Zoning Board of Appeals
Minutes
April 18, 2012
Landuse Meeting Room
Members present: Chair Ethan Berg, (EB); Robert Fuster Jr., (RFjr); Shawn Leary Considine, (SLC); Ned Douglas, (ND), Cliff Snyder, (CS); Robert Fuster Sr. (RF)
Staff present: Mary Albertson, Town Planner, MA; Land Use Clerk Peggy Ammendola, (PA)
Shanlen Realty Corporation, Hoff’s, 90 Main Street (Map 43, Parcel 192) Special Permit under Zoning Bylaw Sections 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 to allow for the operation of a gasoline station and retail convenience store.
Sitting for this hearing were: EB, ND, CS, SLC, and RFjr.
Site Visit to subject property at 90 Main St immediately preceded the continued hearing, and the hearing was re-opened at 7:35 pm.
Correspondence received:
1) Letter from Attorney Alexandra Glover dated April 17, 2012, a supplement to her previous written submission and presentation to the Board on April 4, 2012. Emailed to ZBA members the afternoon prior to the hearing, and hard copies also provided at the hearing.
2) Letter from Attorney Jeff Lynch, a response to Ms. Glover’s supplement referred to in item 1. Emailed to ZBA members the afternoon prior to the hearing, and hard copies also provided at the hearing.
Mr. Lynch provided a visual which denoted the parked vehicles and said that the application meets the required number of parking spaces. He stated that the applicant’s proposal to eliminate the current use of auto repair and towing removes the negative aspect, as the large flat bed trucks take up much of the space. He said that this proposal meets all of the standards and improves the site.
Mr. Lynch and Ms. Glover both discussed in detail the elements of their supplemental submissions.
Ms. Glover argued that the ZBA can’t grant the Special Permit as applied and said that this proposal does not comply with parking and loading requirements. She believes a different Special Permit should be requested by the applicant so that the public is aware. Ms. Glover believes there is a significant safety and parking problem and that the site visit illustrated the need for additional parking spaces.
Additional correspondence dated April 11, 2012 from George Jordan was presented. He requested that a member of the Board read the letter into the record. The letter was read aloud.
SLC expressed her concern regarding the relative merits of changing the use of property, in particular with food being sold, under the circumstances of a “filling/gas station”. She explored the DEP website and questioned Mr. Hoff again regarding his discussion at the last hearing with regard to oil spills. Mr. Hoff once again said that the property had been tested. Mr. Lynch said that there have been no ramifications on the use of the property and no deed restrictions. There would be restrictions if there had been contamination.
George Jordan asked the Board about the aesthetics of Hoff’s. He feels that because the property is within the Historic District, Hoff’s should take this opportunity to bring the structure into the character of the District. CS told Mr. Jordan that this is an HDC issue, not ZBA. Mr. Lynch and Mr. Hoff said that the HDC has approved of their changes relating to aesthetics.
The Board focused on the parking at this site, saying that the site visit made them more aware of safety concerns. There was a consensus that the applicant should hire a Traffic Engineer to study the site and to look at the use of a convenience store and gas station for loading, unloading, egress and digress. Discussion ensued and it was agreed that a traffic study may change the application, therefore requiring a new public hearing notice.
George Jordan of the Beacon and two reporters with the Beacon were present.
SLC made a motion to continue the hearing to May 23, 2012 and ND seconded the motion. The Board voted to agree 5-0.
The Frederick, LLC, 2 Kemble Street (Map 7, Parcel 22-3). Review of Decision granted March 14, 2011 re: Amplified music and parking. The minutes of that decision meeting reflect that this will also be continued to November 2, 2011, November 2012 and possibly subsequent years if decided. After the Decision was filed, there was an appeal. The attorneys representing The Frederick and the Appellant were attempting to reach an agreement regarding the appeal. Anticipating a resolution, the review was continued from: Nov. 2 and December 21 in 2011, and January 18, Feb. 1, March 7, and April 18, 2012. At the April 18 review, Attorney Jeff Lynch said that a written agreement had been signed by the appellant. This was provided to the Zoning Board and to
Town Counsel.
Sitting for this review were: EB, SLC, RF, RFjr, and ND.
Town Counsel reviewed the agreement and spoke with MA who then briefed the Board with the Town Counsel’s opinion that the agreement would be acceptable, but if the Board wants a public hearing, they could, but not necessary.
Jeff Lynch brought the Board up to date since the March 2011 decision.
Board members pointed out that there were provisions within the agreement that went beyond the scope of the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Discussion ensued and it was agreed that the agreement would be re-crafted to be limited only to zoning issues. This matter was tabled until May 23, 2012 at 7:00 pm.
George Jordan, present for this review, asked for additional information regarding the agreement and he was informed that this matter is in litigation and could not be discussed any further.
George Jordan asked about guests of The Frederick using Ventfort Hall for parking. It was pointed out to Mr. Jordan that while the decision restricts parking, it does not advise The Frederick to use Ventfort Hall to handle excess vehicles.
Approve minutes-April 4, 2012: SLC made a motion to approve the minutes and RFjr seconded the motion. The Board agreed to approve 5-0.
Other Business:
The May 16th meeting date was canceled and May 23rd will be the second ZBA meeting date of the month.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Ammendola
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