Skip Navigation
 
This table is used for column layout.
 
PZC Minutes 07-28-09
MEMBERS PRESENT:        Chairman Patrick Kennedy, Louise Evans, David Sorenson, Bart Pacekonis, Mark Abrahamson, and Michael Sullivan

ALTERNATES PRESENT:     Elizabeth Kuehnel
                Dan Van Horn sitting for Tim Moriarty

STAFF PRESENT:          Michele Lipe, Assistant Director of Planning
                Jeff Doolitle, Project Engineer

PUBLIC HEARING/COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Chairman Kennedy called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.

The Secretary read the legal notice as it was published in the Journal Inquirer on Friday July 17 and Thursday July 28, 2009.  

Kennedy appointed Van Horn to sit for Moriarty.

  • Appl. 09-28P, Frankal Auto Sales - request for a special exception to table 4.1.1A for used car dealers license for property located at 520 Burnham Street – Building #5, I zone
Frank Farrely, applicant, presented the application.  The applicant was in business for 20 years and has an existing license for a location in Hartford.  That location closed and applicant is relocating to South Windsor.  The applicant mentioned that he is not planning to have a used car lot, any customers that are interested would contact the applicant by e-mail.  The vehicles would be preordered by customers.
Lipe had a Planning report.  
Request for Special Exception to Article 4.1.1A and Site Plan of Development to allow sale of used automobiles at 516 Burnham Street, Building 5- Unit A, I zone. The applicant is requesting to conduct auto sales through the internet.  There will be no outdoor display of vehicles. Automobile sales are a special exception use in Industrial zones.
Building 5 is in the rear of the property. Over the years there have been numerous approvals in several of the buildings for a variety of automobile-related services including wholesaling vehicles and body shop work. As you can see from the aerial photo, there are a variety of vehicles currently kept on the site, however the applicant does not intend to store any additional vehicles.
The site is served by public water and sewer.  East Hartford was notified as required.
If this application is approved, the Planning Dept has no requested approval modifications.

Engineering had no comments.  
There was no public participation.  
Commissioners asked if there would be any other cars besides the applicants’ vehicle on the site.
The applicant responded that no other cars would be on the site.  
This hearing was closed at 7:30 PM.  
  • Appl. 09-24P – South Windsor Stone & Landscaping Supply, LLC – request for a special exception to article 4, Table 4.1.1A and site plan approval for a landscape material sales and storage/warehousing business property located at 287 Strong Road, I zone  
Peter DeMallie, President of Design Professionals presented the application.  The owners of the property are Art & Cindy Silvestry.    

On January 13, 2009 the Planning & Zoning Commission approved a zoning amendment allowing for landscape materials sales and storage business within the Industrial zone as a special exceptions use.  

The location of the site is 287 Strong Road.  In the past it was the location of a green house.  The site is 1.65 acres in size 228 ft.of frontage.  The site has 12 parking spaces.  There is an existing 20 ft. wide access way that is owned by CL & P.  The applicant has been in Communication with CL&P for an easement (see exhibit A).  

The purpose of the application is to establish landscape materials sales and storage business.  The applicant is proposing three new buildings; the first and primary one is in the northwest corner of the site.  This is the landscape center building and it has a wrap around porch.  Its uses will be office, some retail conference room and warehouse area for processing as well as storage for landscape material.  The second building will have 12 self storage units.  To the northeast of that there will be an additional building with 5 additional storage units.  There is a 12 car parking lot with one handicap space that will be paved.  There will be an outdoor display and sales area for seasonal items such as flowers, Christmas trees and landscape materials.  To the rear of the parcel there will be 13 bins for landscape materials and will be hidden by the tree buildings those will be 5 storage buildings.  The overnight parking of vehicles will be to the rear of the buildings by the storage bins.  The 18 bins will be separated by concrete blocks and in front of those will be a 60 ft area for maneuvering vehicles in that are.  

