan is adhered to and implemented.
Mr. Sullivan said he wants to make sure everyone is comfortable with the document before they vote. The Board discussed reviewing the document and voting at the next meeting. The Board recessed to review at 8:15 p.m. The Board reconvened at 8:35 p.m.
Aldo moved to accept the Master Plan as presented; Will second. UAV.
Will moved to forward the Master Plan document to the Town Council and the Mayor for endorsement; Katie second. UAV.
b. Subdivision Regulations – No action.
5. Date of Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board will be held on Wednesday,
July 15, 2009.
7. Adjournment
Katie moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m.; Will second. UAV.
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Katie Harrington, Secretary
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