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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA_091713MANSFIELD ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 The Zoning Board of Appeals held its regular meeting in the Town Hall, Mansfield, MA at 7:30 pm. Present at the hearing were the following members: Kevin Mackie, Chairman; Elisabeth Garber - Miller, Clerk; David Luca; Philip Shannon; Associate Member John McKenna. 1. Meeting opened at 7:30 pm. 2. Christopher and Katherine Goldner, 11 Horseshoe Loop, Map 32, Parcel 98. The application is for a variance from Section 4.2.1, Rear Yard Setback, of the Zoning By -Law for the extension of a deck with less than the required rear yard setback at 11 Horseshoe Loop (Assessor's Map 32, Parcel 98) in the Residential 1 (111) Zone. The following documents were submitted: Application for a Variance, filed with the Town Clerk's Office on August 15, 2013; a copy of the public hearing notice; September 12, 2013 letter from the Planning Board; "Zoning Plan 11 Horseshoe Loop ", dated August 6, 2013, and prepared by Hutchins Trowbridge Associates, Inc. Associate Member John McKenna was appointed a voting member for this hearing. Ms. Garber Miller read the Planning Board letter, dated September 12, 2013 into the record: Following discussion, with seven (7) members present, the board voted unanimously to send a positive recommendation on this application because of the odd shape of the lot and because extending the deck will not create any additional non - conformity. Michael Trowbridge, Hutchins - Trowbridge Associates, Inc., representing the homeowner, was present. Mr. Trowbridge said the Goldners have owned the single- family home since 1997. He said the As Built for the foundation was done prior to the construction of the deck. The existing deck is 11.7 feet from the rear lot line where 25 feet is required and was built without a variance before Mr. Goldner purchased the property. Mr. Trowbridge explained that the deck was built more than ten years ago with no action taken and that state law provides protection for zoning violations of structures that have existed for a period of ten years. Mr. Trowbridge noted that when a foundation As Built is submitted, Mr. Riccio, the town's building inspector, now requires that all existing and proposed decks be shown on the plan. Mr. Trowbridge said the applicant proposes to increase the size of the deck and add stairs on the east side of the house but the new construction will still be 11.7 feet from the rear property line so there will be no increase in the non - conformity. Mr. Trowbridge said the property is in a cluster residential development requiring 30 -foot front yard setbacks, 25 -foot rear yard setbacks and 30 feet between buildings on adjacent lots. He explained this is a small, corner lot that is not very deep with a unique shape and is surrounded by open space and a wooded area that will provide a buffer to the closest house 90 feet away. Hearing ended at 7:55 pm Mr. Luca made a motion to grant a Variance from Section 4.2.1, Rear Yard Setback, of the Zoning By -Law for the extension of a deck with less than the required rear yard setback at 11 Horseshoe Loop (Assessor's Map 32, Parcel 98) in the Residential 1 (111) Zone, as shown on the plan, "Zoning Plan 11 Horseshoe Loop ", and dated August 6, 2013. Mr. Shannon seconded the motion. Discussion: Ms. Garber - Miller said it should be made clear in the motion that the board is also taking care of the existing, non- conforming deck which did not have a variance when it was built. Mr. Mackie said the deck was built more than ten years ago and the board is granting a variance on the deck extension only. Mr. Luca added that the existing deck is shown on the plan. Motion passed 5 -0 -0. 2. Sean McGuire, McGuire Landscape Co., 493 West Street, Map 8, Parcel 20. The application is for a Special Permit from Section 3.10.4 A of the Zoning By -Law for a pre- existing, non- conforming business at 493 West Street (Assessor's Map 8, Parcel 20) in the Planned Business District (PBD). The following documents were submitted: Application for a Variance, filed with the Town Clerk's Office on August 20, 2013; a copy of the public hearing notice; September 12, 2013 letter from the Planning Board; ' letter from Johanna Schurman, received September10, 2013; "Plan of Proposed Bulk Material Storage at HSE. No. 493 West Street in Mansfield, MA ", dated July 1, 2013 and revised August 28, 2013 and prepared by RIM Engineering Co., Inc. Associate Member John McKenna was appointed a voting member for this hearing. Sean McGuire, McGuire Landscaping, and Attorney Alan F. F. Medeiros of Brennan, Medeiros & Brennan were present. Ms. Garber - Miller read the Planning Board letter, dated September 12, 2013, into the record: Following