MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Patrick Kennedy, Bart Pacekonis, Mark Abrahamson, David Sorenson, Tim Moriarty, Viney Wilson and Elizabeth Kuehnel in at 8:00.
ALTERNATES PRESENT: Frank Bonzani
STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Banach, Director of Planning
Jeffrey Doolittle, Town 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 April 16 and Thursday April 22, 2010.
- Appl. 10-18P, Simmons Premier Soccer Club - request for a 2 year temporary and conditional permit (Section 2.13.a) to create two soccer fields and associated parking, at 225 West Road (southwesterly corner of West Road and Sullivan Ave.), GC zone
Kenneth Pudeler Engineer, Pudeler Engineering presented the application as follows. The Engineer handed the revised plans to the commissioners. The revised plans address the town’s comments to remove all type of grading on the soccer fields and to install a 15 ft high fence behind the goal post.
Banach had the following Planning report.
Request for a two-year temporary and conditional permit to allow the creation of two soccer fields and associated parking on property located at the southwesterly intersection of Sullivan Ave and West Road, GC zone. The field closest to Sullivan Ave is approximately 80 feet from the property line.
The wording of the T & C permit regulation is that, “Temporary and conditional permits may be granted by the Commission for a period not to exceed 2 years. Such approval may be given after a public hearing if, in the judgment of the Commission, the public convenience and welfare will be substantially served, and the appropriate use of neighboring property will not be substantially or permanently injured, and traffic and other hazards will not result from such use.”
The applicant is seeking a T & C because outdoor recreation is not a permitted use in the GC zone, and the soccer use is intended to be a temporary use until such time as the owner proceeds with development plans.
This site has historically been farmed. There are regulated wetlands on the westerly portion of the site which limits what can be done without a wetlands permit. The improvements proposed by the applicant are to rake flat the farm rows and seed the fields. No drainage improvements are proposed and grading will be minimal. The applicant has indicated that he understands this will limit playing time when the fields are too wet to be used.
The applicant has noted that for the first year, he intends to alternate the fields to allow the grass to get established.
The applicant’s narrative notes that the fields would typically be used Monday – Friday 5:50 PM – 7:30 PM, with games on Saturday and Sunday. He anticipates that at most there would be three games per day, approximately 90 minutes each.
Planning, Public Works, Police and Recreation departments are all concerned about the adequacy of the parking area. Typically the players would be dropped off for practices, but there are only 25 parking spaces available for games. Parking will not be allowed on the public street or in the new firehouse parking lot. Staff recommends that the applicant identify a parking backup plan in case actual parking exceeds 25 spaces.
The plan shows a 4-foot fence along portions of Sullivan Avenue and West Road; The applicant has also indicated there will be two 14 foot poles with nets attached at each corner of the goal to keep balls from getting into the roadway. It is unclear whether the netting is in place of or in addition to the 4’ fence. Also, if the 4’ fence is chain link, staff suggests dark green or black to soften the appearance.
There is also a port-a-potty and garbage can to be screened by 2 arborvitae. It is very unlikely that 2 small arborvitae will provide any screening.
If this application is approved, we recommend that the plans be revised to include the items already noted.
Doolittle had an Engineering report as follows.
- The plan needs to show the poles and nets to be used to prevent missed goal shots from going into either road. I do not think a 4 foot high chain link fence is enough. The written description is not clear.
- This site is flat and has poor drainage. I think these fields and surrounding grass areas will have will have puddles without proper grading and drainage improvements. However, I understand the applicant wants to use this site without making any drainage improvements. Only the grading that will be done on site should be shown on the plans. Remove any lines and arrows for grading swales that will not be done.
- The plan should show the driveway to the parking area moved so it lines up with the driveway across the street, a bigger turn around area at the closed end, and additional (grass) overflow parking areas that can be used if needed.
- The plan correctly notes that West Road is being reconstructed. The road will be raised about 6 inches in front of the proposed parking area and will be curbed with 6” BCLC. The parking area should be raised slightly so it is not a low area. If the driveway were moved about 100 feet to the south (or to the south end of the parking lot) it would be near the new high point in the road, could be out of the new curbed area and would not receive much road runoff. Plans for the reconstruction of West Road are available in the Engineering Department.
