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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA_04171990ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES APRIL 17, 1990 (V$w Ue i SS v«i =)EIfs The Board of Appeals held its regular meeting in the Town Hall, Mansfield, MA at 7:45 PM. Present at the hearing were the following members: George H. Wojtkiewicz, Chairman; Edward W. Valanzola, Clerk; Mary Lou Cotton; Dr. Stanley Sohn; and Peter DeTrolio, Associate Member. The hearing for Jerrold C. Wood of 223 Franklin Street on an APPEAL from the decision of the Inspector of Buildings in his letter of February 12, 1990 directing to Cease and Desist all business activity at 347 PRATT STREET in the R -2 Zone began at 7:50 PM. The Appeal Application was labeled as Exhibit "A ", newspaper advertisement as Exhibit "B ", and Plan of Land dated April 8, 1990, prepared by Michael Antonio of Stoughton, as Exhibit "C ". The Planning Board (4 members) voted unanimously to uphold the Building Inspector's Cease and Desist order. ( Three letters were read into the record by Ed Valanzola. The first was a letter sent by John and Kathleen Kaleta, abutters to the property in,question, dated April 2, 1990, requesting that. the hearing be postponed for a week. The second was also from the Kaletas, dated April 9, 1990, urging the committee to uphold the Cease and Desist order. The third was from Fred Barrows, another abutter to the property, dated April 3, 1990, asking for a postponement of the hearing. Building Inspector -Bert Cook gave a history of the property: in 1977 the property was owned by Mr. John T. Cotterill who wanted to operate an auto shop on the property. He presented letters from neighbors in support.of his request. The next owner, Mr. Roger Beland, also operated an auto repair shop but violated zoning regulations by having too many' cars on the property at once, and the place always looked like a junkyard. Bert referred the case to the Town Counsel after warnings were ignored. Since the property was sold. to. Mr. Wood there had been no problems until a visitor . to the Building Inspector's office asked about the possibility of running a used car dealership on the property. There were then complaints coming in from neighbors that two separate businesses were being run out of the garage on the property, an auto repair business and a machine shop. At this time Bert issued the order to Cease and Desist all business activity on the property. Mr. Wood gave his own history of the property. He bought it in 1980 from a mortgage holder, since the property was under r foreclosure from Mr. Beland. He checked with Town Hall and the Building Dept. to ascertain the use before purchasing the property and understood it to be commercially zoned for the same or lesser use. He bought the property to rent as an investment. He described the overrun condition of the property when he bought it and how it has since been cleaned up. He feels he has been a good neighbor and wishes to continue to do so. The property under his ownership is used for one residence and two businesses. Mr. Chase, who owns one of the businesses, also lives in the house on the property. The owner of the auto repair business is a relatively new renter. One of his customers evidently began investigating the possibility of opening a used car dealership on the property when Mr. Wood was recently in Florida, and this is what alerted both the Building Inspector and the neighbors to the alleged zoning violations. Bert read 3.10.4 of the By -Laws and Ed asked Mr. Wood how two separate businesses could constitute a "lesser use" for the property, as Mr. Wood suggested. Mr. Wood responded that there had been more than one business on the property when he bought it and that the combined activity of the two businesses currently run from the property amounted to a lesser use of the property. There were several abutters and neighbors present at the hearing. One of them, Fred Barrows, submitted pictures of the property and spoke as a representative of the group. He gave their history of the property. They had tolerated clutter and debris with the previous two owners because they had been neighbors. Since the property was no longer owned by someone who lived there, with an investment in the neighborhood, they did not want to see the property's uses expand to include bigger, or more, businesses. Mr. Chase, owner of the Chase Screw and Machine business, spoke about the hardship the Cease and Desist order had and would cost him. There were numerous negative comments from other abutters. Mr. Wood said that he had made an effort to clean up the property and that once he became aware of the intention to put in a used car dealership, he had put a stop to it. Bert suggested he apply