Access to the site will be from the primary driveway on Strong Road and if permission is granted from CL& P the applicant will be utilizing the 20 ft access way as a second access drive way.  The building was moved back 44 ft. in the event the town ever decides to widen Strong Road.  The hour of operation are Monday-Friday 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM Saturday from 7:00AM-5:00PM.  

Karen Isherwood, Project Manager and Professional Engineer with Design Professionals Inc. went over the drainage and traffic report on the site.  The smallest self storage building is 12.1 ft. tall and the larger building is 14.2 ft. in height.  There is an existing chimney that remained on the site from the previous buildings that will be removed.  The site is currently vegetative with the site drains southwesterly to the rear of the property where there is an existing swale.  That swale heads easterly to the adjacent property and enters the storm drainage system on Strong Road.  There is a proposed utility connection and also tie into the sewer on Strong Road.  The building will be served by a private well there is no public water available.  A Traffic statement was submitted. (See exhibit B)

The storm water management plan is that all runoff will enter the basin on the lower left hand side of the property.  A majority of the site will be surface is going to be surface flow over the gravel and into the basin directly then there is a small potion of runoff which is limited to the 12 space parking lot and will flow to the north.  The basin will discharge through a pipe and spreader and back to the swale ditch that’s located on the site.  A silt fence will protect all areas around the development and the stock pile area.  

Tim Starr representing New England Buildings described the architecture of the buildings proposed.  The buildings are wood frame and very attractive.  The storage buildings are designed to look like carriage houses and the main building will have a wrap around porch and the storage units will match the buildings.  

Benjamin Wheeler, landscape Architect presented the landscape plan.
Foundation plantings will be planted between the main building and the parking lot.  There will be a mix of shrubs, evergreen, deciduous and perennials.  Between the main entrance drive and the 12 car parking lot there is a landscape island that is 5.15 % of the entire parking area.  In that area there are a few shrubs and trees.  The landscaping will help to screen the bins in the back portion of the lot.  In the event that the 2 storage buildings are not built, the applicant proposes to have a 6ft vinyl fence be put up instead.  There is a row of forty-three arborvitae on the eastern property line that can reach 10-12 ft at maturity.  Due to a review comment from the Architectural Design and Review committee, the applicant has extended the screen further to cover from the secondary access drive all the way to the north edge of the eastern storage building.  
The applicant intends to save the 60 inch maple tree near the second entrance