- Include a detail for the proposed gravel parking area. This should have at least 8 inches of compact gravel or processed aggregate base or 4 inches of each.
Kennedy appointed Bonzani to sit for Kuehnel.
There was public participation as follows.
Keith Yagalof, 65 Pheasant Way, spoke in favor of the application stating that it would benefit the Town and the children.
Commissioners had questions and concerns; responses will be in italics.
- The 25 parking spaces shown in the plan do not seem adequate for the site.
Pudeler responded that since most parents will drop off and pick up their kids to the games the parking is sufficient.
- Concerns with the proposed 40’netted poles that will be installed to stop the balls from entering the street
The applicant responded that the poles were an option that was recommended by Town Staff. The poles will be 40’
- Commissioners asked if the applicant intended to use only one soccer field at a time.
The applicant responded that for the first year the applicant intends to use one field in order to give the grass seed time to mature. Once the year is up the applicant will be using both soccer fields.
- Commissioners agreed that the parking was not sufficient enough for both soccer fields to be in use at the same time.
- Appl. 10-23P, Nutmeg Commons and Nutmeg Village – Request for a zone change and general plan of development of 55+ acres from industrial zone (I) to Multi-family AA zone (MF-AA) to create a 202 unit multi-family complex, on property identified as 100 South Satellite Road, on the southerly side of South Satellite Road and easterly of Nutmeg Road South
The secretary read the withdrawal letter that was submitted by the applicant dated April 14, 2010, withdrawing Application 10-12P, Nutmeg Commons and Nutmeg Village.
Attorney Ralph Alexander representing Horseshoe Lane Associates mentioned that due to a jurisdictional defect the last application was withdrawn from the record and new one was filed with the understanding that the Town has put the entire record from the previous application into the record of the new application.
At this time the applicant will go over any issues that were brought up at the previous hearing and will
not duplicate the previous reports.
Commissioner Kennedy ordered that the record from the previous preceding held on April 13, 2010 be incorporated into this record.
Attorney Ralph Alexander addressed the following concerns that were brought up at the previous hearing.
- The proposed development is intended for the young work force, each unit will have a single car garage with the exception of some of the single family units that will have a 2 car garage. The applicant is proposing open spaces, walking trails, a community building with exercise room, meeting room and kitchen. Every dwelling as well as the community building will have Wi-Fi available. The building amenities with each unit will offer granite counter tops and hard wood floor. The existing bus rout will be another attraction young people.
- Access through Pleasant Valley Road would be a problem since the only point of access is through extensive wetlands. The applicant will keep the 2 access ways out of South Satellite Road.
- For handicap ramps on any of the side walks the applicant will comply with the Towns requirements.
- For screening along South Satellite Road the applicant did not want to cut the large oak trees on the site and will work with Town for the best solution.
- A question was raised by the commission whether or not the applicant has considered the cost for what the Town would have to reimburse the planned community association for snow removal, lighting and trash and recycling expenses. Consultant Don Poland did the calculations and it was an additional expense of $623,195. With that cost therw will still be a net benefit to the Town of over $8 million dollars.
- The applicant has provided a phasing of the project. The applicant is anticipating a 4 year build out with five phases.
- Due to the extensive wetlands on the property it has remained on the market for 50 years at a substantially low rate and has not sold. The up front cost to build a road is too high; the property will most likely not sell and is not much value to the Town.
- An example of a site that was not feasible for industrial use and the Town approved it for an apartment complex was the Gerber site.
Banach stated that the Planning Department is requesting for the entire previous record to be entered into the record with the exception of the withdraw letter and the original application form itself that has been replaced with a new application form. The previous application includes all of the original and revised applicant reports Planning and Engineering reports, petitions and correspondence both in support and opposition to the proposed zone change and general plan. The applicant has also submitted new plans for this application. Prior to the hearing Banach spoke to the Town attorney after receiving the protest petitions that was in excess of 20% with signatures of owners of lots within 500 ft of the zone change. The Town attorney has indicated that the Town has to validate
the petition. Staff is able to easily validate the residential owners that match the deeds but cannot validate the business people who have signed the petition to determine if they are authorized to sign for their companies. Staff is requesting for the attorney who provided the petition in opposition, to provide the Town with documentation that the signatories are in fact authorized to sign for their business.
