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MINUTES
Zoning Board of Appeals
Town of Old Saybrook
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Old Saybrook at its Meeting that was held on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, First Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street, heard and decided the following appeals:
Seated for this evenings meeting and voting were the following members: Rexford McCall, Chairman, Dorothy Alexander, Vice Chairman, Chris Gosselin, Allan Fogg (alternate) and Mary Kennedy (alternate)
Present: Kim Barrows, Clerk
Absent: Joan Strickland, B. Dooley and Kent (Skip) Johnson (alternate)
The meeting was then called to order at 7:30 p.m.
The following public hearings were conducted, as well as the decision making sessions. The meeting has been recorded on tape and the following actions were taken:
The Chairman introduced the Board members who were seated for this evenings meeting. The Chairman then proceeded to read the Legal Notice into the record.
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING:
10/11-14C Estate of Eugean E. Heiney, Jr. seeks a variance of Par.10.8.3 (lot area/69,700 s.f. required/9,403 s.f. existing), Par. 37.2.2 (minimum square/100’ required/4.98’ (s/s) and 21.68 (w/s) proposed), Par. 58.6 (Gateway Riparian Buffer/prohibits construction/new dwelling proposed) and Par. 68.1.2(B)8 (tidal wetlands setback/50’required/41’proposed) of the Zoning Regulations to permit removal of existing dwelling and construction of a new dwelling in
compliance with FEMA requirements and new septic on property located at 29 Bridge Street, Map No. 24, Lot Nos. 50 & 51.
Present: Attorney Edward Cassella, standing in for Attorney David Royston; Stu Fairbanks, Engineer, Mr. David Heiney, applicant and Mr. & Mrs. Fogel, contract purchasers
Attorney Cassella gave his presentation. This property is in the flood zone and therefore invokes the flood zone regulations. The existing house is in bad shape and an eye sore for the neighborhood. The prospective buyers would like to tear down the existing house and rebuild with the plans submitted this evening. The plans tonight are revised plans from what had been originally submitted with the application. The proposal has gone before the Conn. River Gateway Commission and a letter from J. H. Torrance Downes, Senior Planner dated February 25, 2011 was entered into the record. The letter stated that the proposal is consistent but the Board should put a condition on the approval to not remove any trees that do not have to be eliminated during the
construction process. If trees are removed then they should be replaced with trees with calipers of at least three (3") inches and that the placement of fill be avoided around the bases of any existing trees. R. McCall asked if the utility room on the plans was needed since it expanded the footprint. Attorney Cassella answered that yes, the utility room is needed because the utilities can’t be below the base flood elevation. The base flood elevation for the area is 10 feet. Mr. Fairbanks then went over the septic design. The design has been approved by the Health District. The proposal presented is within the Plan of Development for the Town. R. McCall stated that the house is very large for the size of the lot and stated that it had been expanded from front to back by at least 2 feet from the original proposal. Attorney Cassella stated that this was a modern house design. R. McCall stated that the footprint
from the front to the back can be reduced to lessen the encroachment to the wetlands. Mr. Fairbanks stated that this lot has already been developed and filled. He understands the desire to protect the wetlands, but filling has already occurred and there is a lawn up to the wetlands. A. Fogg stated that the existing house is 700 square feet, the proposed house is 1,800 square feet with a porch and a deck attached to the structure. Mr. Fairbanks stated that this proposal is less than what is actually permitted in the Gateway Conservation Zone. Attorney Cassella and his clients went out to confer, returned and asked that the public hearing be kept open. A letter from Stephen and Viola Tagliatela of 10 Cove Road dated March 9, 2011 was entered into the record in favor.
The Chairman then opened the floor for comments either in favor or opposition. Ms. Susan Sangster of 33 Bridge Street spoke in favor; Mr. Heiney, the co-executor of the estate, also spoke in favor and stated that the proposal is better than what is there now.
The consensus of the Board, and the applicants agreed, to continue the public hearing to the next meeting. The revised house plans submitted for consideration this evening are larger than the original plans submitted. There was no further discussion and the following motion was made:
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by C. Gosselin to CONTINUE the Public Hearing on Application 10/11-14C, Estate of Eugean E. Heiney, Jr. to the April 13, 2011 Regular Meeting to discuss reducing the size of the footprint of the dwelling. No discussion. A vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, C. Gosselin, A. Fogg, M. Kennedy Opposed: None Abstaining: None. The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
PUBLIC HEARING:
10/11-16 OSCT, LLC seeks a variance of Par. 34.6.1 (street line setback/50' required/ 28.1' proposed) of the Zoning Regulations to permit construction of a new 8,030 sq. ft. warehouse building on property located at 119 Spencer Plain Road, Map No. 46, Lot Nos. 4-2, 4-1, 4-3 and 4-4.