Lipe had a Planning report.  
Request for special exception to Table 4.1.1A and site plan approval for a landscaping supply center and two self-storage unit buildings on property located at 287 Strong Road, I zone.  
The proposal includes a 2,982 sf landscaping material building including a showroom and office area with a wrap around porch.  The self storage units include two buildings, 1,250 sf and 3,000 sf respectively.
The lot size is 1.65 ac; minimum lot size allowed is 30,000 sf.  Frontage is 228 feet; minimum allowed is 100 feet. Front yard setback is 36.5 feet, 35 feet allowed.
Maximum impervious coverage allowed is 65% allowed; 54.5% shown.
Parking requirement (retail, office and warehouse) is 12 spaces; 12 spaces shown.  
The special exception proposed is to table 4.1.1A is for landscape materials sales and storage. (Landscape material is defined as items used for exterior landscaping, e.g., decorative surface materials, earth materials, masonry pavers/blocks, landscape aggregate, stone dust, topsoil, mulch, brick chips, sand, processed gravel, trap rock, and plant materials.) Additional provisions for this use state:
  • Excludes storage or fabricating of structural steel and heavy concrete products.
  • Primary building shall be minimum 2,000 sq. ft. (excluding greenhouses).
  • Except plant materials, outdoor storage/sales area shall not be visible from a public street.  
The Special Exception criteria include:
  • The goals and objectives of the Plan of Development are met;
  • Adverse traffic impacts are not created;
  • Negative impacts on property values are not created;
  • The land is physically suited for the proposed use;
  • Adverse environmental impacts are not created;
  • There is a balance between neighborhood acceptance and community needs;
  • Present and proposed utilities, streets, drainage system, and other improvements have adequate capacity to accommodate the proposed use
  • Historic factors are adequately protected; and
  • The overall physical appearance of the proposed development is compatible with surrounding development and the Commission’s goals for the neighborhood/corridor.
The applicant has indicated that his hours of operation will be Monday - Friday 7:00 am to 5:30 pm and Saturdays from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm.
The applicant is proposing outdoor display areas along the front as well around the building.  The applicant has provided the calculation display areas - allowing 6,542 sf of outdoor display area and 596 sf indoor retail display area.  
The storage yard includes 18 bins for bulk storage of mulch, landscape stone, and landscape materials offered for sale.  The rear of the property behind the larger self storage units is also shown as an equipment storage area where vehicles (tri-axles, trucks and a trailer) that will be parked after hours. Staff expressed concern about potential conflicts with customer traffic in this area; the applicant has indicated that the equipment will not be on site during hours the business is open to the public.
The two self storage units are shown on the plans and will aid in the screening of the material bins in the rear of the site.  The plans call for a 6 foot high decorative fence in front of the storage unit area that will be installed only in if the storage units are not constructed.
The landscape plan includes a variety of plantings around the building as well as a row of arborvitaes which extends down the eastern property boundary to screen the outdoor storage.  There is a single family house located approximately 40 from this property line and 15+ feet from the access drive to the property to the south (Northeast Utilities).
The applicant is proposing a new driveway cut along Strong Road for access the site.  A secondary driveway is shown in the rear of the site onto an existing ROW owned by CL&P located on the easterly border. The applicant is now working with CLP on such agreement to use this access.  
The traffic study indicates approximately 85 total vehicle trips on a week day with 6 vehicles in the am and 11 vehicles in the pm peaks.  They anticipate 1-2 trucks an hour would be entering/leaving the site.  
Lighting proposed includes 4 – 25 foot high poles, with cutoff fixtures, and goose neck lighting on the main building. Staff had suggested that lower light poles would be preferable as this use is going into an area where several residential homes exist.
They are proposing a 20 sf free standing sign embedded in a 5 X 8 masonry wall at the site entrance and a building sign, approximately 30 sf, on the front of the building facing out to Strong Road.  Designs of the signs have been submitted and are shown on sheet L2.
The Architectural and Design Review Committee reviewed the plans on June 18th with the following comments:
  • the landscaping screening on the easterly side of the site should be extended up to the proposed fence to screen the landscape bins along the rear property line
  • details of the landscape bins to be used must be provided
  • hours of operation should be reviewed as it relates to the lighting on the site
There are no regulated wetlands on the property. The applicant received conservation approval from the IWA/CC on June 17, 2009 recommending a bond in the amount of $5,000 for erosion and sediment control measures.
There is a well on site and sewer available to the site. The Town Sanitarian has reviewed the plans and has requested an approval condition stating: the foundation for any building that is less than 25 feet from the well cannot have any drains. Water Pollution Control Authority approval is required for the sewer connection.  
If this application is approved, the planning department would request, the impervious coverage calculation include the outdoor display areas and the proposed gate be added to the plot plan.

