MONSON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
MINUTES JUNE 27, 2013
MEMBERS PRESENT: Frank Carey, Scott O’Neill, David Beaudoin, Ron Fussell Tere Hrynkiw and John Martin
MEMBERS ABSENT: David Jarvis
7:30 David Beaudoin convened the meeting.
Frank Carey moved to accept the minutes of March 28, 2013 as presented.
John Martin seconded the motion.
It was so voted, unanimous.
David Beadoin excused himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict.
7:45 Public Hearing for a Special Permit for Earth Removal as provided for by Section 6.6 of the Monson Zoning Bylaws for property located at 110 Main Street, Monson.
The Acting Chairman Frank Carey convened the public hearing and following his comments regarding the rules and regulations of the Board, the manner in which the public hearing would be conducted, the time constraints which the Board must meet to hold a public hearing and issue a decision and introduction of the members of the Board the legal notice was read as it appeared in the Republican Newspaper the weeks of June 10, & 17, 2013.
Dan Laroche, Monson Disaster Recovery Manager made an introductory presentation on behalf of the applicant, stating the special permit for earth removal is in conjunction with the reconstruction of a new Town Office Building and Police station to replace the structure damaged by the June 1 2011 tornado.
Engineer John Furman gave an overview of the project and addressed the general requirements for earth removal contained in the Zoning Bylaws. He stated the slopes on the site will require the removal of approximately 392 cubic yards of material to accommodate the new building. The site is graded from the intersection of Main Street and State Street and the building will be in a similar location to the one it is replacing. The earth removal is necessary because of the change in grade and location of the building. Some topsoil material will be brought back in. The building will have a direct entrance from Main Street and an entrance at the lower level. Tracking pads are proposed for the entrances on State Street and will be maintained on a regular basis. There are existing
catch basins on the site that will be maintained during the construction. Silt sacks will be set under each grate to catch the sediment and will be cleaned out during the construction.
Ron Fussell questioned if there would be any gravel basins visible when the project is complete?
John Furman stated no detention basins are proposed. The site is already developed and the infiltration for storm water will have to mimic what is there, that will be accomplished with an underground system.
Frank Carey questioned who would be in charge of the site?
Dan Laroche the General Contractor.
Frank Carey questioned the hours of operation?
John Furman stated normal working hours.
Frank Carey questioned how long it would take?
Dan Laroche stated if Mr. Carey was referring to the time it would take to construct the building and finish the site it was anticipated to be 12 – 18 months.
Ron Fussell stated 392 cubic yards is not a lot of soil.
Dan Laroche stated the bylaw speaks to a gravel operation; this is the reconstruction of a building.
The Board received a letter from John Morrell, Highway Surveyor dated June 11, 2013 stating his concerns regarding the design of the parking lot.
Dan Laroche stated Mr. Morrell would be meeting with the Building Committee on July 8, 2013.
David Beaudoin 2 Country Club Heights stated he was in favor of granting the Special Permit for earth removal in order to move the construction of a new Town Office Building and Police Station forward.
8:15 Tere Hrynkiw moved to close the hearing and take the matter under advisement.
John Martin seconded
It was so voted, unanimous.
8:15 Public Hearing for a Special Permit as required by Section 5.3 Sign Bylaw of the Monson Zoning Bylaws for signage that will be greater in area than 20 square feet at 110 Main Street, Monson.
Acting Chairman Frank Carey convened the public hearing and stated he would not repeat his comments on the hearing procedure etc.
Following the reading of the legal notice as it appeared in the Republican Newspaper the weeks of June 10, & 17, 2013 Paul Dominov, Architect Kaestle Boos and Associates made a presentation to the Board.
Mr. Dominov stated there would a sign located on the front of the new building visible from Main Street and two signs visible from the parking lot indicating the entrance for the Town Offices and the Police Station. A free standing sign will be located along State Street and visible from Main Street indicating the location of the Police Station. All signage will be exteriorly lit.
Dan Laroche stated it is especially important to have good signage for the Police Station especially at night.
Frank Carey questioned the material that would be used?
Mr. Dominov stated metal letters.
Scott O’Neil expressed a concern that the letters may be too small.
Dan Laroche stated the Building Committee discussed the size of the letters and made a decision to increase them in size to those proposed by the Architect. The lettering will be the same size front and back.
Ron Fussell stated the letters appear to be relevant to the size of the trim.
8:30 Tere Hrynkiw moved to close the hearing and take the matter under advisement.
Ron Fussell seconded the motion.
It was so voted, unanimous.
David Beaudoin returned.