Present: Attorney Edward Cassella, agent for the applicant; Mr. Joseph Wren, P.E. and Mr. Bjorkman, applicant
Attorney Cassella gave his presentation and the history of the development. The area was divided in the 1980's into four (4) lots. Lot No. 4-2 was left undeveloped and the three (3) lots surrounding it were developed in a horseshoe fashion. At that time, the division was subject to two box easement areas that were placed on the plans allowing only two (2) curb cuts for the area that housed the four lots. The applicant currently has a building on each of the three lots, the third building is shared with another company that also does work for BJM Pumps which is Mr. Bjorkman’s business (and who also owns all four lots). Mr. Bjorkman would like to construct a storage building on the fourth lot large enough to satisfy his storage needs and utilize the two curb cuts
allowed to design a horseshoe entrance with one curb cut and an exit going around to the back of the building with the other curb cut. In doing this, the building gets pushed forward toward the road so that the trucks could load and unload to the rear of the building and alleviate trucks stopping on Spencer Plain Road and enhance traffic flow for the other buildings. This design would also allow landscaping in the front and create an attractive street scene rather than the barren one there now. The Board discussed making the storage building smaller so that the front setback would be greater than 28.1' proposed. Mr. Bjorkman stated that he is currently renting storage space in Westbrook and needs a larger building. The Board asked Attorney Cassella what the hardship was. Attorney Cassella stated that the hardship is the irregular shape of the property, which is not square or rectangular, together with the imposition of the setbacks required from
the access easements creates a diminished building envelope and pulls the developable area of the property, approximately 95 feet on the easterly side from the streetline and 120 feet from the actual street location, thus creating a hardship that impacts the orderly development of the site and is inconsistent with the Town’s design standards.
The Chairman then opened the floor for comments either in favor or opposition. There was no audience participation and no further comments from the Board. The public hearing closed at 9:07 p.m.
VOTING SESSION:
Discussion with respect to the public hearing that closed this evening. A. Fogg stated that he understands where the hardship is, if the applicant is to meet the 50' setback from the road, that would mean that the trucks would be loading and stacking up in the front on Spencer Plain Road. The applicant is trying to “beautify” the area by moving the building forward and landscaping the front to make it more appealing when driving by. The trucks would then be off the road and to the rear. Attorney Cassella had stated that the hardship is the irregular shape of the property, which is not square or rectangular, together with the imposition of the setbacks required from the access easements creates a diminished building envelope and pulls the developable
area of the property, approximately 95 feet on the easterly side from the streetline and 120 feet from the actual street location, thus creating a hardship that impacts the orderly development of the site and is inconsistent with the Town’s design standards.
A Motion was made by A. Fogg, seconded by D. Alexander to GRANT w/condition Application 10/11-16, OSCT, LLC sufficient hardship has been shown by Attorney Cassella,
the proposed warehouse on the property would give more than enough landscaping out front to make the property look inviting, clean and neat. If the building was pushed back to the setback line, the loading dock would be in the front of the building with minimal landscaping. There will be only one entrance to the east and only one exit to the west which will increase safety and traffic flow on Spencer Plain Road and the property itself. No discussion. A vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, C. Gosselin, A. Fogg, M. Kennedy Opposed: None Abstaining: None. The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
REGULAR MEETING:
New Business: A letter from Attorney William Childress dated March 2, 2011 regarding Between the Bridges, LLC, 142 Ferry Road requesting a one year extension (until May 1, 2012) to obtain a building permit.
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by C. Gosselin to GRANT the one year extension (until May 12 2012) to obtain a building permit for Between the Bridges, LLC, 142 Ferry Road. No discussion. A vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, C. Gosselin, A. Fogg, M. Kennedy Opposed: None Abstaining: None. The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
Minutes: A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by M. Kennedy to approve the Minutes of the February 9, 2011 Regular Meeting as submitted. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, C. Gosselin, A. Fogg, M. Kennedy Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
Adjournment: A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by A. Fogg to adjourn the March 9, 2011 Regular Meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, C. Gosselin, A. Fogg, M. Kennedy Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0 The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim N. Barrows, Clerk
Old Saybrook Zoning Board of Appeals
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475
The next Regular Meeting of the ZBA will be on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the TOWN HALL, First Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street.
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