TOWN OF OLD SAYBROOK
Zoning Commission
302 Main Street Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475-1741
Telephone (860) 395-3131 FAX (860) 395-3125
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, MARCH 7 AT 7:30 P.M.
PASBESHAUKE PAVILION AT
SAYBROOK POINT PARK
155 COLLEGE STREET EXTENSION
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman, Madeleine Fish, called the regular meeting to order for Monday, March 7, 2005 at the Pasbeshauke Pavilion.
ROLL CALL
Attendant Members Absent Members
Madeleine B. Fish, Chairman Paula Stuart, Regular Member
Robert C. Friedmann, Vice Chairman
Elizabeth D. Steffen, Regular Member
Walter Harris, Secretary
Geraldine M. Lewis, Alternate Member
Charles E. Sohl, Alternate Member
Barbara A. Galler, Alternate Member
Attendant Staff
Christina M. Costa, Enforcement Officer
Chairman Fish seated Charles Sohl for Paula Stuart.
Geraldine Lewis arrived at 7:40 p.m.
III. CORRESPONDENCE
IV. MINUTES
MOTION to accept approve meeting minutes of February 22, 2005; MOVED by
Madeline Fish; SECONDED by Walter Harris; APPROVED Madeline Fish, Robert
Friedmann, Walter Harris and Charles Sohl; OPPOSED: None. 5-0-1 Liz Steffen
abstained as she was not present at that meeting.
V. COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEW APPLICATION:
2 ½ Story Home, 28 Reed Court, Map 23/Lot 48/A District
Applicant: Denise Von Dassel Owners: Jeff Goldblatt and Joanie Barnes
Denise Von Dassel presented the plan to the commission that calls for a garage underneath at a total height of 29 ½ feet total. The house is in a flood zone, so it will have a gravel driveway to allow for absorption of flood water. Septic will be located between the house and the house next door. A 15” maple was to be removed to accommodate the driveway but Denise will now preserve this by relocating the driveway. The deck will have a railing around it.
MOTION to approve 28 Reed Court, Map 23/Lot 48, A District with the following amendments: the 15’ maple will be preserved by relocating the driveway. MOTION made by Bob Friedmann; SECONDED by Liz Steffen; APPROVED Fish, Friedmann, Sohl, Harris and Steffen. OPPOSED : None. 5-0-0
VI. INFORMAL DISCUSSION:
Potential Bed and Breakfast, 505 College Street, Map 23/Lot 54 Requested by William Childress, Attorney for the owner, Robert Hanson
Attorney Childress made the presentation describing the proposed 4 bedroom bed and breakfast to be located in the historic 1752 Andrew Lord house. It sits on a 28,000 square foot lot and would have have six parking spaces and a right of way to South Cove.
Before getting too far into the project, the owner wanted to get a sense
of thecommission’s stand on excepting the guideline that states there should be 10,000
square foot of the lot per guest bedroom as he would not be interested in operating a
guest house with only 2 bedrooms. Bob Hanson answered questions about the
new shed that will replace the old garage and proposed remodeling ideas. The front of the
house would be preserved in its historic look but most of the rest of the house
would be gutted and rebuilt in a more modern style. The front porch has a door, but tha
is not used as the main entrance way as it is not convenient to the parking area.The
commission wanted to make sure that the owner knew the regulations required the owner
to live on the premises and deferred comment on the project until they got answers to
some more specific questions such as how close were both neighbors.
LGS Power Equipment, Boston Post Road
Requested by William Childress Owner: Louis J. Secki, Jr.
Attorney Childress made the request that LGS be given a temporary permit to open for
business while they prepare their formal application to the Zoning Commission. The
business would be housed in the 6000 square foot building that was formerly the Suzuki
dealership and would sell lawn mowers, lawn tractors, snow blowers and small backhoes.
Eventually the owner hopes to obtain licensing to become a John
Deere dealership. Mr.Secki explained that the first year of operation, the store would
carry a very limited amount of stock and function with a small staff. The commission
will grant a certificate of compliance to the dealership for a six month period with the
recommendation that the vehicles presented out front on display not be kept where
Suzuki had displayed them so that sight lines might be preserved.
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
Petition to Amend Zoning Regulations to permit “Off-Site Municipal Parking”
Petitioner: Joseph Metzendorf, Chairman of the BOS Gateway Committee
Liz Steffen read the proposed text amendment into the record. Mr. Metzendorf started his presentation by explaining the functions of the committee he chairs and stated that the owner of the shopping center where the tuxedo store is located has purchased the land on which the Mobil station used to be located. He would lease it to the town at a rate of $1 per year for a term of 99 years. Without passage of the proposed text amendments, this info both project that is slated to be located on this piece of land could not go forward. The info booth would also feature works by local artists, attractive landscaping and public restrooms. The commission discussed that the cellular phone store currently located in the shopping mall will be turned into a Starbucks. Starbucks thinks they may require 12 parking spaces
and the info booth would have use of the rest of the parking spaces down toward the info booth area, necessitating the need for off-site parking. The commission members stated they were not so much concerned about info booth parking but more in line with where would parking be when the old town hall is converted into a theater, etc. It was asked if the commission could refer off-site parking permit applications to the Traffic Commission but Chris said that the commission could only ask that commission’s input and it would be impossible to have them take over the task of approving permits. There was a concern about the town exempting itself from its own regulations and several members felt that the town should lead by example and not have access to privileges that private parties did not have access to. So far, the text amendments have gotten favorable responses from the DOT, Planning Commission and the Office of the Long Island South.
