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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Brd Min_11101993PLANNING BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 10, 1993 PRESENT: Chairman Madan, Clerk McClanahan PLANNERS: Annino, Caponigro, Flynn, Sullivan Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development 1. Meeting called to order at 7:30 P.M. Motion: To postpone the public hearings until after the reading of correspondence. (McClanahan- Flynn) All in favor. PASSES. 2. Correspondence 1. Memo from Daniel Clifford, Subdivision Inspector, RE: surety on Vickery Estates. Motion: To approve the recommended surety. (Flynn - Caponigro) All in favor. PASSES. 2. Memo from Sandy LaRossee, Assistant Town Treasurer, RE: passbook on Vickery Estates. Motion: To accept the letter. (Caponigro - Flynn) All in favor. PASSES. 3. Form J release Vickery Estates Motion: To sign the Form J release. (Flynn - Caponigro) All in favor. PASSES. 4. Memo from Dan Clifford RE: Tara Estates Phase II surety. Motion: To approve the recommended surety. (McClanahan - Flynn) All in favor. PASSES. 5. Memo from Sandy LaRossee RE: passbook on Tara Phase II. Motion: To accept the letter. (Flynn - McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. 6. Form J release Tara Estates Phase II. Motion: To sign the Form J release. (McClanahan- Flynn) Five in favor, one abstention. 'PASSES. 7. Memo from Dan Clifford RE: partial release of bond on Tara Estates Phase I. Motion: To accept the partial release of bond. (Flynn - McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. 8. Memo from Dan Clifford RE: partial release of bond on Alchemist Court, Motion: To accept the partial release of bond. (Flynn- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. 9. Letter Steele Street 10. Letter Brook to Bert Cook, Building Inspector from Mary RE: her representatives in the 310 North Main project. (cc: Planning Director) to Mr. and Mrs. Rubins from Harry Blackey RE: Bav ?arms. 3. Public Hearing - Proposed Zoning Amendments Motion: To postpone the public hearing on the citizens' petition until after the public hearing on the zoning by -law amendments. (Caponigro- McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. Article 1 - A clarification in ambiguity in the current zoning by -law for the number of buildings allowed on one piece of land. Mr. Burke suggested deleting references to multiple uses. Public Comment John Walsh - owner of land on School Street - asked why the board thought it necessary to make these changes. Chairman Madan said the board was not really changing anything, but clearing up some ambiguous language. Mr. Walsh said plaza -like developments were becoming more popular, and with this amendment, it would be impossible to do in Mansfield. Chairman Madan said the board would be working on a cluster industrial by -law to address situations like this. Karl Clemmey - 390 West Street - said there should have beer studies done and the proposals should have appeared prior tc the public hearing and that he was against the articles because the town needs the tax money. Chairman Madan said when situations arise and the board sees problems that could arise in other areas of town, it is the board's duty to do what it can to remedy the situation. Mr. Clemmey said the board shouldn't approve the one building, one lot proposal because it would be taking power away from the Zoning Board of Appeals in the variance process. Mr. Burke said this is the way things in town have been done for 20 -plus years and the board was just amending the by -law to make it say what has been happening all along. He said the zoning by -law should be evolutionary and should change with development patterns. Louis Amoruso - 6 Brookside Road - said he understood when he opened a business in town that it was single use, single lot with accessory buildings allowed, and added what the board was doing was not a surprise to him. Ken Parsons - member of the Industrial Development Committee I l the by-law. Mr. Burke said this was a potential Constitutional issue and the town may be violating rights by using the phrase "recognized ". There was no public comment on Article 3. Article 4 Items 1 and 2 are clarifications of the issue of variances. Mr. Burke said the proposal mimics Chapter 40A and the powers the Zoning Board of Appeals has in variances. The last sentence addresses variances and what they are to be issued for; ie: variances only for residential uses in residential districts. He suggested taking out the reference to residential use and adding the ZBA has the right to issue variances in the following zones, whichever those may be. Public Comment Karl Clemmey - said the ZBA can't grant a use variance in a residential district because there is no hardship. He said the ZBA powers should be left as is. Item 3 would add "if the benefits of the project outweigh its detrimental effects." Mr. Burke said the question to ask when considering approval of a project is whether it drains or enhances town services. There was no public comment on Item 3. Item 4 - dealing with special permits. The amendment would make sure the application is complete and the board weighs all aspects of the plan. There was no public comment on Item 4. Item 5 - dealing with findings. The amendment would send applicants to the statute (40A) instead of the town trying to explain it. Public Comment Ken Parsons - IDC member - asked what the time frame would be for rebuilding after a fire. Mr. Burke said if a pre - existing non - conforming structure is destroyed, the owner can rebuild in the footprint of the destroyed structure. Item 6 - dealing with non - conforming uses. The amendment would delete and replace the entire section. Public Comment An audience member asked why the public hearing was taken out of the proposed amendment. The board said it should not have been and will change the proposed amendment to include a public hearing