Doolittle had an Engineering report as follows.  
  • Please provide a quit-claim deed for ROW for Strong Road for 25 feet south from the center of the existing ROW along the entire frontage of both properties.  This additional ROW is needed for any improvements to Strong Road and is based on the minimum ROW width needed for roadways.  
  • The driveway needs to have a paved apron of at least 20 foot length.  
  • The encroachment of the driveway to the CL&P property to the south should be removed from this property or be formalized with an easement.  A better defined, reasonable radius (such as 25 feet) for the western side of this driveway needs to be established to better define the driveway limits and reduce the encroachment area.  
  • How will the islands and borders of the driveway and parking areas be formed?  Will bituminous curb be used?  Please label this on the plans.  
  • This plan seems to make for awkward traffic flow around the site.  There are two different uses intermixed on this site which does not help the traffic flow.  I suggest these two uses be separated and/or reduced on site to simplify the traffic flow.  
  • Will the parking spaces be striped?  If not, how will they be marked?
  • The grading of the main parking area to the east of the building is confusing.  It appears to make water run north on the east side and south on the west side.  This will be difficult to build and will probably result in puddles in this area.  This grading needs to be simplified and clarified.  
  • Have any soils test pits been dug on site to check the suitability of the soils for infiltration the groundwater elevation?  Infiltration is mentioned in the Stormwater Management Plan but there are no provisions made to help stormwater infiltrate into the ground.  Infiltration devices should be considered.  
  • Water will pond in a grass swale at 0.5%.  I suggest this swale be sloped at 1% if the intention is to have it drain quicker between storms.  
  • What will happen to the existing 6” CMP from the site to the CB in front?
  • Stormwater will back-up into the swale during storms from the 2 to the 100 year intervals.  More than half the swale will be inundated during the 25-200 yr storms.  
  • The elevation of the west side of the swale and north side of the detention basin appears to be 74.0 which is 0.1 ft above the 100 year storm elevation.  These sides need to be raised to provide at least 1 foot of freeboard for the 100 year storm all around the detention basin and swale.  
  • The Stormwater Management Plan shows an increase in the peak runoff from this site during the 2 and 10 year storms.  These calculations and the detention basin design need to be modified so there is no increase in peak runoff for any storm from this site.  
  • The outlet from the detention basin leads onto abutting property without any clear flow channel or rights to drain shown.  Additional information as to existing drainage channels, topography and rights to drain need to be provided to complete the evaluation of the stormwater system design.  .  
  • There needs to be an outlet structure from the detention basin with details and elevations.  
  • Provide a flared end and rip rap plunge pool at the end of the DB outlet pipe.
  • There needs to be a rip rap emergency overflow spillway near the detention basin outlet.  
  • Provide a gravel access road to the detention basin outlet.  
  • Provide an operations and maintenance plan for the grass swale and detention basin/water quality basin on the plans.  These should be mowed at least twice a year and inspected after major storms or at least twice a year.  
  • Details of the detention basin berm are needed.  
  • The Water and Sanitary Sewer Construction Sequence notes on Sheet 5 do not seem necessary.  If left, these need to refer to South Windsor (see note 6).  A note that sewer construction must comply with the Town of South Windsor Public Improvement Specifications should be included.  
  • This plan needs to be submitted to the WPCA for review and approval.  
A letter was read into the record from CL & P.  (See exhibit A)

Public participation was as follows.

Virginia Bamber 315 Strong Road was representing a neighbor read a letter for the record.  There were concerns with chemicals on site and invasive species on the property, the trees on the property as well as concerns with head light and noise.

Rick Bamber 315 Strong Road had concerns with the wells and any chemicals that can potentially leak into the wells.  

Commissioners had questions and concerns.  Responses will be in italics.

  • Commissioners asked what would happen to the trees that are on are currently on the site.
Benjamin Wheeler responded that the trees on the property would be cut down for grading purposes and the big maple tree on the property will be preserved.

  • Commissioners asked at what point will the applicant know if the storage units will be going in or the vinyl fence
The first building will be built then over a period of time the applicant would like to put other units in, if there is any delay he would put a vinyl fence

Lipe recommended showing phasing of the site plan

DeMallie confirmed that the 1st building would be built and if the applicant chooses to phase it then he would return with another plan to address that.  

Commissioners asked if the light poles could be shorter

Mr. Wheeler responded that the lighting plan is in compliance with the lighting regulations which requires full cut off lighting.  By placing the poles 5ft apart it will require 4 poles therefore distributing the light more evenly.  Lighting is important for security reasons.

Commissioners asked about the chemicals and how far the wells were from the site and if the chemicals would impact any wells in the area.

Isherwood responded that there would be surface run off from vehicles but no chemicals would be contaminating the wells, the applicant’s well is also located on the site.

Commissioners asked it the applicant had any plan for mosquito control
Isherwood responded that at this time the applicant does not have a mosquito control plan

Lipe mentioned that the Commission could require a mosquito control plan in the case where water is not properly drained off the property.
Commissioners asked Mr. & Mrs. Bamber if they would prefer a 6 ft decorative fence instead of the plantings along the property line.  