discussion, with seven (7) members present, the board voted six (6) in favor with one (1) abstention to send a positive recommendation on this application with the following suggested conditions: No retail activity should be allowed on site; no outside display of equipment /merchandise should be allowed on site; all stockpiled materials should be fully screened from West Street and from residential abutters to the east and west; no outside lighting should be allowed beyond the minimum necessary to safely operate this site during normal business hours; on -site soil samples should be taken. Ms. Garber - Miller read into the record a letter from Johanna Schurman of 489 West Street who was concerned about the planned bulk material storage and sales Mr. McGuire is proposing on the property. The letter included a picture of materials and equipment and a Mansfield GIS map showing the property at 493 West Street. Attorney Medeiros said Mr. McGuire is looking for relief for an addition to an existing house and bulk storage of material on the premises relative to the landscaping business. He said Mr. McGuire would live on site with his family and the mulch, stone and loam will be used on a day by day basis for residential landscaping. He explained the site at the present time is a concrete forms business with gravel parking areas and a large amount of forms stored in several areas on the property. Mr. McGuire is proposing to eliminate all the concrete form storage areas and clean up the property. Attorney Medeiros said this is an alteration of a pre- existing, non - conforming use and Mr. McGuire's proposal would be less detrimental than the existing use, and cleaning up the form storage areas, especially with their proximity to the wetlands, would be more environmentally sound. Mr. Mackie asked why Attorney Medeiros believes this is a change to a non - conforming use as opposed to a new non - conformity. Attorney Medeiros said there is already a residential /business on the property and Mr. McGuire is changing the nature of the business. Mr. Mackie said the bulk storage would be different from the existing business so you would be creating a new non - conformity. Mr. Mackie read Section 5 of the By -law; you have to show that the proposed project is not a detriment to the neighborhood. He said there is testimony through a letter from an abutter that it would be a huge detriment. Attorney Medeiros said the bulk material storage would be within a screened area; the applicant proposes to have a natural buffer of arborvitae around the storage area on the left side of the property as suggested by the Planning Board and an additional buffer can be added on the westerly side of the property. He said Mr. McGuire has been in business for 19 years and believes this property would be a good place to raise his family and conduct his business. Mr. Luca asked if the home is occupied now. Mr. McGuire stated it is currently being used for the existing business. At this time, Mr. McGuire is not living in Mansfield but the property is under agreement. Donald Kaufman, 505 West Street asked about the conservation area to the west of the property. Attorney Medeiros said there is a perennial stream that runs along this side of the property and because there are buffer zone issues, Mr. McGuire is currently going through the Conservation process. Mr. Kaufman asked if anything will be done in this area. Mr. McGuire said this area will be cleaned up but nothing else will be allowed in this area. Mr. Kaufman asked if Mr. McGuire will purchase the house if he is unable to run the landscaping business there. Mr. McGuire said he would not. Mr. Kaufman asked how Mr. McGuire would prevent the materials from migrating into the stream and Mr. McGuire explained the grade of the lawn area will be brought up to the grade of the driveway and a concrete block wall will be built to keep everything contained and prevent any run -off from flowing toward the stream. Mr. Kaufman said the property is deep but narrow, so the neighbors are very close to the storage areas. He asked what the business hours would be. Mr. McGuire said the day starts at 7:00 am but once the trucks are loaded, they do not usually work on site during the day. Ms. Kaufman said when she moved into the neighborhood it was zoned agricultural. Ms. Garber - Miller asked how many vehicles will be stored on the property. Mr. McGuire said there are three dump trucks, a van, a backhoe loader and a bobcat, as well as his personal vehicle. He noted that during the winter months most of the vehicles are used for snow plowing and are stored at the properties to be plowed. Ms. Garber - Miller asked about the bulk material. Mr. McGuire said the mulch, stone and loam will be on site in April, May and part of June and 90% of the material will be used for small residential