for a lesser use variance for the machine shop. Town Counsel Max Volterra arrived at the meeting at 8:10 PM; the hearing closed at 8:42 PM. The hearing'for.Ka"ren N. Bregnard of 135 Gilbert Street for a Variance from Section 4 Schedule 4.2.1 of the Zoning By- Law for an existing dwelling at 315 Ware Street, owned by Christine E. Loving, with less than the required side yard in the R -1 Zone began at 8:43 PM. The application was labeled as Exhibit "A ", the advertisement as Exhibit "B ", and Plan of Land dated September 27, 1982, prepared by Rim Engineering as Exhibit "C". The Planning Board (4 members) voted unanimously to send a positive recommendation on this application. The grounds for the variance were read into the record. The existing house was built in error with insufficient side yard. This was not detected until the owner decided to refinance. Ed Valanzola felt that, for her own protection, Ms. Bregnard should obtain an instrument survey of the property to be certain exactly where the house is situated on the property, because she may either need a larger variance or not need a variance at all. The hearing is continued to the May 1 meeting, in order for the applicant to obtain an instrument survey. The hearing on the application of Judith and Lawrence Harrington for a Variance from Section 3.8.1 (a) of the Zoning By -Law for an existing detached accessory building at 69 Rumford Avenue with less than the required side yard in the R -3 Zone began at 8:55 PM. The application was labeled as Exhibit "A ", the advertisement as Exhibit "B ", and Plan of Land dated January, 1990, prepared by David E. Grant as Exhibit "C ". The Planning Board (4 members) voted 3 in favor, 1 opposed, with a positive recommendation. Ed Valanzola is legal representative for the Harringtons and so stepped down. Mary Lou Cotton was appointed Acting Clerk; Peter DeTrolio was appointed a voting member in place of Ed Valanzola. With only four Zoning Board members, Mrs. Harrington needed to decide whether to proceed with the hearing or to have a continuation. She elected to continue with the four members present. Mrs.-Harrington was accompanied by John Dunn, the Harringtons' real estate agent. The grounds were read into the record. Their garage encroaches on the neighbor's property. They have initiated a land swap with the neighbor so that the neighbor's garage will be in conformance and are seeking a variance for the few'inches they will need to be in conformance. A neighbor, Mr. Joe'Vicino, stated that he had heard rumors that the variance the Harringtons were seeking would enable future owners to.break the house up into numerous apartments and to make the .space.over. the garage into rental space. Mrs. Harrington responded that although there is existing loft space over the garage, the property is zoned for no more than a two - family dwelling. The hearing closed at 9:05 PM. The hearing for Kevin B. McNatt et al of 150 Rumford Avenue on an APPEAL from the Decision of the Inspector of Buildings in his letter of January 4, 1990 regarding the issuance of a building permit to DURCON, INC., d /b /a/ DURBANO CONSTRUCTION of 661 Ware Street for a'lot on WEST CHURCH STREET, Assessor's Map 21 Lot 388 in the R3 Zone, was continued from March 20 and began at 9:05 PM. Mr. Durbano began his remarks by requesting a further continuation of the hearing. Town Counsel Max Volterra explained that he had received a call from Atty. Lewis stating that more land might be available and, due to changes in the By -Law, the proposed dwelling might be more in conformance. Mr. Durbano stated that he still wants to be able to defend his position to build a two- family. Mary Lou asked if work on the building was still progressing. Mr. Durbano responded that nothing had been done beyond what had already been planned. After discussion with Mr. McNatt, re: time constraints, it was agreed to continue the hearing until May 1st. A motion was made by Ms. Cotton and seconded by Mr. DeTrolio to uphold the Building Inspector's decision for Mr. Wood to Cease and Desist all business activity at 347 Pratt Street in the R -2 Zone. Board members felt Mr. Wood should apply for a lesser use variance for Mr. Chase's machine /screw shop. Counselor Volterra pointed out that the.-use runs with the land, not with the owners. Unanimously upheld. A motion was made by Dr. Sohn and seconded by Ms. Cotton to grant the Variance for Judith and Lawrence Harrington from Section 3.8.1 (a) of the Zoning By -Law for an existing detached accessory building at 69 Rumford Avenue with a side yard of 1 foot ( + / -) in the R -3 Zone. Unanimously granted. The Board then met in Executive Session. Bills were signed. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, 41//A�f Edward W. Valanzola Clerk