requirement. Planner Sullivan said he thought the board had voted not to include Item 6 on the Special Town Meeting warrant. After checking the minutes of October 27, 1993, it was discovered that the board did indeed vote not to include that item. 4• Public Hearing - Citizens' Petition Louis Amoruso, representing Andres Gazzolo, who initiated the citizens' petition, came before the board to request a lot on the corner of Elm Street and School Street be rezoned from industrial to residential. Mr. Gazzolo plans to donate part of the land to the town. Mr. Amoruso said there is a large band of wetlands that would abut the land to be donated, which would be used for a recreational area, more specifically, a soccer bubble. The front of the property, two and one half acres, would be kept residential. Public Comment Karl Clemmev - said the piece should stay industrial and it wouldn't meet the criteria to be rezoned; he said the town should buy the piece and leave it industrial. Sandy Boggs - 850 School Street - asked why Mr. Clemmey wanted to keep the property industrial if it couldn't be rezoned. She suggested rezoning it residential and leaving it empty, Mr. Clemmey said the town shouldn't be in the business of getting business for individuals. Joe Dugan - 12 Old Elm Street - said the only access to the property is a fifty (50) foot buffer zone. Nancy Udall - 95 Old Elm Street - said she was in favor of rezoning it residential. She said that property used to be residential and she didn't know when it became industrial. She said the soccer bubble was a bad idea because the street is too narrow. John Volo - 24 Old Elm Street - said the property should not be industrial. He said there is already access to the soccer field through Plymouth Street. He said he was not proposing the board set a precedent by allowing people to buy properties and rezone them. John Southern - 15 Old Elm Street - said all of Old Elm should said the IDC doesn't understand how the town can be damaged by leaving the zoning by -law the way it is. He said changing the by -law was premature and it should be considered as a package with the subdivision laws. John Walsh - said his lawyer from Coogan, Bennett and Smith said there was nothing in the current zoning by -law to prevent multiple buildings on one lot. Allen Willis - said he questioned the wisdom of changing the by -laws and asked what the Master Plan had been done for. Chairman Madan said there had been no discussion of this issue during the Master Plan. Karl Clemmey said that wasn't true. Jack Letarge - Industrial Development Committee member - said he thought it was clear the by-law currently allows for multiple uses. Mr. Burke said the ambiguity is in the difference between how the by -law reads and how it has been applied for the last 20 years. Karl Clemmey - said that with a big piece of land, in order to get frontage for all the buildings, a road would have to be run through the property. He said this would not be the best use for the lot. Article 2 - would allow a lot on a corner to have the driveway come in from any way abutting the lot. Public Comment Karl Clemmey - said with this, every subdivision lot on a corner could open the side yard to get the driveway changed. Chairman Madan said the board would like to get more driveways off the main streets and onto side streets. Denis Grady - asked if the town would have to pay anything if someone wanted to change the location of their driveway. Mr. Burke said there would be no expense to the town; the homeowner would have to bond the curb to be sure the public way would not be damaged. Planner Sullivan asked if this meant homes could have more than one driveway. Mr. Burke said the town does not regulate the number of driveways, just the distance between the driveways and the distance between the driveways and the street corners. He added homeowners could have two driveways now if they wanted. Article 3 - Part A says a riding stable, as an agricultural use, on five (5) or more acres is exempt from zoning. Mr. Burke said this is a state regulation for all agricultural uses. Article 3 - Part B deletes "recognized religious sect" from be zoned residential and that there wasn't much land left on the property after the setbacks and wetlands are taken into account. Mr. Burke said there are plenty of industrial uses that do not require a lot of land. Faith Williams - 9 Old Elm Street - said she was a direct abutter and she was opposed to rezoning the piece industrial. Louis Amoruso - said it wasn't a bad deal for the town to get a big piece of land for nothing rather than buying it. He added there is plenty of room there for industrial use. Karl Clemmey - said it should be kept industrial. He said the applicant had no plan showing the proposal and that land should be bought by the town and put with other recreation lands. Joe Dugan - 12 Old Elm Street - said he thought there was a connection between Article 1 of the proposed zoning by -law amendments and the citizens' petition. Mr. Madan said there was not connection between the two items. John Volo - said the residents of the area have different interests on this issue than Mr. Gazzolo or Mr. Clemmey and asked the board to consider the residents' concerns when making its decision. Motion: To close the public hearing. (McClanahan - Annino) All in favor. PASSES. 5. Around the Table Motion: To send a letter to the Board of Selectmen recommending the reappointment of John Sullivan to the Planning Board. (Annino - McClanahan) All in favor. PASSES. Motion_ To send a letter to the Board of Selectmen respectfully requesting it consider suing Folkman and Zola Builders for the money the town spent on the Planning Board's suit. (Flynn - Annino) Mr. Burke said he could call Joel Bard to find out the Process for recouping the money already spent. All in favor. PASSES. 6. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn at 10:05 P.M. (McC an a u livan) All in favor. PASSES.