landscaping jobs. Mr. Luca asked if there would be additional lighting on the property. Mr. McGuire said there will be no commercial lighting. Ms. Schurman said her family has lived at 489 West Street since December 2012 and have never had an issue with the existing business because there was never a lot of truck traffic. She said she is concerned about her child's safety and the stone dust and odor from the loam and being unable to open the windows year round. She said the screening will not stop the noise, the stone dust or odor and the enjoyment of her home would be affected. Mr. Schruman said when they purchased the house it was zoned residential but now is in a Planned Business District (PBD). When he received notice of the hearing, three trucks were to be stored on the property; no equipment was mentioned. Mr. Shannon asked what Mr. McGuire would do to address the concerns of the neighbors. Mr. McGuire said a row of hedges or a fence will be installed on the property line and he will clean up the left side of the property. Attorney Medeiros asked that the board approve the special permit with the Planning Board's recommended conditions. He said if there are any additional requests or concerns by the abutters, he will try to address them. Mr. Shannon asked what would be considered normal business hours. Mr. McGuire said the business hours would be from 7:00 am to 5:00 or 6:00 pm Mr. Kaufman asked if there would be any signage. Mr. McGuire said there will be no large signs, but possibly an 8 "x24" lawn sign. Mr. Mackie said any signage would have to comply with the By -law. Mr. Mackie read from Section 3.10, Non - Conforming Uses. 3.10.4A states in all districts the change, extension or alteration of a pre- existing non - conforming structure or use may be allowed when authorized to do so by the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of Section 7.2 Board of Appeals after a public hearing, provided, however, that such change, extension, or alteration does not create a new non - compliance with any other use or dimensional requirement of this by -law. Hearing ended at 8:35 pm. Ms. Garber - Miller made a motion to grant the request for a special permit as noted on the plan, "Plan of Proposed Bulk Material Storage at Hse. No. 493 West Street in Mansfield, MA ", dated July 1, 2013 and revised August 28, 2013. Mr. Shannon seconded the motion. Discussion Ms. Garber - Miller said the business that was there previously was low key, and certainly not active to the degree this business would be. She noted that bulk material storage and sales is not currently a permitted use in a PBD. She said if some of the material was placed behind the house rather than near the abutters or in the front yard, some mitigation might have been possible but this is a 40'x42' area in the front yard where mulch, loam and stone will be stored and placing a line of shrubbery to screen this area will not be an adequate solution. She said she does not have a problem with the extension of the house, only with the bulk storage. Mr. Mackie said part of the special permit process is taking into account how detrimental this would be for the neighborhood. Mr. Luca noted one of the permitted uses in a PBD is a warehouse which could be put on this site without coming before ZBA. Ms. Garber - Miller said she understands the property is in a PBD and clearly the area is mixed residential and business but there would be piles of mulch, loam and stone in the front yard and a large number of vehicles. She asked if the nature of the business would change during the winter months; for example, would fire wood be sold from the property. She said this is an existing business and Mr. McGuire's proposal would fundamentally change what has existed on this property. She said, in order to accommodate the change, Mr. McGuire is going to install a permanent, 3 -foot high wooden fence, 100 feet along one side of the property and add a stone wall because the grade needs to be changed. She said bulk material storage and sales is currently not allowed in this zone. She said she is comfortable with allowing the extension of the house but not with the bulk material storage and sales. Mr. Luca agreed bulk material storage and sales is not a permitted use and would not be more beneficial to the neighborhood. He wondered if this proposal would be less detrimental than what would be allowed there without a permit from this board. Motion failed 0 -5 -0. 4. Old Business: Ms. Garber Miller made a motion to approve the minutes of April 2, 2013, May 21, 2013, and July 2, 2013. Variances for 229 -243 School Street and 17 Pratt Street were signed. 5. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 8:50 pm. Luca /Shannon. Passed. Next meeting will be October 1, 2013 at 7:30 pm. Elisabeth Garber - Miller, Clerk Date