Engineering has no new comments to add. The previous comments are still in effect and are outlined in a memo dated November 24, 2009.
Public participation in support of the proposed zone change was as follows.
Ed Havens, 25 Emperial Drive, spoke in favor of the proposed zone change. Spoke about need for housing that is affordable for the young professionals that work in town and cannot afford to live in Town.
Vincent Prestileo, 140 Lake Street, spoke in favor of the proposed zone change. Mr. Prestileo is a business owner in Town for 20 years feels that the lack of affordable housing for the young work force in South Windsor has hurt h is business.
Mark Zirrolli, 211 Pomeroy Ave, Meriden, spoke in favor of this application. Mr. Zirrolli lives in Meriden because when he graduated college he could not afford to live in Town. He feels that there should be a balance between elderly housing and young work force housing in Town.
Rohan Taylor, 438 Pleasant Valley Road, spoke in favor of this application, would like to see other people get an opportunity to live in Town.
Jim Senatro, Engineer, spoke in favor of this application.
David Murdock, Century Realty, has been a broker for the last 19 years and has marketed the property in question for 11 years with no success. He is in favor of the zone change since this may be the only developer that looks at the property for a very long time.
Ryan Duval, Broadbrook, supports the zone and change mentioned that he and his wife were unable to find an affordable home in South Windsor.
Frank Lucapra, 442 Pleasant Valley Road, supports the zone change and would rather see a residential use than an industrial user for the property.
Keith Yagalof, 65 Pheasant Way, Is in favor of the zone change; he feels it will be good for the economy.
Adam Senatro, 1153 Ellington Rd, currently rents with a friend in town; if the zone change was passed he would be able to afford owning property in Town.
Gary Bazzano, 53 Spinners Run, feels that it is a good use for the land and the products used to build the apartments should be of high quality.
Craig Stevenson, Towns Economic Developer, spoke in favor of the zone change on behalf of Matthew Galligan, Town Manager who was unable to attend the meeting.
There was public participation in opposition to the proposed zone change as follows.
Robert Benson, West Road, spoke against this application.
Frank Neery, business owner One South Satellite Road, spoke in opposition to the zone change.
Carol Fiorita, 95 Hilton Drive has concerns with the noise from the industrial park and drainage issues.
Larry Greenfield, owner of CT Packaging, 85 South Satellite Road, spoke in opposition to the zone change. He played a recording of a back up alarm from one of the trucks on his property. He mentioned that trucks on his property start delivering at 3 AM and 5 AM.
Joseph Hammer, Attorney, represented South Windsor Merger Company, 145 South Satellite Road and also represented Unitech. At the last hearing a petition was submitted in opposition to the zone change and it will be re-submitted at this hearing. The petition has been signed by owners of more than 20 % of the land area that is located within 500 ft of the subject area. For this reason a 2/3 vote would be needed to pass the zone change. The petition that was re-submitted indicates the capacity and the position of each person that has signed.
Vince Ferrandino Professional Planner, Ferrandino & Associates had a report. (See Exhibit A)
Attorney Mark Shipman representing Connecticut Packaging Materials Inc., 85 South Satellite Road, spoke in opposition to the zone change. A written presentation was submitted for the record (Exhibit B).
The secretary read the correspondence for the record.
Commissioners asked how many of the units would have the possibility of being converted into a 4 bedroom instead of a 3 bedroom.
Peter DeMallie, President and Principal Design Professionals, addressed the questions regarding the amenities stating that all the duplexes will be 2 bedroom units. For the single family units 10 will be 3 bedroom units.
Karen Isherwood, Project Manager with Design Professionals, addressed the location of the basketball court on the site plan.
Galen Semprebon, Traffic Engineer with Design Professionals, addressed the questions about the noise study. Donald Poland, AICP, Connecticut Planning & Development, clarified the commission member’s questions about the Rutgers Study.