Mr. and Mrs. Bamber agreed that the 6ft fence was sufficient.
The public hearing closed at 9 PM.

REGULAR MEETING – MADDEN ROOM
  • Appl. 07-69P, Dzen Tree Farm Subdivision (Mannarino Bros.) –change order request for a sidewalk modification.
Rob Mannarino presented the above mentioned proposal.  The applicant is proposing to stop the sidewalk before the parking.  The sidewalk that the applicant is proposing to remove is 400 ft long.  

There are no Planning recommendations.
Engineering would like the sidewalk to be as complete as possible without encroaching on other properties.  
Commissioners asked why the applicant would get rid of the sidewalk if the public will eventually use it for access to open space.
Doolittle mentioned that the access drive to the open space has been relocated from its original design and the sidewalk is proposed to end at the drive entrance  

Sullivan made a motion to waive the sidewalk installation on the above mentioned project.  Van Horn seconded the motion.  The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.  

  • Appl. 09-28P, Frankal Auto Sales - request for a special exception to table 4.1.1A for used car dealers license for property located at 520 Burnham Street – Building #5, I zone
Evans made a motion to approve the above mentioned request with the following condition.
All free standing signs and/or building signs require the issuance of a sign permit before they are erected.
Sullivan seconded the motion.  The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.  

  • Appl. 09-24P – South Windsor Stone & Landscaping Supply, LLC – request for a special exception to article 4, Table 4.1.1A and site plan approval for a landscape material sales and storage/warehousing business property located at 287 Strong Road, I zone  
Commissioners discussed the above mentioned application with the following conditions.

  • Prior to commencement of any site work, a meeting must be held with Town Staff.
  • No building permit will be issued until the final mylars have been filed in the Town Clerk's office.
  • This application is subject to the conditions of approval of the Inland Wetlands Agency/Conservation Commission, including bonds in the amount of $5,000.
  • A landscape bond in the amount of $3,000 is required and must be submitted prior to filing of mylars.
  • All bonds must be in one of the forms described in the enclosed Bond Policy.
  • An as-built plan is required prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy per Section 8.1.11 of the Zoning Regulations.
  • All plans used in the field by the developer must bear the stamp and authorized signature of the Town of South Windsor.
  • This approval does not constitute approval of the sanitary sewer, which can only be granted by the Water Pollution Control Authority.
  • The building street number must be included on the final plan.
  • Pavement markings must be maintained in good condition throughout the site drives and parking areas.
  • All free standing signs and/or building signs require the issuance of a sign permit before they are erected.
  • If a State Traffic Commission certificate is required, no building permits will be issued until the certificate has been issued (per CGS §14-311).
  • Because of the well location, the foundation for any building that is less than 25 feet from the well cannot have any drains.
Impervious coverage should include the outdoor display areas.
  • A note must be added to the plans to address mosquito control if water is to be standing 72 hours and longer.
Hours of operation limited to what is proposed.
  • In the event the project is phased, a phasing plan must be submitted to address screening.
Sullivan made a motion to approve the above mentioned application.  Abrahamson seconded the motion.  The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.

  • Appl. 05-68P, Nomads- request for outdoor events for Car Shows through October 2009.
Kip Shepard presented the above mentioned request.  Peter DeMallie discussed the noise study that was performed on the Nomads site.  Don Cusson addressed commission members concerns regarding the prosed car shows..  

Sullivan made a motion to approve the above mentioned request.  Pacekonis seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-1.  Kennedy, Sullivan, Pacekonis, Sorenson, Abrahamson and Van Horn voted in favor.  Evans voted against.

BONDS:
None
MINUTES:  
The minutes dated June 9, 2009 were approved by consensus.

OTHER BUSINESS:  

ADJOURNMENT:

Pacekonis made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m.  Sorenson seconded the motion.  The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted
Approved by PZC on 9-8-09

D. Maria Acevedo
Recording Secretary