8:30 Public Hearing for a Special Permit as provided by Section 5.3 Sign Bylaw of the Monson Zoning Bylaws for signage that exceeds 20 sq. ft. in area and exceeds the maximum square footage allowed.
Following Chairman David Beaudoins’ comments regarding the power and purpose of the Board, the time constraints the Board must meet to set a public hearing and render a decision, the rights of all concerned, the manner in which the hearing would be conducted, introduction of the Board members and reading of the legal notice as it appeared in the Republican Newspaper the weeks of June 10, & 17, 2013 Chris MacLaren representing the property owner made a presentation to the Board.
Mr. MacLaren submitted an additional plan of signage depicting a sign fifty inches (50”) x thirty inches (30”) that had the company name Lamcotec and the street address on it; a sixteen inch (16”) x twelve inch (12”) sign that identified the shipping and receiving office and hours and a twenty inch (20”) x twenty four inch (24”) sign of truck driver instructions stating these signs were omitted in error from the original submission and requested that he be allowed to amend the filing to include the signs.
The Board approved the amendment to the submission.
Mr. MacLaren stated the requested signage is just one more step the property owners are taking to update and improve the façade of the existing building. Improvements are being made to the main entrance of the building, to the loading dock and to the parking area to make it easier and safer trucks pulling into the parking area from Bethany Road.
Ron Fussell questioned the size of the building?
Mr. MacLaren stated over 30,000 square feet.
Ron Fussell stated the signage requested is not excessive given the size of the building.
Frank Carey questioned if the signs would be lit?
Mr. MacLaren stated there would not be any flashing lights or anything like that probably just a small spotlight. The sign on the exterior of the building facing Route 32 would not be easy to light. One of the reasons for the new signage is to make the Company more visible.
Scott O’Neill questioned if they were metal or vinyl signs?
Mr. MacLaren stated vinyl.
Scott O’Neill stated the total signage on the building would be approximately 175 to180 square feet.
David Beaudoin stated he had no problem with the proposed signage. This is a business that has operated in Monson for many years and would agree with Mr. Fussell that the signage requested is not excessive given the size of the building.
9:00 Frank Carey moved to close hearing take matter under advisement.
John Martin seconded the motion.
It was so voted unanimous.
Frank Carey stated he agreed with Mr. Fussell and Mr. Beaudoin the signage requested is more than appropriate for a building of this size. He moved to approve the request for a special permit for signage not to exceed the total signage presented in the submission to the Board and to include the additional signage on the plan presented to the Board at the Public Hearing June 27, 2013 with the condition that the signage shall be in conformance with the plans and documentation submitted to the Board.
Tere Hrynkiw seconded the motion.
It was so voted by unanimous role call vote.
The Board found that the total signage proposed approximately one hundred and eighty square feet (180 sq. ft.) was not unreasonable for an existing commercial building that is approximately 30,000 square feet.
The Board found the applicant has taken into consideration the location of the site and the size of the building and made every effort to blend the signage into the building improvements.
The Board reviewed the application and documents submitted by the Town of Monson for a Special Permit for Earth Removal at 110 Main Street.
Frank Carey stated 392 cubic yard is not a significant amount of material that is proposed to be removed but he would like to add a condition to the decision that earth removal should not take places on holidays or Sundays.
Ron Fussell stated he did not think it was necessary to add that condition because prevailing wage has to be paid on this project and the cost alone would preclude working on weekends or holidays.
Frank Carey stated he would still like to see that condition added to the decision so there was no misunderstanding.
Frank Carey moved to approve the Special Permit for Earth Removal in conjunction with the construction of the new Town Office Administration Building/Police Station at 110 Main Street, Monson.
John Martin seconded the motion.
It was so voted unanimous.
Roll call of members voting Aye: Frank Carey, Ron Fussell, Tere Hrynkiw, Scott O’Neill and John Martin.
The Board reviewed the documents and plans submitted by the Town of Monson for Signage at 110 Main Street, Monson.
The Board found that the signage requested was appropriate for the size of the building and met the criteria for the issuance of a Special Permit. The signage proposed also identifies the location of the Monson Police Department a necessity for the safety of the residents of Monson.
John Martin moved to approve signage as proposed.
Ron Fussell seconded the motion.
It was so voted unanimous.
Roll call of Members voting Aye: Frank Carey, Ron Fussell, Scott O’Neill, Tere Hrynkiw and John Martin.
David Beaudoin moved to adjourn 9:30 P.M.
Frank Carey seconded the motion.
It was so voted unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda A. Hull
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