Ben Wheeler, Landscape Architect with Design Professionals, clarified how many bedrooms each unit would have. The purchasers will have a choice with the single family units as well as the duplex of having a room for an office.
The public hearing was closed at 11:50 PM.
REGULAR MEETING – MADDEN ROOM
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: None
Sorenson made a motion to extend the meeting. Pacekonis seconded the motion. The motion carried.
- Appl. 10-18P, Simmons Premier Soccer Club - request for a 2 year temporary and conditional permit (Section 2.13.a) to create two soccer fields and associated parking, at 225 West Road (southwesterly corner of West Road and Sullivan Ave.), GC zone
Commissioners discussed the application. Pacekonis made a motion to approve the above mentioned application with the following conditions:
The Temporary and Condition permit will expire on April 27, 2012, and must be renewed before that time if the use is to continue.
If there are buildings, structures, signs or other items that require a building permit or other Town approvals/permits, all such approvals or permits must be obtained prior to construction or use of the site. All free standing signs and/or building signs require the issuance of a sign permit before they are erected.
The parking lot must be expanded to at least 33 parking spaces. The 2 fields cannot be used simultaneously unless approval to do so is obtained from the Planning & Zoning Commission.
Parking for this use is allowed on-site only. No parking is allowed on public streets or within the right-of-way of public streets, nor on the Town of South Windsor property on the south side of West Road. If the parking lot becomes inadequate, use of the fields must be discontinued until adequate parking is provided.
The Town Engineer’s review comments dated March 23, 2010, must be addressed to the Town Engineer’s satisfaction.
Fencing and/or netting must be provided to prevent stray soccer balls from entering roadways. If chain link fencing is used, it must be dark green or black to soften the appearance.
- Appl. 10-20P, Professional Auto Care LLC – request for site plan approval for a DMV general repairer’s license for property located at 105 Edwin Road, I zone
Larry Kilgore presented the above mentioned application to run an auto repair shop.
Banach had the Planning following report as follows
Request for site plan approval for a DMV General Repairers license to operate an automobile repair business in a portion of the building at 105 Edwin Road, Unit 16, I zone. The applicant has highlighted on the map the area that he would be leasing; the lease area includes overhead doors, a small office area, bathroom and parking outside of the building. The property is surrounded on all sides by Industrially-zoned land.
This building was previously licensed in 1994 for automobile repairs. At that time a paint booth was installed; the applicant is not proposing any site changes.
In the applicant’s narrative he has indicated they intend to perform all types of general repairs on motor vehicles including engine repairs, electrical problems, brakes, cooling and heating systems, air conditioning and in the future auto body work. The building currently has no waste water drainage system and they have contracted with a waste removal company for removal of oil and antifreeze. WPCA approval would not be required.
The applicant’s hours of operation will be from 8 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Friday. Will there be any work on Saturday?
If any new signage is proposed, a sign permit will be required.
The Town Engineer had no comments.
Commissioners asked if a site plan was needed to show parking on site.
Banach mentioned that there is so much space that a site plan Is not needed.
Wilson made a motion to approve the above mentioned application with the following condition.
- All free standing signs and/or building signs require the issuance of a sign permit before they are erected.
Moriarty seconded the motion. The motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
- Appl. 10-23P, Nutmeg Commons and Nutmeg Village – Request for a zone change and general plan of development of 55+ acres from industrial zone (I) to Multi-family AA zone (MF-AA) to create a 202 unit multi-family complex, on property identified as 100 South Satellite Road, on the southerly side of South Satellite Road and easterly of Nutmeg Road South
The Commission will hold off voting on the above mentioned application until the business owners’ signatures on the petition are validated.
MINUTES:
The March 13, 2010 minutes were approved by consensus with minor corrections
OTHER BUSINESS:
ADJOURNMENT:
Pacekonis made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Moriarty seconded the motion the motion carried and the vote was unanimous.
The meeting ended at 12:07 AM.
Respectfully submitted
PZC Approved on June 22, 2010
D. Maria Acevedo
Recording Secretary
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