Chairperson Fish polled the commission and Geri Lewis, Liz Steffen and Barbara Galler had no objections. Walter Fish felt that it was an overly broad recommendation that allows the town too much latitude. Bob Friedmann felt that the requirement of 30 days notice was not enough and should not be waived for extenuating circumstances. Charles Sohl felt that the commission needed to hear from other sources before deciding.
Chairperson Fish opened the hearing to public comment.
Julie Pendleton, business manager for the Old Saybrook school system felt that this proposal was a “must” for the town and would create a partnership with local businesses. Tim Londregan, 129 Main Street, was also in favor, commenting that other towns with the same shared parking arrangement had undergone revitalization of the area.
MOVED to continue the discussion to the next regular meeting on Monday, March 21, 2005 at the Pasbeshauke Pavilion ; MOVED by Robert Friedmann ; SECONDED by Walter Harris ; APPROVED M. Fish, R. Friedmann, Charles Sohl, L. Steffen and W. Harris. OPPOSED : None. 5-0-0
Petition to Amend Zoning Regulations to permit Bank/Pharmacy Drive up Windows
New Section 8.22 , Drive up Windows for Financial Institutions and Pharmacies
Petitioner : Issues Management, LLC Agent: David Royston
David Roysten opened by stating that formerly the only business permitted to have drive-through windows were indoor restaurants. The proposed Section 8.22 would additionally permit drive-through windows for banks and pharmacies. Applicants would also need to meet the requirements of Sections 51 and 62.
Patrick O’Leary of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., a contractor for CVS Pharmacies, showed the physical attributes of a typical drive-through window. He said these windows were to serve the increasingly growing older population, handicapped patrons and mothers with sick kids. On average, 10% of prescriptions are dropped off and picked up by use of the drive-through window. The outer lane has a pneumatic tube for dropping off only, pharmacy regulations require that the customer be face to face with a pharmacist or technician to enable them to ask questions about their medicine. You must be in a motor vehicle to be served at the window, which is an anti-retail mechanism. Retail items cannot be purchased through the window unless they are prescribed by a doctor on a prescription blank. These windows
are typically located on the back side of the store, away from customer parking and pedestrian traffic. Photos of existing windows in Granby, CT and North Hampton, MA were distributed. The window would be manned and open during all business hours. The highest volume of vehicles through a drive-through window was recorded to be 14 per hour.
The commission was given the opportunity to ask questions and discussion was around issues such as if a store had both a bank and a pharmacy, would they be permitted to have two drive-through windows? Other issues included whether there should be a maximum number of drive-throughs per street or linear footage of a street and was there a minimum square footage required to house a pharmacy to avoid getting “Foto-Mat” type operations. The commission felt there should be a pass-around lane so that people would not be locked into the queue. It was felt that financial institutions should also be heard from in order to determine what was important to them.
David Royston recommended that the language be changed to “registered licensed pharmacies” and suggested that the regulation limit drive-throughs to pharmacies with an area greater than 2000 square feet.
Madeline Fish opened the floor for public comment.
Tim Londregan, 129 Main Street, felt the proposed amendment was a good idea because of its convenience and the service that it would provide to the handicapped and elderly.
MOTION to continue the public hearing to the next regularly scheduled meeting of Monday, March 21, 2005 at Pasbeshauke Pavilion; MOVED by Liz Steffen; SECONDED by Walter Harris; APPROVED M. Fish, R. Friedmann, W. Harris, C. Sohl and E. Steffen; 5-0-0.
XIII. OLD BUSINESS: None.
XIV. COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE & STAFF REPORTS
There were no committee representative reports. Chris reported that John Sych is looking to put up solar panels on poles in his back yard over an area of 100 square feet on poles of various heights. Members felt he should come before the commission to answer specific questions about his proposal. Bob Friedmann visited the Elm Street clear cut area with Bill Peace and it was determined that 11 trees on town owned property had been mistakenly cut down. Chris enumerated a number of problems the owners of that property were facing and it was stated that the town would attempt to recoup the value of the trees from the owner. Boater’s World will be coming before the commission shortly.
X. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 11:01 pm until the next regularly scheduled meeting on March 21, 2005 at the Pasbeshauke Pavilion 7:30 pm; MOVED by Liz Steffen; SECONDED by Walter Harris ; APPROVED M. Fish, R. Friedmann, C. Sohl, W. Harris, and L. Steffen; OPPOSED : none. 5-0-0
Respectfully submitted,
Katherine Frank-Hoey
Zoning Commission Clerk
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