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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminofzba02022010 Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes February 2, 2010 Present: Jack Vultaggio, Chair; Elizabeth Garber-Miller, Clerk; Kevin Mackie, Dave Rapoza Jeff Garr, Associate Member .. . ,..... 11. Meeting called to order at 7:30 p.m. I 2. Public Hearing - 12 Plantingfield Road - Chris & Maureen Driscoll The chairman read the public hearing notice and appointed Mr. GaIT to vote on this issue. The application is for a variance for the construction of a garage with less than the required side-yard setback in the Rl zone. Correspondence December 3, 2009 letter from the Planning Board recommending the variance not be granted because the application does not meet the statutory tests for the grant of a vanance. Mr. Driscoll explained he would like to add a two-car garage with a room above. The roof of the garage would be shorter than the roof of the house. He said he has notified his abutters by certified mail, and spoken with several personally, including the direct abutters, the McCarthys. He said the neighbors are supportive of the proposed addition. Ms. Garber-Miller asked if the applicant had considered eliminating the mud room. Mr. Driscoll said the mud room is important to the family. He noted the family room is existing and will be extended, with the mud room between it and the garage. Ms. Garber- Miller said without the mud room, the variance would only be for about one foot, rather than six or seven feet. Mr. Driscoll said his neighbors are supportive of the addition. Mr. Vultaggio said a variance goes with the land, not with the owners, and the Board has to consider future residents. He said the Board has to find a reason to grant a variance, such as the wetlands at the back of the lot creating a hardship and limiting where the addition could be built. Mr. Driscoll said they would like to stay away from the septic system and avoid cutting the driveway, which were other reasons for the location of the proposed addition. Motion: To approve the application for six feet of relief from the required side-yard setback based on the plans as submitted (Rapoza-Mackie) Mr. Mackie said the board has granted a number of variances on lots with similar issues; this has a wetland issue and the location of the septic. 4 in favor. 1 opposed. PASSES Planning Board 1 5/18/2010 - L} ;~-:: '.""'Ie , ~ i L........ L ,'4;. !1 '") i; L I 3. Public Hearing - 471 South Main Street - Jan Harbutiak & Teresa Murphy The chairman read the public hearing notice and appointed Mr. GaIT to vote on this issue. The application is for a finding for the construction of an addition and deck with less than the required side-yard setback in the R2 zone. The house is pre-existing, non-conforming for side-yard setback. There is no letter from the Planning Board. Mr. Trowbridge explained the proposal is for an addition at the rear of the house, with a deck and stairs. The existing house is at 8.2 feet from the lot line and the addition would be next to a neighboring driveway, which is a private way. Ms. Murphy said they have a permanent access easement to their property through that driveway, which is owned by the homeowner behind them. Ms. Garber-Miller asked about the placement of the stairs. Mr. Trowbridge explained that placement would make it easier to get from the garage to the house. Ms. Garber- Miller said it appears they have the space to move the stairs to the other side and minimize the encroachment. Motion: The application as presented constitutes an increase in the non-conformity of a pre-existing, non-conforming residence (Rapoza-Garber-Miller) All in favor. PASSES Motion: The board finds that the change in non-conformity is no more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing non-conformity (Rapoza-Garber-Miller) All in favor. PASSES 14. New Business Jay Zola asked about the affordable housing issue with Baybrook Village. Mr. Vultaggio said representatives of the Housing Corporation came to the last ZBA meeting, but that group will not be incorporated until June. Mr. Zola said he does not want to wait that long. He said the Baybrook permit says Lot 2 should be a market-rate home, and the difference between the sale price and the affordable price is cash that goes into the Housing Corporation fund. He said since that corporation has not been active, he would like to do something else with that money, such as build an affordable unit elsewhere. Mr. Vultaggio said he thinks the ZBA can amend the permit to allow that. Mr. Zola said he will work on it some more, but if they cannot get this done soon, he will comply with the original special permit. I S. Old Business Public Hearing Continued -1007 West Street - T-Mobile Northeast, LLC Attorney Simon Brighenti; Mark Arone, T-Mobile Site Acquisition Specialist; Mohammed Ibrahim, RF Specialist Attorney Brighenti explained the issues that have changed since the plan was presented at the last meeting. The facility has been redesigned to bring the compound down from Planning Board 2 5/18/2010 1 OO'xl 00' to 50'x50', which limits the exposed surface, but also limits opportunities for co-location. The trees in that 50'x50' area would be cut. The new design keeps the fence at the northwest of the site 96 feet from the edge of the highway right-of-way. The tower had originally been 143 feet from the highway; it is now 120 feet from highway, 155 feet from the property line and 309 feet from the closest West Street residence. He