TOWN OF HOLDEN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
HEARING
OHC RESIDENCES, INC. V 1112
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on January 19, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall, 1196 Main Street, Holden, MA on the Petition of OHC Residences, Inc. for property located at 54 Boyden Road for a Variance from Use, Height and Front Yard setback requirements of the R-2, BO-P and R-1 zoning districts to allow for the construction of a 33,600 square foot medical office building and associated parking.
Members in attendance: R. Spakauskas, S. Annunziata, F. Lonardo and R. Butler.
The Chairman called the meeting to order. Since there were no objections, the reading of the legal notice, list of abutters was waived. The Secretary read the application and Findings of Fact.
Attorney Sami Baghdady, representing Robert and David Oriol, owners of the nursing home, addressed the Board.
A prospective tenant has approached the owners seeking to rent at least 12,000 square feet in order to provide a variety of medical services. Even though the site has been used for medical uses for many years, it is not zoned Commercial and, therefore, their request for a relief of Use Variance.
Another variance request is from the minimum front yard setback requirement of thirty (30) feet. Atty. Baghdady explained that the property is on a steep hill which limits development of a proposed clock tower for a memorial which will have an elevator to provide residents handicapped accessibility. Because of the slope of the land, a variance would be needed from the maximum permitted height of thirty (30) feet. Another variance request is from the requirement that only one principal structure be permitted on one lot.
They are under a very strict construction schedule and would like to start in March of this year.
F. Lonardo asked why the elevator could not be attached to the building. John Boyce, architect for this project, explained that the elevator will take people to the parking area and then to the other level. It is meant to integrate the overall campus with the downtown area.
S. Annunziata asked about the time frame for the Wachusett Extended Care Facility; it has many phases and will take about sixteen (16) months.
R. Spakauskas asked how much of a variance they are looking for and the answer was ten (10) feet of relief is needed.
Dennis Lipka, Building Commissioner, commented that all town departments have been involved with several meetings with this team concerning this large project.
Another variance request is for signage due to the fact that commercial signs are not allowed in a residential zone. John Boyce distributed a plan to the Board for signs on the building and directional signs for parking.
Atty. Baghdady said they will need an Oriol Health Care sign and the tenant will need a sign as they intend to occupy at least half of the building. The Oriols and the tenant are both image conscious people. Signs will be needed to identify the building and the anchor tenant. A Boyden Road sign and Campus sign is also needed.
D. Lipka said that signs for buildings of this size and magnitude are not really addressed in the bylaw.
Atty. Baghdady said that if additional signage is required other than what was put before the Board this evening, the applicant would be glad to come back for another hearing with the Zoning Board of Appeals.
F. Lonardo expressed some traffic concerns. Atty. Baghdady said traffic would definitely increase. A traffic study showed they do not meet the State’s requirements to have a traffic light in that location. However, they will continue to monitor the traffic throughout the project. It will probably be a controlled intersection in the future.
Sean Xenos, 14 Erins Way, commented that he was in favor of commercial development in town, but asked if the entire area is being reclassified as commercial or just for this building. It was answered just for this building at this time.
In summation, Atty. Baghdady said the owners are very excited about this project, as the campus has been in an underutilized state. It will now be able to provide services this community needs.
Since there were no further comments or questions, the public hearing was closed at 8:30 p.m.
The Board unanimously voted to approve the variance requests with the following conditions:
Variance to allow the following uses within Residential-Suburban-2 (R-2), Business Office-Professional (BO-P), and Residential-Suburban-1 (R-1) zoning districts. Business offices, medical offices, medical clinic, primary care, medical laboratory radiology, optical services, and other medical, retail and office uses.
GRANTED WITH CONDITIONS:
- Retail uses shall be medically related.
- Use variance is granted exclusively for the new building as shown on the plans referenced in the General Conditions below.
Variance relief from the minimum front yard depth of 30 feet in R-2, C, BO-P, and R-1 zoning districts as required by Table 2-AREA REGULATIONS.
GRANTED WITH CONDITION
1) The elevator structure shall have a front yard setback of no less than 20 feet as
measured from the doors of the elevator structure to the frontage lot line at Boyden
Road.
Variance from the maximum permitted height of 30 feet in R-2, C, BO-P, and R-1 zoning districts, as required by Table 3-HEIGHT AND BULK REGULATIONS. GRANTED WITH CONDITION:
1) The absolute height of the building including parapets shall not exceed 48 feet.
The height of the building as shown on the plans id 47 feet, the granted relief
allows for an additional one (1) foot should final conditions require additional
height.
Variance from the requirement of Section VI, Footnote 1, which allows one principal
structure on the lot.
GRANTED WITH CONDITION:
- Given the size of the site, 20 acres, and its current use as a medical care and
residential care campus, the variance as granted will allow one additional building
as shown on the plans referenced in the General Conditions below.
Variance from the restrictions of Section VII on signs in R-2, C, BO-P and R-1
districts.
GRANTED WITH CONDITIONS:
- The total area for each sign located on the façade of the new building shall not
exceed forty (40) square feet.
- The number of signs shall not exceed the number of signs shown on the plans
referenced in the General Conditions below.
GENERAL CONDITIONS, WHICH APPLY TO ALL OF THE ABOVE CONDITIONS:
- All construction and work shall be completed according to the plans submitted and
identified as: “Proposed Site Development/Proposed Medical Office Building prepared
by Meridian Associates” dated December 14, 2011, and revised January 9, 2012.
- All construction and work shall be completed according to the plans submitted and identified as “Campus Connection” submitted to the Board on January 19, 2012 and signed and dated by John Boyce, January 19, 2012.
- All construction and work shall be completed according to the plans submitted and identified as “Maximum Height & Signage Plan” dated January 19, 2012 and signed by John Boyce.
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Ronald E. Spakauskas, Chairman
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