noted the town requires a 500-foot setback from the nearest structure, which is why they need a variance. Attorney Brighenti said they have conducted two balloon tests, one in the tower's original location and one in the new location. Attorney Brighenti said the Planning Board had requested the plans be reviewed by an independent RF Engineer, Mark Hutchins. The report was submitted on January 29. Attorney Brighenti said Mr. Hutchins' report agrees there is a significant gap in coverage and he agrees with T-Mobile's methodology. In addition, the FAA has determined there is no hazard to air navigation, so no lighting or striping will be necessary. Attorney Brighenti presented a number of supporting documents, including coverage maps, drainage calculations, and tower equipment specifications. Mr. Vultaggio said the Board had not received the information, so has not had time to review it. Ms. Garber- Miller said it is the Board's job to determine if there is a gap in coverage based on the information the applicant provides and reiterated her prior request for dropped call and industry standard information. Mr. Rapoza said the applicant must have the numbers on dropped calls, which would have led to the determination of the need for a tower, and asked to see those numbers. Attorney Brighenti said Mr. Hutchins reviewed all of the information the board was given, and determined there is a gap in coverage. The Board asked about the percentage of dropped calls. Mr. Ibrahim said there are 45 dropped calls a day during the summer, which is about 2% of calls. Ms. Garber-Miller said when T-Mobile was in on a previous tower, they said 1-2% was industry standard for dropped calls; therefore, there must not be a problem. Mr. Ibrahim said the main objective is to provide coverage in the West/Tremont Street area, as well as a % mile stretch of Route 95. Mr. Rapoza asked how many T-Mobile customers pass through that stretch each day; Mr. Ibrahim said he does not know. Mr. Vultaggio said if no more calls are dropped than the industry standard, there isn't a gap in coverage. He said he understands there is a physical gap between towers, but that doesn't mean there is a gap in service. Attorney Brighenti said if someone can't make a call, that isn't classified as a dropped call. Attorney Brighenti asked if the Board would consider continuing the public hearing to February or March. Mr. Ibrahim said he will provide the numbers of dropped calls and attempted calls. Mr. Rapoza asked T-Mobile's focus; Mr. Ibrahim said it is the highway, in-building and high-speed data coverage. He said this tower will cover about a one-mile radius. Planning Board 3 5/18/2010 Attorney Brighenti showed the board a map showing the areas where this tower would cover. Ms. Garber-Miller said the map doesn't seem to show coverage on the other side of Route 95. Attorney Brighenti said it is not a perfect concentric circle because of the topography. Mr. Mackie said there probably aren't more than 100 homes covered in that one-mile radius. Mr. Vultaggio said the next meeting will be March 2 and suggested continuing this public hearing to that night at 7:30 p.m. Attorney Brighenti said they will be meeting with the Planning Board tomOITOW night. Mr. Rapoza asked ifT-Mobile had looked at the rest area on Route 95 for a tower location. Attorney Brighenti said they have tried to work with Mass Highway, but the state is not interested. Attorney Brighenti said he would supply the board with Mark Hutchins' report, coverage maps, the engineer's report on drainage, the new plan showing revised location, the FAA letter, and a statement on dropped and unsuccessful calls. A resident said she has spoken with church representatives about moving the tower closer to the church. Mr. Arone said the board had asked them to move the tower closer to the highway, so that is what they did. Mr. Vultaggio said the variance is for the 500-foot setback, so they should try to get it as far from residences as possible. Ms. Garber-Miller asked about the fence whether consideration had been given to noise issues after the trees are cut. Mr. Vultaggio asked for the number of trees that will be removed. Attorney Brighenti said they would build whatever type of fence the board wants. Mr. Vultaggio asked if there is any spot on the site where they would comply with the 500-foot setback. Attorney Brighenti said he would look into that. Mr. GaIT asked if the tower would be constructed to look like a tree; Attorney Brighenti said they aren't planning on that. Mr. Rapoza said the board could ask the applicant to put up screening, like arbor vitae. Attorney Brighenti said there are five houses within the 500 feet; they will look into moving the tower closer to the church. Rich Wusche, 987 West Street, said the map seems to show the highway is covered, and all this would really add would be in-building coverage. He said it would be helpful to see an overlay showing where the gains would be. Mr. Wusche presented the board with photographs taken from the front of his house during the balloon float. Mr. Vultaggio said the board has received a letter from the 615 School Street tower developer about moving the tower 50 feet west, closer to the Plymouth Street soccer fields. He suggested putting that issue on a future agenda. Planning Board 4 5/18/2010 I 6. Adjourmnent Motion: To adjourn at 9: 10 p.m. (Rapoza-GaIT) All in favor. PASSES Next meeting: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. ~~~ Signature of Clerk 5 ./~.IO Date of Approval Planning Board 5 5/18/2010